Divas night in MoBay - Provocative Lady Saw, sizzling Spice Sumfest standouts

Woman power ruled supreme on Thursday's Dancehall Night of Reggae Sumfest 2015. Lady Saw, who created history by becoming the first female act to close the traditionally packed night, and the red-hot Spice, whose sensational entry created quite a buzz, stole the spotlight.

Had the likes of freestyle maestro Gully Bop, a lyrical

I-Octane, fiery Capleton, dancer extraordinaire Ding Dong, and a mature-sounding Popcaan not shown up ready to work at Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre, in Montego Bay, the female acts would have completely dominated, as Ishawna, and Gaza Slim also delivered compelling sets.

From the moment a resplendent Lady Saw, topped off by a dapper white wig which was a perfect match for her revealing off-white outfit, entered centrestage at 5:50 a.m., it was clear that she was cross and angry (if not miserable) and ready to dish out venom on her dancehall detractors.

After starting off by advising, "You don't have to hate me", Lady Saw promptly classified herself as an unmovable pillar of dancehall, declaring, "No gyal to bad like me ... me a the female Addi (Vybz Kartel) fe the dancehall!"

In between delivering snippets of several of her songs, the combative sounding Lady Saw drew screams of appreciation from the crowd as she continued to poke lyrical fun at her female deejay 'enemies'. In that segment, Saw had eyes popping as, after discarding her wig to reveal a completely bald head, she provocatively changed her attire onstage, exposing her velvet-smooth belly and black underwear in the process.

After inviting former Portmore Empire deejay Liza Hyper to join her onstage, Lady Saw allowed her to do the song My Man Dat, before again taking charge. Saw had the crowd buzzing when she sang Scamma, declaring in amusement that she did want to go to prison.

provocative set

Lady Saw then went into overdrive, dancing, gyrating and jokingly groping a cameraman as she reeled off songs like It's Raining, God He Knows, I'm Ready and Backshot, much to the delight of fans.

Before ending her well-received set, Lady Saw said in song I Love Me, using the track to get even more provocative, playfully stroking her crotch, which she said should be listed in Forbes Magazine.

Spice, who performed four places on the line-up earlier than Lady Saw, created a stunning impact with her entry, hitting the stage clad in a robot suit with flashing lights, the deejay also doing robotic movements. There were deafening screams when Spice lifted the helmet to reveal her face.

After starting off with a social commentary offering, musing "dat deh pon me brain", which lyrically chastised inept politicians, she went into overdrive. While Spice was doing A So

Mi Like It, there was pandemonium when she went on her 'head top', legs flailing and body gyrating in the air while she kept deejaying, one of her dancers holding the microphone to Spice's mouth.

With the crowd in her corner, Spice went on to reel off songs like Wine Up Mi Body, Romping Shop and Conjugal Visit. During this segment, she climbed halfway up one of the stage pylons and gave an aerial lesson in wining.

Among the male performers, the lyrically astute Gully Bop was the first to make his presence felt. Clad in a dazzling red outfit, he quickly made his mark, declaring "none a dem nuh bad like me".

Gully Bop promptly invited his 'wife/manager' Chin to join him onstage and, together, they sounded good in declaring her a "nice wife". On her own, Chin nailed the song Wife Mi Name. Gully Bop then took charge, stating "hot me hot" in song and deejaying "no long gun", before doing Body Specialist as the crowd urged him on.

After inviting M-Gee onstage to do Life Too Sweet, Gully Bop began poking fun at him. Thereafter, Gully Bop took on members of the audience, using his spontaneity to create witty lyrics on the spot, which generated much laughter.

Capleton, who was gracing the Reggae Sumfest stage for the first time in nine years, was very good, reeling off numerous hits from his catalogue. I-Octane, who performed just before Capleton, was also impressive.

Demarco, Popcaan, Konshens, Aidonia and Bugle all presented reasonably good sets and were well received by the crowd. However, the versatile Ding Dong, who was accompanied by the Ravers Clavers; and Dexta Daps, who was velvet-smooth, were dazzling, clearly showing why they are currently prominent on the local dancehall circuit.

Among the other acts, Massicka, a lyrically smooth Gage, Ryme Minista, Patexx, Gaza Slim, Ishawna and J Capri all gave good value for money with their refreshing performances. Ricky Teetz, who was among those who performed before the majority of the fans came in, was easily the best of the early acts, Teejay, Konfydence, Little Dainjah, Chilando, Sashae and Sativa also justified their inclusion in the line-up.