As I was making my way to Bailey?s Bay on Wednesday night to see Vibes Cartel, Styles P and Sizzla, I was panicking as it was already after 11 p.m. and I still needed to grab some cash from the ATM.

By the time I parked and was searched, it was 11.45 p.m. and I thought to myself, ?Surely, I?ve missed at least one act.?

But that was not to be the case, as I realised that not even the local entertainers had graced the stage. I knew I was in for a long night, the only question was how memorable was it going to be?

It could easily be said that thousands of people attended the pre-Cup Match show, hosted by Palm Rock Entertainment, but I?m not sure if I can say that everyone left happy. Lanky Boy had the crowd in a nice vibe as he played a variety of tunes, but there was only so much he could do to keep the masses contented. The place was rammed, the mood was peaceful, but by 1 a.m. people were loudly querying when the show was going to begin?

When the emcee finally made an appearance, his message was almost laughable. He commended everyone for keeping the peace yet he finished his spiel with shouting ?Burn Babylon? (police). So was he calling for continued peace or peace towards everyone but the man? Hmmm?

Okay, on with the show. Local vocalist J Yella sang a couple of songs, and she did a good job, but I felt she was fighting a losing battle with the increasingly impatient crowd. While it appeared that only a handful of revellers cheered her on, the response was in no way a true reflection of her performance; it?s just that she gave a good showing at the wrong time. The only person people were aching to see was Sizzla, and by now the reality was setting in that he was still nowhere to be seen. And there were still at least a couple more acts to perform before he got his turn on the stage.

Rapper Monster, with his deep yet raw lyrics and longtime singer Ali had the crowd on their toes, so when international rapper Styles P of D Block made his entrance they were ready to get the night going. Despite a technical glitch, Styles P gave a high-energy performance. Did any of you wonder if the Police pulled out the plug when he started performing ?I get high?? It seems a little fishy to me (smile).

For someone who was billed as one of the featured performers of the concert, Styles P only made a quick appearance, considering that Vibes Cartel never even made it to the Island. Oh well.

It?s now 1.45 in the morning and the emcee informed us that Sizzla was about to take the stage. But how could that be? When was the band going to set up? Then it clicked. There was no band. While this may not seem unusual to some, I had never been to a show where an international star is not backed by a live band. To me, that?s an injustice for someone of Sizzla?s calibre, but that seemed like only a minor detail in the end as popular deejay Trooper (formerly of Killamajaro) spun tracks for Sizzla so well that you never would have known the difference. Trooper knew exactly how to bring out Sizzla?s talents to the fullest and the crowd was not disappointed. The reggae star gave a stellar performance. Even the intermittent rain showers could not dampen the crowd?s spirits as they hardly moved when pelted with drops. All they wanted all night was Sizzla and a little bit of rain was not going to stop them from getting what they had been waiting for.