'London nightlife' hits Jamaica

Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Musically it was a little too much 'London' at the wrong times at Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project.

Held on Saturday night, Hope Gardens, St Andrew, was transformed into the London style, as part of the worldwide nightlife exchange programme.

Fifty countries from all over the world, with a huge Smirnoff market exchanged nightlife experiences on Saturday night. The biggest celebration was probably in New York where superstar Madonna was hand-picking a new dancer to join her on tour.

True experience

Locally, Jamaica got a little of the London experience which was evident in the dress code, the music and venue.

When The Gleaner arrived at Hope Gardens, the venue was decked out in the British colors, with a stage for the selectors and Smirnoff dancers being the center of attention. Throughout the night, persons dressed as London guards kept the peace in the venue, while a lady dressed in old-fashioned London gear drew much attention with her attire.

Patrons also tried to keep to the theme coming out with their 'London swag'. While the venue wasn't conducive to the females and their heels, they didn't let that deter them from coming out looking like divas.

The night started out with DJ Sanjay from Coppershot on the wheels of steel as he easily built the vibe with throwback tunes like Tami Chynn's Hyperventilating and more. DJ Engine Room soon kicked the techno and house music into gear, songs like Party Rockers Anthem and Sexy And I Know It from LMAFO, as well as Black Eyed Peas' Gotta Feeling went well with patrons. However, while there were persons determined to have a good time dancing, after too much techno, most patrons seemed to lose their vibe.

DJ Sanjay tried to bring the back the vibe which he did for a while with a slew of Kartel songs such as Bike Back, Tun Up Di Scheme and the appropriate British Love.

After 2 a.m., a slew of fire antics went off to wow patrons as the party continued with more techno mixes. By the time the Federation's Max Glazer took over on the turntables at 3 a.m., the venue had started to clear as patrons made their exit. Glazer, however, managed to build a vibe for persons who remained behind, determined to stay and have a good time.