FROM the OBSERVER THE thousands of revellers who on Saturday, flocked to the Goodyear Oval in Morant Bay, St Thomas, for the second staging of Eastfest would have left on a musical high. But the night was distinguished by more than the superb musical feast dished up by the lengthy lineup of top flight artistes.

In one of the most touching gestures of goodwill in the history of stage shows in Jamaica, the spacious venue, already crowded with paying fans, was made even smaller, when Peter Morgan, lead vocalist of Morgan Heritage, instructed the security guards and gate personnel to open the gate so that the hundreds of persons on the outside could enter free of charge.

"I'm asking the police to open the gate, check the people at the gate for guns and knives and allow them to come in," said the entertainer whose musical family promotes the popular concert.

His goodwill gesture, sparked by difficulties patrons were having coming through the main entrance - for which he apologised - came as early as 1: 00 am, with a slew of top flight artistes, like Anthony B, Freddie McGregor, Luciano and Bounty Killer to come.

Morgan Heritage's set, shared with sibling group LMS, was short and lively, reaching a climax when Peter showed his tender side in a duet with Rae Rajkumar in Always On My Mind.

At minutes to 6:00 am Sunday morning, the scores of patrons, headed by member of parliament for the area, Anthon Hylton, began streaming out of the venue extremely satisfied after absorbing over nine hours of clean, exhilarating entertainment.

It was a show which could have been rated PG 15 and under, as little or no parental guidance was necessary. It was that clean. No foul langauge, no X-rated utterances, let alone, performances.

Not even from the Warlord, Bounti Killer who along with Richie Stephens and his mother, Mama Carmen were at centre stage when the Observer team called it a day.

Out of respect for the nature of the event, the Killer who like a number of his fellow deejays have been targeted by the police for using foul language on stage, was obliged to be restrained.

"This is Eastfest, mi nuh have nobody fi badda mi and put mi unda no stress. So mi can relax and focus pon weh mi ah deal wid," or words to that effect, was how the Killer rationalised, perhaps his most dignified appearance since Reggae Sumfest.

But the Warlord was far from yielding to what he deemed as pressure from the authorities to supress his freedom of expression, because they want to take away the voice of a voiceless segment of society.

"Soon oonu nah goh have nuh voice. Because di only time dem hear weh oonu sey a when mi put it pon record and dem buy and goh home a dem yard go play it," Bounty Killer told his adoring fans who responded wildly to his words.

The defiant Warlord, who was unsparing in his damnation of the government and politicians in general, threatened to resist efforts to curb his utterances with mass protest in the streets.

Before the Killer's appearance, acts such as Abijah, Warrior King, Anthony B, Barrington Levy, Coco T, Freddie McGregor, Marcia Griffiths, all had one thing in common. Each performance invoked the trademark live show salute of flickering lighters, a symbol of approval reserved for only those stints that dazzle.

However, Barrington Levy and Coco T were in a class by themselves. If Levy was awesome, then Coco T was mesmerising. Remarkably effortless they both were, as in their own inimitable styles, each had the crowd lapping up every note of their delivery. Each in his own way teased with every musical item from their expansive catalogue of hit songs.

With daughter Yeshemabeth on backing vocals, Freddie McGregor was delightful, soothing and steady.

Luciano while being steady, was a tad below his usual scintillating self, despite his extolling of the virtues of the weed, complete with spliff in hand. Everton Blendah worked a good set while Sugar Minott, who chose to perform a number of unfamiliar songs, while exposing several members of his Youthman Promotion stable, was not quite hitting the mark and overstayed his time on stage a bit.

With his signature anti-establishment lyrics was as explosive as you can get. Warrior King was a breath of fresh air, making his mark with Pagan and Virtuous Woman. Abijah was in good nick, enlivening the place with his stage mobility and vocal sincerity. Marcia Griffiths worked hard and long, but didn't get the backing she deserved from the band.

There were no fewer than four short band changes made bearable by Mutabaruka, one of two emcees, and his thought-provoking commentaries. The other emcee, was Richard "Richie B" Burgess, while New York-based disc jock Pat McKay introduced Marcia Griffiths.