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December 19, 2007
COMEDY BUS AT BACKYAAD 2007
By: Kemesha Bolton
Backyaad has been the home of comedy for some time now and it was no surprise that it hosted the TVJ Comedy Bus final on Sunday December 16th 2007. The annual showcasing of comedic talent vying for top 'comedy bus' spot started at 8:00PM sharp as was specified
MC Pretty Boy Floyd was full of gimmicks and he began by lamenting on his hopes of going to a Greener Pasture "foreign." Floyd said, "When I jus get mi visa mi carry mi passport everywhere because mi would'nt like fi deh a Lemon yaad a watch news and hear seh mi house gutted with fire, an mi nuh travel yet? yuh mussi mad." He had patrons in stitches and this was just the beginning of his antics for the night.
At 9:50 PM, the results were aired via a projector and screen from the
studios of Television Jamaica. Dwight Samuels emerged the 2007 Comedy Bus winner and shouts of approval rang out at the Constant Spring venue as his name was announced. Gabre Nelson was second place, Dwayne Smith third and the lone girl in the competition Tashawna Gayle came in fourth.
As the audience waited patiently for them to arrive at Backyaad there were performances by contestants who fell "off the bus" and music juggling by popular DJ, DJ Inferno. First up was Dufton Shepherd who was extremely funny, even funnier than he was when he was among the top contestant one patron said. Suki was next but lost the audience the minute he stepped on the stage, other performances came from: Dalton Spence, Rohan Gunter the 2006 winner who was well received and Cadillac Dancers - who added a nice flavor to the evening with their hilarious dance drama.
On the arrival of the top four contestants at Backyaad, cheers were sent out in acceptance of the results. Johnny Daley entered the stage calling for his co-host Everaldo Creary and the Comedy Bus Party really started.
They ran up and down the stage singing the comedy bus theme song
"Comedy,comedy,comedy bus," igniting the energy and vibe.
Judges Winston "Bello" Bell and Audrey Reid received a warm welcome from the crowd and then it was time for the top four winners to touch the stage. Tashawna was first with a very good impersonation of Michael Jackson, she had all the girls screaming as she attempted to execute the moon walk. Dwayne Smith who many thought should have been second gave a performance fitting a first place winner, he had the audience wailing in laughter at every joke, but Gabre Nelson was not as lucky. It seemed as if he forgot his bag of jokes at the TVJ studios because right in the middle of his second "joke" the audience was screaming, "Time" and he had to be rescued by the very animated Pretty Boy Floyd who skillfully made him realize that he did not really need to perform because second place was already his along with one $100,000. Convinced of this Gabre collected his awards and left the stage immediately.
The man of the night, Dwight Samuels stepped out in confidence, very cool and collective as he entered the stage. His long awaited performance was very fulfilling, he took the audience through a series of math problems; "If a woman big at the top small at the bottom yuh call her an improper fraction." These scenarios had the crowd that had grown from its scanty start, in stitches. The biggest and most appreciated joke came with his impersonation of a pastor's rendition of the Beenie Man, D'Angel and Bounty Killa saga.
Comedy Bus 2007 was a "sell off" event - from the décor of venue and stage, to the vibe and energy of all in attendance, right up to the outstanding performances. There is no doubt that next year’s series will be one to look out for. Anyone who missed it, well what can I say but "hush," mek sure not to miss it next year.