The crown prince of dancehall Buju Banton was the headliner at this year's "Reggae Superfest '97''. But it was up-and-coming artist Anthony B who took the spotlight at Saturday night's concert.

The concert, which started around 10.30 p.m., began with two noteworthy local acts.

Fat Jaw, who bills himself as a Christian artist, made local political commentary through his music in the style of the Trinidadian calypsonians.

Using the popular "Joyride'' tune, Fat Jaw took a swipe at Operation Cleansweep singing "I'm taking a ride, a ride, a ride/Down to the Station''.

And Elephant's ruff-and-ready performance put the better-known foreign artist Baby Cham to shame.

Baby Cham, who came outfitted in camouflage, gave a less-than-impressive performance.

Despite singing many of this year's popular dancehall anthems such as "Joyride'' and "Strange Things'', his voice sounded consistently strained.

But the performance by Anthony B succeeded in doing what no other artist that night seemed to be able to accomplish -- getting the crowd hyped.

Anthony B came on stage wearing a black outfit, turban, and a cape trimmed with red, gold and green.

The content and style of Anthony B's music have many fans claiming that it resumed where the late, great Garnett Silk left off.

Waving a staff in his left hand, he treated the audience to conscious lyrics and an electric performance.

Every song was a hit with the audience, especially "So Many Things,'' "Cold Feet'', and his hot single "Raid the Barn''.

The mellow tones of Frankie Paul's smooth voice was in sharp contrast to the previous acts.

He managed to perform most of his numerous golden oldies, including "Sarah'', "Cushong Peng'', "Alisha'' and the ever-popular "Cassanova''.

But despite the huge crowd that waited until Buju Banton's 1 a.m. appearance, the vibe for Buju's portion of the show fell flat.

Don't get me wrong. I love Buju just as much as any dancehall reggae fan in Bermuda. But his performance left me and more than a few others at Bernard Park feeling slightly...deflated. And it wasn't from a lack of effort on his part.

Buju leapt on stage, shoulder-length dreadlocks flying, and immediately began chattin' up the microphone with his trademark gravelly voice.

The majority of songs he performed were from his most recent album "Til Shiloh''. However, he also performed some of his older favourites from "Mr.

Mention'' such as "Brownin'' and "Movie Star''. He included a dub plate of "Love How De Gal Dem Flex'', changing the words to "Love How Bermudians Flex''.

Amid the blaring airhorns and blowtorches made from cans of Baygon, Buju performed the gamut of his current hit tunes.

And although the audience responded to the first 15 seconds of mega-hits such as "Champion'', "Til I'm Laid To Rest'', "Wanna Be Loved'' and "Not An Easy Road,'' the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd was obvious.

It seems that as much as Bermudians play Buju's music, we just never seem to show him much love when he's actually here.

One member of the audience compared the sound of Buju's Shiloh Band to a cocktail lounge act. This isn't to say that they weren't talented, but the music was not what we traditionally associate with the dancehall vibe.

One of the things that makes dancehall reggae so appealing is its slightly raw edge, which despite Buju's trademark gravelly voice, seemed missing from the performance. But I guess that international acclaim is bound to have its price.

KIM DISMONT ROBINSON CONCERT REVIEW REV