A DI SWEETEST TIME @ La Gioconda 01.20.01 

Music by Baby Blue, King Turbo, Military, Bus Da Dance … By now many of you have heard about the unfortunate circumstances that ended one of the best dances of the early 2001 year. Advertised as “The Sweetest Time”, Steenie’s birthday bash had featured a hi-power DJ lineup of King Turbo, Military, Ron Bus Da Dance Nelson, and the Baby Blue Sound Crew Saturday January 20th at the Gioconda.

Missing was Superfresh, as Steenie had removed himself and his Superfresh sound from the dance, as he did not want any troublemakers on that night. Not the case for Steenie. By 12:00 midnight, there were at least 150 ladies who had gotten into his dance free by meeting a “Ladies Free b4 midnight” deadline. Before that, the Gioconda was relatively empty as Military started with their early juggling.

By 1:30 am, it was clear the the Gioconda would be rammed, as there were already close to 500 people inside, and a strong and steady line up at the door. Clearly, the combination of free before midnight and hiring Baby Blue had worked, as there were a trailer load a girls in the place, including many young, new faces who had most likely never been to a reggae function before. Little did they know they were about to experience a night they would never forget.

By 2:15 am, Bus Da Dance had closed off a wicked 45 minute set. Baby Blue was up next, followed by King Turbo, so the people were hyped and the dance was about ready to bus! When Baby Blue took to the turntables, the tempo of the dance went up, as there had been no R&B or Hip Hop played previously during the night. 

About 20 minutes into Baby Blue’s set, gun shots went off. Once the first shot rang, they didn’t seem to stop, as hundreds of people and girls were heard screaming louder with every shot. During the chaos, lights were not turned on so people were scrambling for hiding places and exits in the dancehall darkness. People who had just been dancing and socializing were suddenly left running for their lives, looking for hiding places while wondering which directions bullets would be flying.

After about 2 minutes of madness, the shooting stopped, lights were turned on, and those who remained were all left to see the madness. A number of people had been cut, one lady with a giant gash in her leg probably from broken glass. People were looking for their coats, the belongings, and their loved ones. The stack of speakers belonging to the sound system had been turned over on the floor, and they may have even tried to rob the bar ( a loud shot had rang right in front of it). 

The scene was similar to what one would see after a bomb blast, and in a matter of minutes, the venue was full of Police. I looked at Steenie, who while walking around in disarray, stopped for a moment and buried his head in his hands on a table, feeling helpless and exhausted no doubt. It was supposed to be The Sweetest Time, not gentile. By the time they had gotten there, the gunmen had left.

On the news, it was made clear that nobody had been shot, but that a number of people had been hospitalized for injuries. 

When I heard from Steenie later, he stated his disbelief as to why people would do this to someone. Afterall, his party was packed and he was making money. He even had his mom and dad and loved ones working for him. He thought certain people had entered his dance and shot it up on purpose due to envy and jealousy. I told him that as usual, he best be prepared to answer questions and concerns about security, how did they let guns into the dance? And why were people entering from the back doors? 

Now that a few days have gone by, this dance has still been the talk for this whole week. The shooting was a terrifying experience for the 650 strong who were there, and only a few weeks earlier at the same venue, troublemakers had also shot up the Bass Odyssey dance. 

Looking back, I’m sad for anybody who got hurt, as nobody deserves this kind of fate. I have no doubt that the scene will suffer for a little while now, as it usually does after a shooting. I can still remember the look on the Baby Blue selector’s faces, as in bewilderment and disbelief, they uttered the words, “never again” – meaning it would be the last time they played at reggae dances in the local scene.

A few promoters have already called me with information about their change of venue for their dances originally scheduled for the Gioconda. The Metromedia promoters switched their venue, and also demanded a refund on their deposit from the Gioconda. They wouldn’t give it back, saying that he and his own people were to blame for putting their venue in jeopardy.

This was the same response I had gotten a few years back when I tried to get back my $500 from The Gio Conda after a security person had gotten killed there. The manager was angry at me and Black people in general due to the way he saw us conducting ourselves in our dancehall. 

I have no love for The Gioconda, but of course, we’ll go back there again in the future…when we do what we always do…forget the past, to party in the present. We’ll hear the rest of the story when Steenie visits Friday Night Reggaemania this Friday.