2013 Celebration Time Tent Review by Stephanie Chase As patrons entered the Plantation Theatre they were greeted by a smiling clown who was giving out balloons. I was given a black poodle much to my delight and that was one of the highlights of my night. The show themed “Calypso Circus” started at 8:12 with a circus show that contained four colorfully dressed dancers, one mother sally, one green monkey, one stilt walker and one juggler. Some members of the audience appeared bewildered by the presentation which contained tunes from the Disney Animation Madagascar and 40 seconds calypso. The Circus theme was not evident for the rest of the night. Khiomal kick started the show with his 2013 tune RECIPE. The song contains a catchy chorus “Hands up! Hangs Up! Feel the vibes, We jumping up! Party time and We wukking up! We got the recipe, this is how we party.” Over the years we have seen Khiomal blossom into a wonderful performer. He engaged the audience with his charming smile, stage presence and energetic dancing but most importance his voice was pristine and diction was clear. Queen T was up next with SOCA JUMBIE. She started out a bit out of tempo and pulled up the Band. Throughout her performance she was pitchy, out of breath and looked very uncomfortable on stage. If anyone feel asleep during Queen T’s performance New comer Phenomenon woke them up with his SOCA ARMY. He started out with what could only be described as an ear-peircing wail. What he lacked in vocal ability he certainly made up for with his high energetic performance and confidence. He commanded the attention of all and sundry especially when he started to wine and incorporate slick Michael Jackson dance moves. He received the only encore for the night. If he improves his diction prior to judging he would be one to watch. Anita Charles; former Junior Calypso Monarch was up next with her social commentary offering SELLING VOTES which has a very familiar melody. The song is pretty self-explanatory and deals with the repercussions of vote selling to the highest bidder. Her diction was clear but the delivery was extremely laid back. Her second selection for the night was THE STRUGGLE which was written by herself. Unfortunately this was the weaker of her two performances, she forgot lyrics, missed cues, fell behind the band and visibly off-set. She cut the song short and ended by saying that she would never sing anything but social commentary. Ishiaka McNeil was the MC and he gave the audience a sneak peak into his song WHO VOTE FOR DEM? Which is a cleverly written song highlighting the social ills in society and the decisions being made by political aficionados. He got everyone really into the song before cutting it short and promising to complete the writing of the song in time for Pic-O-De-Crop judging. First Timer Mr. Inc offered BUMBER ROLLING appeared timid on stage, needs to work on his diction, tonality and audience interaction. Another new comer to the tent was presented to patrons. He was Wakeed with PLAY MAS. He has a clear, strong voice with a refreshing tone and was one of the few artists on the night who could actually sing! Ramases is consistent and always manages to write songs that capture the essence of life in Barbados during crop over. His offerings for 2013 include PRIVILEGE and OK which had no impact on the audience whatsoever……He should concentrate on writing for other artists. Barry Chandler was given a warm welcome back and his remake of Carew’s SNAKES IN THE GRASS is a huge hit! He had the attention of all present especially with the line” A lotta of rattle snakes in DLP also in BLP they power hungry …..alot of rattle snakes in the party trying to trick we -they money hungry, snakes in the grass you better run real fast, so run Mia run Owen coming with a gun! ” He spoke of his drug addiction and in two weeks he would be celebrating one year that he has been clean. Kudos to him. His second song CROP OVER should have made it to the Sweet Soca Semi-finals but unfortunately it did not. The song is one of the sweetest songs for the season. Barry Chandler was in fine form! Welcome Back!! The Specialist sang his entire song ONE PARTNER with his eyes closed most of the time and failed to engage the audience. TSI who was announced as a Sweet Soca Semi-Finalist reminded me that sometimes what we hear on CDs is not what we hear live. She was was flat and had no concept of how to perform the song. The only question of the night came from Cooper Dan with HOW YOUR BUMBER GET SO BROAD? The catchy tune had people with bumbers of all sizes wining in their seats. Richard Antonio from the band Kryptonyte tried to get the audience to FAN DE FIRE but his high energy performance was not enough to move the audience. Ras Iley performed his COMING DOWN much to the delight of the audience. The handsome Kirk Browne brought the night to a close with FRENZY. There was no sign of Edwin Yearwood, Rhesa Garnes or Shanta Prince. Ishiaka McNeil did a good job of keeping the audience engaged with humour, singing and dancing. He was the constant highlight throughout the night. During intermission patrons were treated to the wonderful soca tunes out of Trinidad & Tobago. One would have thought that the 20 minutes would have been used to promote the music of the artists in the tent. Having interacted with members of the audience disappointment was expressed with the standard of opening night, the fact that tickets were unavailable at Lucky Horseshoe Outlets because the system was down and patrons still having to pay $30 at the door. The 13 member Band led by Randy Eastmond did a good job; however, the only inconsistency came from the background vocalists. For video footage of the performances Visit my YouTube channel at youtube/stephaniichase
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 12:28:03 +0000
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