Region shines in Soca Monarch

Arima had become the traditional home of the semi-finals until it was moved to the Queen’s Park Savannah two years ago. Some people like Colin, who wished only to be identified as such, said the semi-finals lost its vibes when it moved to Port-of-Spain. Colin said he was not sure that many of the die-hards would turn out but was sure of one thing that “the event would have vibes.”

Another Arima resident, who wished not to be identified, said chairs should have been placed at the venue for patrons, but was generally satisfied with the early part of the show.

The early part of the show saw only a handful of people for its scheduled 5pm start but the crowd grew as time moved on. This year the show began promptly at 5pm with Omardath Maharaj singing “Ramsingh.” There were other major acts including Chuck Gordon, Patrice Roberts and New York/Jamaican Jason “Linky First” Henriques performing in the first half. There were deviations from slotted appearances as some artistes arrived earlier than others and the organisers allowing them to perform. After his presentation in eighth position, Jason “Linky First” Henriques said he believed he would move to the finals and did not expect as much love from the Trinidadian audience for his hit “Rock and Come In.”

The evening saw the crowd grow slowly but steadily. Acts such as Barbadian Damian Marvay had patrons swaying and singing to, “Know The Face.”

Daryl “Farmer Nappy” Henry was also a big crowd pleaser, as they sang along with him to his hit, “Technically” which he performs with Destra Garcia. He told the audience, however, that Garcia could not perform with him at the event because of some vocal difficulties but he promised if he made it to the finals she would be there with him.

Barbadian Peter Ram was also popular with “Good Morning.” He told Newsday after his performance that, “he felt wonderful…I had a wonderful performance.Dancers did a wonderful job and I am thankful.”

He said he would love to get into the finals. Asked if he felt that the number of Barbadians in the competition was wind of a second Bajan invasion as it was then dubbed in the late 1990s, Peter Ram said, “I don’t look at it as a Bajan invasion. I look at it as culture. Trinis working with the Bajans. Trinis writing their hard tunes and come with the Red Boyz [Barbadian music producers] it is a combination....so I call it a culture celebration with Trinidad and Barbados. I would love to see St Vincent, St Lucia, Grenada, Guyana combining as well…”

Devon Matthews in collaboration with Ella Andall were also favourites with their performance of “D Journey”. Some of the highlights in the latter half of the competition were performances by Iwer George and Sekon Sta. The moment the intro to George’s “Take A Bathe” played, the crowd went into a frenzy and started singing before the artiste did. As the veteran artiste performed, one man in the crowd held a hose and sprayed water inviting people to “take a bathe”.George also threw bottles of water to the crowd. During his performance, George spoke about the Ultimate Rejects and their song “Full Extreme” quoting the line “the city could bun down.” He assured that if that were to happen, he has the water. “The city can’t burn down when Iwer on stage,” he said

Soon after Sekon Sta (Nesta Boxhill) came to perform his 2017 offering, “Kings and Queens.” Dressed all in white Sekon was accompanied on stage by a full choir and Hubert Peter “Flagman” Diaz. He had the crowd’s attention from beginning to end as they sang along and followed his every move.Joining the younger artistes was veteran calypsonian Lord Nelson.The 86-year-old walked on stage with his cane but the moment he began his performance he quickly threw it on the ground. Lord Nelson dressed in a lavender suit sang his tune “Sugar Mammy” while displaying his signature moves. At the two-minute mark of his performance Lord Nelson took off his jacket, then his hat. He then slowly unzipped his suit just a little. Many wondered if he would have taken it off completely as he has done for many years.However, he did not. Lord Nelson ended his performance with more than a minute left and the crowd cheered.

Also performing in the latter half were two of the youngest competitors, Enrico Camejo and Aaron Duncan, who both gave energetic displays.