The night Rose stole the show

CALYPSO ROSE (Mc Cartha Lewis) emerged as the performer who created the biggest impact with patrons attending “Our Icons In Concert” at the Jean Pierre Complex in Woodbrook, last Saturday night. Introduced by Calypso Queen of the World from 1988 to 1991 Denyse Plummer as “the acknowledged Calypso Queen of the World,” Rose, who became the first Calypso “Monarch” in 1978 and won back-to-back Road March titles in 1977 and 1978, gave an exhilarating performance of her four-song repertoire comprising the selections “I Thank Thee,” “Tempo,” “Her Majesty,” and “Fire Fire.”

Seemingly buoyed by the audience’s positive response to her efforts, the extremely fit 63-year old entertainer asked for and received patrons’ permission to overstay her allotted time on stage to offer her particular interpretation of “Green, Green Grass of Home.” A presentation of Randy Glasgow Promotions, the event attracted a disappointing turnout of less than 3,000 persons. Advertised as “an Independence gift to the nation,” the weighty playbill, in many instances, did not live up to what was expected. One would have thought the featured artistes would have seized the opportunity to proudly showcase their “morally uplifting” works on the occasion, it being in celebration of the 41st anniversary of the nation’s Independence.

What we experienced, instead, was some ill-chosen selections by the calypsonians (apart from Rose) and a totally insensitive dramatic presentation by comedian Learie Joseph and his colleague that tested one’s patience, not only for having to endure its length, but the questionable language in its content as well. Four-time Calypso Monarch Duke’s beautiful opening “Freedom” song in which he sings about “the day of all days to remember, when we marched in the rain with our Premier,” lost its significance when his following choices included “No Bra Look,”  “Answer The Question” and “Freaking Streaking.” The Mighty Sparrow’s appearance on the stroke of midnight was greeted with fireworks signaling the dawn of Independence Day 2003. His uplifting, highly appropriate opening with the Independence classic “A Model Nation” was soon forgotten when he swung into his fast-paced 40-minute stock repertoire of bawdy songs consisting of “Margarita,” “Marajin,” “Doh Back Back,” “Drunk and Disorderly,” “Miss Mary,” “Royal Jail,” “Bentwood Dick,” “Sa Sa Yea” and “Jean and Dinah,” to name a few.

The slotting of PCS Starlift Steel Orchestra to open after the interval was an error in judgment. With the audience not fully settled in their seats, the band’s performance suffered as a result. As well, no one saw it fit to announce the titles of the chosen selections. On the plus side, though, was the exposure to the public of 12-year old Dariem Charles singing the National Anthem while accompanying himself on the steelpan. The Form Two student of El Dorado Secondary Comprehensive School and resident of Sangre Grande is one of very few individuals who can undertake both tasks simultaneously. Then there was the soothing style of renowned sitarist Mungal Patasar and his group Pantar, performing “Dreadlocks” and “Nirvana,” the title track from their CD of the same name. The combined musical wizardry of arranger Leston Paul on keyboards/synthesizer and pannist Len “Boogsie” Sharpe on double second pans was another outstanding highlight of the evening. Together they created pure magic with “Just The Two Of Us” and “Pan Night And Day,”

Brother Resistance opened the playbill, offering “Tonight Is The Night” and “Ring De Bell.” In the energetic stage performance he lost his headgear,  exposing publicly, perhaps for the first time, his well-managed ankle-length dreadlocks. SuperBlue,  selected as the closing act, offered an almost full version of “Soca Baptist” and a small portion of “Ethel” before showcasing his Road March winners “Bacchanal Time,” and  “Jab Jab,” along with “Signal To Lara.” Also appearing were the Carol La Chapelle Dance Company, Shiv Shakti Dancers and Dennis “Sprangalang” Hall. Musical accompaniment was supplied by Roy Cape Kaiso All Stars, with chorus work performed by Judy David and Marilyn Williams.