My formula is very simple – don’t take a serious disposition into a calypso tent and you are certain to have a ball.
It worked on Sunday night at the St Leonard’s Boys’ Secondary School auditorium when House of Soca pitched its tent. It was not perfect, but it was worth the time spent, and I would venture to suggest that any patron who did not enjoy the night was just too serious.
And that’s why my “pick of the night” was veteran Popsicle, followed by Shaki-K. And here’s the advice of a non-calypsonian to calypsonians – it is possible to deal with the most serious subject by injecting a healthy dose of humour, and in most cases the audience will both enjoy and remember your work.
I dare anyone who attended House of Soca’s launch to tell me they can’t remember what Popsicle sang about. I also dare anyone to tell me he did not deal with a serious subject, and I further dare anyone who was there to tell me that at worst they did not manage a broad smile when he performed.
His first song Dah Don’t Bother Me explained that with all the problems with the economy, he is “not leaving my mother place” where he is being treated like a VIP, while not having to pay rent, or any other bills for that matter. Popsicle understands traditional calypso and the crowd loved it, providing him with the tent’s first encore of the night.
I predict that by the time the season is over it will be one of the “anthems” for Crop Over 2014.
While his second song did not touch the audience the same way, Fogging, which he executed dressed like a mosquito, again demonstrated how the humorous treatment of serious business will always captivate. The crowd loved it when he sang about how he had no time to pack either “suitcase or toothpaste when the fog started filling up de place”.
Without the experience of a veteran like Popsicle, Shaki-K instead used the training from her time as a Junior Monarch competitor to win the audience with Isn’t It Funny – a clever play on events that made the news over the past year or so. I even enjoyed the part in which she poked fun at me and my movement between The Nation and Barbados Today and when she took a jab at the quality of journalism today.
You have a good voice, your diction is better than many, you work the stage well and you have a lot of years ahead of you to perfect them all. Keep it up.
Superior acoustics
From the time I entered the St Leonard’s hall, with Gallon on the stage doing De Economy, I wondered why this facility is not more heavily used during Crop Over. It is in many ways a better location than House of Soca’s traditional stomping ground at Queen’s College. Maybe it’s the quality of the soundman’s work, but I could not help sensing that the acoustics at Richmond Gap were superior.
Gallon’s performance of De Economy was full of energy, his lyrics and style compelling and the audience remained with him from beginning to end. Those who followed held their own: Honesty with Fah Country (a call to action for Barbadians to give more thought to the things they can do to lift their country), Franswaa with The Games We Play was excellent imagery using the language of games such as Snakes and Ladders and Hearts to comment on some of the social ills that confront the society, and Malik with Captain In Charge, a political commentary that left no doubt about his subject when he noted that “somebody sleeping when he should be awake”.
Interestingly, Malik took to the mic with a warning that he hoped he could remember his lyrics – so when he forgot everyone took it in style. In any event the brass accompaniment was so sweet it was like an interlude while you waited for him to pick back up.
Sir Ruel is a fine singer – and growing. His What We Need spoke of rebuilding our beautiful nation, the need to pull together to overcome our challenges, that there’s no room for selfishness. The fact that mid-song he provoked a generous applause from the audience showed patrons appreciated him.
Sugar Mikard’s These Bees was another episode in well-crafted traditional social commentary, with a tempo that’s certain to provoke energetic “chipping” behind a truck on Kadooment Day. And with his clear diction, calypso lovers can easily sing along as he warns “De bees coming . . . be careful with dem Bees”, in the process poking fun at Ronald Jones and Richard Sealy, and even touching on alleged differences between Mia Mottley and Owen Arthur.
So if you’re looking for a night of good clean calypso in a cool and relaxing atmosphere, St Leonard’s auditorium is the place to be on Thursday night when the House of Soca returns to face the Pic-O-De-Crop judges.
roymorris@nationnews.com
