Alison's last mas for 2010

SOCA QUEEN Alison Hinds was in her element when she appeared at The Ship Inn last Thursday night. Hinds, who is preparing to leave for performances at Trinidad Carnival, treated local fans to a rare appearance and it was the first time she was in concert for a number of years. She took to the stage around 12:52 a.m. and for the next hour-and-a-half or so, she thrilled her admirers with hits like Aye Aye Aye, Carnival Baby, Bazodee, In De Meantime, DJ Ride, Roll, Ragamuffin, Faluma and Togetherness. Hinds also tossed in new releases Makalele and Soca Queen, which are for Trinidad Carnival. There was good interaction between her and her seemingly calypso-starved fans who, on this penultimate day of 2010, could not get enough of the Crop-Over music. As expected, Hinds invited members of the audience to come on stage to show their worth. One youngster from the Barbados Community College crew got a lot of respect for his skilful display of waistline shots with and without Hinds and also went home with one of the many prizes that were up for grabs. Hinds encouraged fans to stay tuned to her on Twitter, so that they would be the first to hear of her plans to take soca music to Broadway. Hinds was the main attraction on the night, a status normally reserved for Strategy. The band got the show under way with a set that ranged from R&B, to reggae, to soca. The three lead singers mixed it up for fans with tracks like Down, What’s My Name, Be My Girl, Billionaire, No No No, If Jah, Pump Me Up, Keep Drinks Coming, I In Dat, Buss A Wine and Dat Is All I Want. (YB)