HUNDREDS of Happy Feet were doing the La La and Foot On Fire dances in rain-soaked sand with gay abandon last Sunday night. People from all parts of St Philip and throughout the rest of the country converged en masse on Skeete’s Bay to pay tribute to an “outstanding” son of the soil. Fittingly, the celebration was in the heart of Bayfield where nine-time calypso monarch Red Plastic Bag was raised. The inaugural Crop-Over meltdown attracted several of the major players for Crop-Over, who formed part of the line-up of entertainers celebrating the man who placed third in this year’s competition.
Patrons had to wait until just after 6 p.m. to see their favourite performers, but the growing crowd patronised the stalls, which had a variety of beverages, fishcakes, traditional Sunday fare, popcorn, cotton candy and other treats on sale. The location was also perfect for socialising, and patrons got their groove on in the sea and on the sand, and chatted with family and friends in the interim. Members of the Scrawl Up Federation, which includes Pong, Contone and Hannibal Smith, got the show under way and warmed up fans with a medley of their songs from through the years. Leggo My Bird and My Car Brek Down and an a cappella tune from Pong were included in the set.
After a lengthy rain break, which saw people scampering for the limited shelter that was available, Party Monarch and Soca Royale champ Blood and Mikey of the Soca Kartel had people partying and revelling in the rain to hits like Whole Place Mash Up, We Luv It, Charge Up, Foot On Fire, Bandanas, Back It Up, Boom Bam, I in Dat, and Party Anthem were among the songs they dropped in the two-part set. People’s Monarch Mr Dale was also in the line-up, and he performed Soka Junkie and Drop It. The man of the evening Red Plastic Bag took to the stage around 8:30 a.m. He thrilled fans with Wrong Gal, La La, Ragga Ragga and Something’s Happening.
Bag was also presented with a token for his contribution to calypso over the years by parliamentary representative for the area and organiser of the event, Michael Lashley. Hypa Dawg Li’l Rick was another crowd-pleaser and he sang Big Hail, the popular Guh Down and Hard Wine. The highlight of Li’l Rick’s time on stage was arguably when he performed Happy Feet from the Hypa Kids. He and Mikey chose a kid and sang the parts just like the little one. It was delightful stuff! Other acts on the night included Peter Ram, who sang a song about the alleged altercation between Calypso Monarch Gabby and Festival Stage host Admiral, and Lorenzo.
by Yvette BEST
