Big5 We goin’ down Sando review
Anyone who is into promotion will know that selling a cultural show in San Fernando is an uphill task, unless it is a chutney show. In addition to that, having it on a Thursday night, to me is a recipe for failure. However, the Big5 did it again. The car parks are always a giveaway and last evening it was full of cars. I arrived on time because I was hired by Mr. Claude Gonzales for my newly found skill as a journalist to report on the event. As people streamed into the venue, the show was started on time which is a standard set by the Big5. The anthem was played on time and Supernovas began their set.
The venue was south NAPA’s theatre and the ambiance was one of a first class concert. Ushers assisting patrons to their seats, carpet wall to wall, fully air conditioned venue, extremely impressive stage lighting and I must also mention, that I have never heard voice and pan sound as beautiful as it did at any other venue. My complements to the sound engineer. I noticed most patrons did not dress for the venue. People were casual and even their attitudes were not for the upper class setting they were plunged into. They spoke to each other while performances were going on, they waved their hands in the air from time to time and at the end got up and danced, however, others did not seem to mind the casualness of those people’s behaviour.
I am a hard critic, especial of pan. Music needs to interfere with my emotions, and audio-visual performances are supposed to excite both my senses. Supernovas did that with a high energy performance and a good tone from their band which was well accompanied by the acoustics of the venue. The highlight of the night and in my view the best performance of the evening, was a male singer they accompanied who sang Frank Sinatra’s MY WAY. That performance got a standing ovation. My only critique is that some of the songs were only verse and chorus and to me in a concert style setting, more music is needed.
On the contrary, Skiffle is a band I criticise for having too much arrangement in their songs. It is usually inappropriate for the pan yard jams we usually play for. However, with the concert style setting they were in last evening, they were in the zone. During their performance, there was a drop in the enthusiasm of the audience judging from the applause. However, they blew people away whilst accompanying a female singer with the classic, Ave Maria. They ended with a performance by Benjai who livened up the show with two of his past hits. My critique towards Skiffle would be that they have some new music added to their repertoire and this critique would also apply to All Stars, although their fans do not seem to mind.
Last but not least, All Stars took to the stage and they performed like the stars they are. You could have felt the anticipation of the audience before the first note was struck. Then it dawned on me that this might be a north audience following their band to the south lands in support. I had criticised their performance of a classical piece at the last Big5 show which was at an outdoor setting. However, for this occasion, their rendition of IN A MONASTERY GARDEN was more than appropriate. They played their repertoire of songs and at the end they were presented an award by the mayor of San Fernando, Mr Regrello. As the curtain drew, the audience demanded their anthem. The curtains reopened and All Stars had no choice but the take their sticks from their back pockets and play WOMAN ON THE BASS.
The show ended on a high and by 11pm after meeting and greeting, I was back home. Congrats once again to the Big5 leading the way for Pan Trinbago to follow.
Replies
Who say that a pan show cannot start on time and end at a decent and acceptable time? Two in a row for the ISF and I hope that lessons are learnt by other organisers. I used to be a regular patron at the Grand Stand for Panorama but became impatient with the rate at which bands move on and then move off the stage. Patrons being subject to DJ music in the interval of a show that features our national instrument. When I purchase a ticket , it is because I want to hear pan. I wonder if anyone ever calculated the amount of hours that DJ music is played over the period allocated for the Panorama show? I still attend Panorama but stay on the outside, where I get my full share of continuous pan music and I am sure that I speak for many other persons. The length of the show is a whole other issue that the ISF has demonstrated acute management.
I attended the concert last Thursday staged by the ISF at NAPA South and thoroughly enjoyed it. It certainly was different to the previous event held in July. The first thing that struck me was the rich tonal quality of the Supernovas pans, even though I had heard them on several occasions over the years. The discipline and professionalism showed throughout their set but the sound engineer did not treat with the guitarist fairly. I am an All Stars supporter but felt quite contended at the end of Supernovas set. The gap between bands for the changeover of instruments needs to be addressed by the ISF. Multiple stages at the Savannah worked perfectly.
The tonal quality of the Skiffle pans was quite obviously not up to that which I had just experienced from Supernovas. Then they had a few members who stood on stage unable to play some of the music in their repertoire. The sound engineer added insult to injury when Benjai performed with the band.
All Stars were brilliant and I too could be seen dancing in the aisle to Woman on the Bass, after all it was the closing piece. A pan concert on a Thursday night and Friday was not a holiday!!!! Take a bow ISF.
Kwame is on point with the added information. he very observant.
Nice work Aquil. Do you have any idea why this event was not streamed?
bugs
i could find out
Thank you Aquil. You "The Man..."
After Rolly Polly and the gangstas retire to club jail, you make sure that someone provides weekly updates on Pan activities in Trinidad and Tobago in the new administration. In fact, don't wait, start now. Why does the Guardian need to bring in foreigners to write about Pan in Trinidad when capable folks like you are ready, available and talented?
bugs
bugs: THE RIGHT HONOURABLE AQUIL ARRINDELL (PRESIDENT OF PAN TRINBAGO IN WAITING) functions in the single capacity of REPORTER ON THE GROUND. He is not a part of the ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM that organizes the BIG 5 EVENTS. Please direct your query to Mr. Mohammed or Mr. Marcano. And in the process please invite them to come to the FORUM and give us some UPDATES from their organizational perspectives.
Aquil: The level of control you put in your report was masterful. Most people with your broad background and education in MUSIC would have felt the need to LET THE WORLD KNOW how much they really know about MUSIC and PAN MUSIC. But you just stayed faithful to the report and put your ego in your BACK POCKET.
Man, EVERYBODY from all over the PAN WORLD should be calling you and asking you to write some articles for them about PAN MUSIC.
And people doh even know that you are ONE OF THE BEST PAN ARRANGERS in the COUNTRY right now. So if any STEELBAND down in TRINIDAD looking to BREAK OUT for this PANORAMA 2018 they should SIGN YOU UP RIGHT NOW.
BIG BAND!!! MEDIUM BAND!!! SMALL BAND!!! Aquil Arrindell could deliver the WINNING ARRANGEMENT.
Mr claude you are the best manager any pan man could ask for. give yourself a next raise for the wonderful add you just put out. ha ha
ppl this is my second review, and it is only because I hired by Mr. claude. Just want ppl to know is claude fault. lol
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next