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Delightful pan music
Posted: Friday, July 26, 2002
By Peter Ray Blood
The weekend past was one filled with delightful pan music. From Friday evening the national instrument held centre stage, with PCS Starlift holding its Back in Times Dance at its Woodbrook yard. The event was attended by a well balanced mix of young and old, dancing the night away to the music of “Pal” Joey Lewis Orchestra and Allan “Honey Boy” Diaz.
While Saturday night’s Kings Hold Court at The Hilton was historical and a positive step forward by Pan Trinbago, I left the venue with mixed feelings. Headlined the best in pan and calypso in Witco Desperadoes and Sparrow, the opening acts of Dexter Theophile, Blakie and Len “Boogsie” Sharpe were also of premium quality.
Unfortunately, I am still to be convinced why, after paying as much as $250 for a special reserved ticket, patrons were expected to maintain a feeling of being at a special occasion after being sold wine in paper cups. This week I raised this concern with a couple of the hotel’s management and was given the utterly ridiculous explanation that there is a risk to serving drinks in glasses at poolside events.
I have been going to Hilton’s poolside for over 35 years and I have never noticed drinks being served in paper cups. Makes one wonder whether this special treatment was due to residual contempt carried over from the old days that pan folk are only good enough for wine in paper cups.
Anyway, Sparrow and Despers didn’t disappoint on Saturday night, although it was obvious to me that they would have been that much better with some more rehearsals. Nonetheless, the venture was another of Pan Trinbago’s new innovative projects and one which deserves acclaim and encouragement.
The weekend’s real fun event, however, took place on Sunday, at BWIA Invaders panyard. The venerable Woodbrook steel orchestra was continuing its monthly Sunday Wit’ de Champs series and its guests this time were National Panorama champion, Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars, and 2002 Down Memory Lane champion, Woodbrook Playboyz.
Included in the fun was the admission of 25 cents per inch on patrons waistlines. Some patrons gave the term “suck it in” a new meaning as they tried to fool the inch tape, not to mention save blushes as the measurements were announced by gate personnel.
Both All Stars and Playboyz attacked Invaders with full force, musically, causing the Woodbrook band to pull out all stops. All Stars and Invaders had Playboyz’s pannists scratching their heads as both bands had the crowded panyard swaying with infectious interpretations of Bob Marley’s “War” and “We Jammin’.”
One Playboyz member was overheard saying: “We really have to learn ah Bob Marley. I can’t believe we ent have one of dem in we arsenal.”
To cap off a wonderful weekend of pan, Invaders raffled a bottle of vodka and provided patrons with a tasty oil down, the breadfruit of which PRO Jim Inniss swears was picked from the huge breadfruit tree in the centre of the yard.
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