Fireman cools them at at Soca Monarch show

It was the bomb! And the International Soca Monarch Competition, staged at the Victoria Park on Saturday, July 2, provided an experience to remember.

It was an event that stimulated the hyped up crowd with intense energy. {{more}}

There were moments of high energy such as that when Delroy “Fireman Hooper” Hooper, performing his “Madder dan yuh” at No. 4, whipped the massive audience into a frenzy. He left such a high standard that several big name performers, such as defending monarch Bomani were made to look like mere added attractions to the Fireman roadshow.

Needless to say, Fireman went on to clinch the International Soca Monarch Title, pushing aside Bomani’s challenge with his “Blaze”.

This was a night when the estimated 15, 000 patrons who made it to the Victoria Park were able to gyrate all night long with dynamism, style and animation as they had fun. Some came in posses, some with their partners, and others came solo intending to have a great party.

The show kicked off at 8:15 p.m. with an entertainment package put on by the Aduke Limbo Dancers out of Tobago. Patrons were enthralled as the dancers maneuvered their bodies under burning horizontal poles, mere inches above their bodies.

This segment was followed by the first ever International Soca Monarch DJ Sound Clash. The popular, DJ Taurus, vied for this title against underdogs Bashment Boys. Despite delivering tunes that managed to stir up the large crowd, Bashment Boys had to settle for second place after Taurus dropped numbers that defined his supremacy.

By 9:30 p.m. the real deal that had drawn the multitudes to Carnival City, Victoria Park got on the way. It was time for the International Soca Monarch competition.

Asquith “Squitty” Charles got the competition going with the song ‘Old Time Thing’. Adding zest to his performance was a sidekick dressed as an old woman. Squitty was followed by Glenroy “Homey” Delpesche who sang ‘Aunga’. The artiste underpinned the importance of black consciousness among people of African descent all over the world. He urged that black people be proud to associate themselves with Africa.

Konsinki “Busta Ski” Adams with “Trample Down” was accompanied by a sexually suggestive dance performance by seven youths and an individual posing as a granny.

Loud chants of “Fire, Fire” could be heard being echoed throughout the park as Fireman Hooper was about to take to the stage. The tension was pulsating. Fireman Hooper was brought onstage in a coffin and, as the pall bearers laid the coffin down, he jumped out with his feet afire.

Fireman Hooper started spitting the lyrics of his popular “Madder dan yuh” which sent the crowd in a frenzy. His supporting cast pretended madness to the extreme as they ate from a garbage bin, ran about the stage with an old barrel, a broken face basin and even a space saver. This performance proved to be the best, unquestionably.

Fireman Hooper was always going to be hard a act to follow and the task fell to the experienced Cornelius “Poorsah” Williams with his “Wash It”. Poorsah’s portrayal of a hygiene inspection carried out at a school brought great laughter to the crowd.

The hype simmered with

performances from defending champion Orande ‘Bomani’ Charles who sang “Blaze” and tried and managed to evoke some reaction from the audience but never to the levels which saw him cop the coveted title the year before.

Johnny ‘Johnny Rebel’ Hall – “Party Time”, Glenroy ‘Sulle’ Caesar -“Mas Tsunami”, Aillen ‘Sexy Sugarz’ Joyette -“Kitty Kat”, Dennis Bowman -“Ideal Man”, Andrel “Nallin Tan” Harry -“Gey Me De Soca”, Montgomery ‘Demus’ Laborde -“You Have Fire”, and Kevin ‘KGB’ Browne -“Love We Carnival” all followed.

But the competition never really peaked again until Gamal ‘Skinny Fabulous’ Doyle’s performance. If Victoria Park was asleep, it definitely came alive again with Skinny’s performance of “Place Mash Up”. Garret ‘Icon’ Doyle, an obvious crowd favourite if one were to judge from his welcome, maintained a high energy that flowed with “Blaze”.

Gregory ‘DJ Twenty’ Small with “Bush Doctor” had entered the show as the crowd favourite. He ensured that his fans received their money’s worth from his dynamic delivery.

The curtains came down on the International Soca Monarch Competition 2005 with performances from Godfrey Dublin with his “Bad Talk” and Rea’on ‘Madzart’ Primus with “Baddest Behaviour”. However, these performances were not sufficient to deny Fireman Hooper from claiming the title.

Settling in second position was DJ Twenty, third Skinny Fabulous, fourth Icon and fifth Poorsah. The show was simply great.