Machel sends Jumbies in frenzy

by Vanesta Murphy 06.JUL.07

“Outta body back to yuhself” is not only a line from Trinidad and Tobago’s 2007’s Road March winning song ‘Jumbie’ by Machel Montano, but became a reality on June 30th at the Arnos Vale Sporting Complex as Montano pulled off exciting performance while under the weather.{{more}}

Speaking with the SEARCHLIGHT earlier in the day, Montano expressed concern that the cold he was coming down with might hinder his performance. Later on that night, when the SEARCHLIGHT spoke with him it was obvious that his voice was suffering because of it. He however had nothing to worry about, as exuberant fans never even realised that his cold had escalated to epic proportions.

Montano, who left the stage on a few occasions didn’t do so for wardrobe changes, but to catch a few quick breaths, like a true professional he pulled off his usual high energy, crowd pleasing show with never a mention of the fact that he was ill.

Montano and his truly eclectic band which features members from all over the Caribbean, performed for just over two hours peppering screaming fans with non stop hits from albums old and new featuring favourites such as “Toro Toro”, “Bubblenut” and newer songs like “Down the Road” and “Higher than High”. They also performed songs from genres like Hip Hop to the old school soca of Lord Kitchener and a rendition of Bob Marley’s “War”.

Several times during the night Montano had to ask fans at the front of the stage to please stop grabbing his legs and some more sensitive regions, but unlike last year, security on stage was tight and there were no incidences that warranted anyone being taken out of the crowd for inappropriate behaviour.

Montano had the crowd hypnotised, with waistline rotations, flag waving knowledge of Vincy Soca, and all around crowd involvement. If there was ever a born performer, patrons of ‘The Jumbie Ball’ were exposed to him. Using no profanity, singing uplifting songs like ‘Amnesty’ with Benjai and ‘Light It Up’ with Patrice Roberts, Montano communicated a want for unity and peace in the region.

There was one incident that nearly put a damper on the night’s festivities. A young woman suffered burns to her legs when someone in the crowd let off a fire cracker. The offending item ended up on the stage during Luta’s performance and came a little too close for comfort to this reporter. However the show must go on, and it did, after security escorted the alleged offender away from the crowd.

Full Clip’s song may be called Frenzy but it was Fireman Hooper who had the crowd in frenzy as they did his bidding and followed his instructions with no questions asked and with no noticeable ‘Malfunction’. Jamesy P gave a stellar performance; he had the crowd singing along in an impromptu karaoke to hits such as ‘Nookie’ and his most recent smash ‘Bashment Freaks’. However of the local performers, it was Zoelah and Problem Child who stole the show. All through the night and even after he’d left the stage, the crowd could be heard as a united front singing ‘ooou ooou’ from Problem Child’s song ‘Party Animal’.

SEARCHLIGHT sat with Machel Montano during some of the local performances and Zoelah came off stage that night as not only a local favourite, but highly rated by Soca veteran Montano. With 25 years in the business it can be said that Montano has an ear for talent, and he told the SEARCHLIGHT “I like this girl, she has a really beautiful voice”. Zoelah, who has definitely been working on her stage performance gave the crowd an exciting show, as she not only sang her hits, but did a freestyle reply to Problem Child’s teasing banter about her song and female anthem for Vincy Mas 2007 ‘Go Down Low’ during his time on stage.

The females in the crowd went wild as Zoelah ragged on Bomani’s song ‘Not Going Down There Tonight’.

Once again the Vincentians did their country proud with performances of professional standard. The show ran smoothly, performers had set songs and stuck to the schedule, it was far better organised than previous years. The show was a definite crowd pleaser and many were heard saying that they got their money’s worth.