| …as newcomer shines with ‘Lime, Tomato, Celery, Seasoning’Bones-man failed to defend his crown and Bill Rogers’ dream of winning another title was dashed as veteran entertainer Jomo ‘Rubber-waist’ Primo walked away with the coveted 2012 Carib Soca Monarch crown.The one year hiatus proved to be a blessing in disguise for Ansa McAl as each of the 14 artistes vying for the 2012 crown at the National Park on Saturday Night definitely upped the ante on the performances over the years.Another veteran performer Adrian Dutchin copped the third place while newcomer George Anthony Abrams secured second place for his addictive ‘Wine Attack’.The competition got off to a ridiculously late start as patrons trickled into the National Park tarmac. The show eventually commenced at around 23:00hrs to a sizeable crowd that expanded, filling the venue to capacity.First up for the night was the only duo in the competition Tropikal and Mysterious and their routine set the bar high for the remaining performers.Their piece opened with a ‘News Bulletin” that they had been injured in an accident and would be unable to perform but seconds later a second ‘News Bulletin’ announced that the duo would be performing ‘Regardless’ of their condition.Defending Champion BonesmanAn ambulance with sirens wailing and hazard lights flashing made its way into the crowd as the duo arrived with their entourage.Decked out as patients nursing wounds with their evident bandages the two who had been obvious crowd favourites,Wholesale Jerseys NFL, managed to get the impatient crowd whipped in a frenzy gyrating to the lyrics but they failed to get the nod of the judges.Keeping true to the spirit of Mashramani, the duo’s backup dancers were decked out in garments indicative of the various ethnic groups in Guyana,Wholesale Jerseys China, this theme was repeated by each of the performances for the night.The artistes, during their respective performance, paid tributes to Guyanese stalwarts LFS Burnham, Cheddi Jagan, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow as well as Walter Rodney.Next on stage was three time champion Adrian Dutchin who was another clear crowd favourite and delivered as was expected on his song “Guyanese.”It was a frenzy of fireworks as Dutchin riled up the gathering dressed as a Military General with his uniform emblazoned with the colours of the Golden Arrowhead.While Dutchin’s performance was deserving of his third place finish given his obvious advantage over the others, his performance did not reveal any new dimension.Dutchin shone with his stage performance as his back up dancers were each dressed in the part of the Mashramani spirit and ably assisted the performer to energise the crowd.The entertainer won himself an added advantage when he seconded onto the stage some members of the Guyana National Football Team the Golden Jaguars all proudly waving their Golden Arrowheads.One of the bigger disappointments of the night came when the artiste also known as ‘Granny Ivelaw’ took to the stage.His song ‘African Moods’ has been gaining lots of positive attention and traction with its airplay and can be heard rolling off of the tongues of scores of Guyanese but his “African Moods and No Food” failed to whip the audience into a soca frenzy.Ivelaw even utilized the services of one of the more talented local actors/comedians in his skit but even with his curvy dancers he failed to get a positive nod from the crowd which in turn signaled a thumbs down from the judges.‘Wining Chiney’ Anthony Abrams who copped second place beating out Adrian DutchinAlthough ‘Granny Ivelaw’ was a no show, several able bodied ‘Grannies’ joined the entertainer in his bid and they did get the audience ‘oooing and aahhhing’ as they treated the stages as their personal monkey bars.The next entertainer certainly used props to his advantage as the artiste B52 (Wilbur Levans) appeared for his performance poised high on the retractable ladder of a fire tender before making his way on stage to deliver his “Flammable’ rendition with flare in hands and accompanying flames.The three time Junior Calypso Champion was certainly penalized for the hiatus between his superlative and the time it took for him to actually get on the stage to perform.The retractable ladder seemingly took forever to get close enough to the stage for him to safely mount it but once he did the damage appeared to have already been done.B52 recovered to deliver a thrilling performance and his flammable feat was complete with flames on stage as well as high above the roof.His performance was creditable enough to warrant him another try at the Crown.The lone female in the competition was certainly dressed for the part and her entrance gave the crowd some intrigue but her “On the road again’ failed to get full support of the crowd.The next performance by Sweet Kendingo was quite frankly boring though it was spruced up a bit with the gyrations of a female plus sized dancer. However, the rendition was clearly not going to finish in the top five.Then there was Young Bill Rogers, who left the crowd stumped with his performance.Bill Rogers should not have stepped out of his forte of Calypso as his Soca piece sounded very similar to one of a Calypso Competition.Try as he might even with his colourful costume and back up dancers Rogers failed miserably to win the support of the crowd.The next performer stole the show from the others as his ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’ coupled with his already meteoric popularity sent the crowd into an immediate frenzy hanging on to his every word and move as the flags were waving and the waistlines were gyrating.Jomo ‘Rubber-waist’ Primo,China Jerseys Cheap, true to the theme of being Guyanese, incorporated in his performance an excerpt from the Country’s First Executive President LFS Burnham where he was speaking about the importance of each of Guyana’s ethnic groups.A section of the crowdThe entertainer’s dancing skills proved to be the frosting on the cake for the audience as the ‘rubber waist’ demonstrated his versatility proving that he was a true Guyanese with all of the ethnic make ups in him and as such he could ably dance synonymous in each of the traditional styles.Following the mesmerizing performance by Jomo, the reigning Champion took to the stage with his “Republic Day.”He arrived in a Carib float and mounted the stage dressed in blue waving his Championship belt around and quickly demonstrated how he was able to cop the crown the last time.Bonesman’s performance was befitting of a prize finish but surprisingly did not get a nod from the judges.The second place performer Anthony Abrams was up next and despite some technical difficulties his chorus “Lime, Tomato, Celery, Seasoning” was enough to send the crowd into a wining frenzy as he declared that “this is a Guyanese thing.”Abrams had to restart his song after the microphone failed him a few minutes into his performance but this did not faze him as he came back unblemished and unleashed a “wining attack” which sent the crowd into a wining pandemonium,Cheap Jerseys, surprisingly to the chorus “Lime, Tomato,Cheap Jerseys From China, Celery, Seasoning”His “bang ba dang ba ding da dang dang” was also enough to send this newcomer straight to the top of the judges list.There were several other creditable performances by artistes such as Vanilla who again failed to secure pole position at the Soca Monarch Competition, Jonathan King who failed to ride the popularity of his mom, Big Red, and policeman Roger Bowen, whose “call the fire truck” piece was also fitting of a possible pole position.He also utilized the fire tender on hand and was hoisted high into the air as he gyrated his way into the soul of the crowd but could not penetrate the judges.Another jaw-dropping performance which much to the astonishment of many in the crowd did not secure a pole position was King Shepherd’s ‘Wuk Up.’He was the final performer of the evening and his performance without the add-on of the wild popularity of Adrian and Jomo managed to whip the crowd into a true Soca frenzy but surprisingly did not get the judges nod.After realizing that performances by King Shepherd and the likes of Bonesman did not even place in the top three, many opined that Adrian and Jomo should not have been in the competition but should leave it to the novices.At the end of the night however, it was clear that King Shepherd,Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys, Abrams and Bowen will definitely be forces to be reckoned with on the Soca scene in years to come.Many opine that the local artistes with enough resources and support could soon be competing with the best in the region. |
