‘Pagalee Man' seen as favourite for calypso finals
By Michael Da Silva
Lil Joe's `Pagalee Man' wowed the fair size crowd which attended the Mash 2000 Calypso and Soca semi-finals at the Blairmont Community Centre ground, West Coast Berbice, making him a definite favourite for this year's $400,000 first prize. Of the 16 calypsonians who contested the semi-finals, 10 have advanced to the final which is scheduled for the National Park on Saturday night and they will join reigning monarch Winfield James who is an automatic qualifier. Nine soca artistes have also advanced to the soca final slated for the same evening and venue. The nine were among the 18 semi-finalists who contested that category. The 10 calypso qualifiers are; Black Hat, Lenny Lancaster, Tempest, Sweet Kendingo, Ayambo, Limus, Tiny Duggan, Blazing Fire, Young Bill Rogers and Lil Joe. The judges for the calypso competition were Monty Robin, a manager at NALICO and a practising musician who trains young calypsonians in Berbice, George Gomes a former Lt. Col in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and manager of the GDF Frontline Band, Eon Carter a retired headmaster, Tom Dalgety, an ardent supporter of the Caribbean artform and chief judge, Sonny Ault, a former director of music in the GDF. Dalgety, Gomes and Ault were retained as judges for the soca competition and were joined by Evening News' Shawn Bhola and music teacher Ruth Jaundoo. The nine soca finalists are; Reality, Tempest, Kendingo, Ayambo, Lurlene, Explainer, Bright Colours, Winfield James and Flyer. The nine will vie for the `Soca King' title left vacant by the Mighty Rebel who opted out of this year's calypso and soca competitions. He however appeared as a guest artist at the end of the calypso competition and sang a song entitled ``Lick meh down'. `Pagalee Man' took the ground by storm and had even the little children who went along with their parents singing and dancing to the social commentary he dished out. His musical accompaniment was well put together. Black Hat's `Warning to Venezuela' and Lenny Lancaster's `Essequibo belongs to we' which basically deal with the same issue were also well received by the crowd. Black Hat appeared on stage wearing his traditional black hat with a white suit and shoes to match. Lancaster, dressed in a green outfit trimmed with gold, had the crowd singing along with him and if on the night of the finals he turns in the same performance, he will definitely be one to reckon with. His song is a topical one. Ayambo, a Berbician by birth sang `It's madness', he was the first contestant to appear at 8.30 pm, and was well received by the crowd. He sang about madness all over Guyana and even took a swipe at reigning monarch Winfield James who he termed a joker wearing the crown. He had a word for the police also and stated that they have toy guns while bandits have bazookas. Lurlene who was contestant number two with one entitled `Pan in 2000' did not go over too well with the audience and she was knocked out of the competition. During her presentation it began to rain and she had to start over. She, however, came back early the next morning and sang `A tribute to comfa' and won a place in the final. She used the stage well and had some young ladies dancing the comfa dance to the rhythm of her bouncy tune. Tiny Duggan who appeared at number four with `Stop de carnage' had the crowd listening attentively to her message and she was well received. She was however not allowed to contest the soca competition since she did not audition for this category. Duggan complained that her soca song `Justice for all' was on the air waves long before the other contestants and she should have been given the opportunity to compete. She plans on seeking justice with CNS Channel Six during the week. Young Bill Rogers' `Let them know the truth' was another of the favourite among the crowd. It dealt with the Lindon `Blackie' London issue and the flight of teachers to Botswana. Tempest's `Share the love' called on the administration to build one united party and have an identity. Kendingo's `you gotta sing calypso' related to the public servants' strike. While some artistes sang soca songs that were appreciated by the crowd, others sang songs that would have done better in the calypso competition. Some even used back up dancers to add flavour to their tune and while these dancers livened things up there were times when they got really daring and tried to out do each other, dancehall style. It was vulgarity at best. Midway in the soca competition, a large section of the crowd exited the show. They had been there since 6 pm when the competition was scheduled to get underway. Some soca artistes complained about the musical accompaniment for their songs but it was evident that the band members were tired, having started to play at 7 pm when they entertained the crowd before the start of the actual competition. Part of the crowd was soaked from a heavy downpour which disrupted the show when it came at 1.15 am but one hour later, while Flyer was on stage along with three dancing girls, a heavier shower came but could not have stopped the dancers from dishing out their adult stuff. It was however successful in driving Flyer for cover under the small shed on stage. The semi-finals was sponsored by Banks DIH, Western Union and Bristol.
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