Machel Montano, aka Boy Boy, Mr Carnival or Hesus Divine (HD), whatever you want to call him, gave an expected scintillating performance on Monday night at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Woodbrook.
Usually titled Alternative Concert, the name was changed to The Return due to his absence from the Carnival scene last year. Unlike his last concert in 2009 at the same venue, there were no moko jumbies, big drums and angels filling the stage.
This time around the entertainer focused on paying tribute to past and present soca and calypso artistes, who would have set the tone and paved the way for him to now make his contribution to the soca world. Machel emerged out of a metal box that was wheeled on stage. Dressed in a red leather outfit with matching red glasses and shoes, he began with his Road March contender and Soca Monarch ditty, Advantage.
This sent the crowd in a frenzy, waving anything they held in their hands. Fourteen more performers joined Montano on stage, among them HD members Farmer Nappy, Zan and Patrice Roberts. Farmer Nappy, who is the longest standing member of the band, remained on stage with Montano after the others had made their exit, and was joined by former band member Peter C Lewis together the three took the audience on a musical journey back to the days when Machel Montano HD was called Xtatik.
The action started around 10.15 pm with newly crowned Junior Monarch King, Benjai.
As expected, Benjai, who has performed with Machel on several occasions in previous years, had the crowd in the palm of his hands. As the crowd grew to approximately 35,000 strong in anticipation of Machel's entrance, Kess the Band showed that it had tapped into its niche in the soca market. Backed by his female dancers, Kees pushed peace, love and unity, as did all the performers on the night. He shared the spotlight with veteran calypsonians Explainer and Baron, who proved that their voices were still loved. Singer and song writer Kerwin Dubois followed, with a slight improvement in his onstage performance.
During the intermission a count down clock was show on several screens along the covered football pitch and on the stage. Some patrons in the platinum section had to wait the entire intermission time before they got their refreshments. But those in the general area didn't have that problem. Their issue, however, was the distance from their section to the stage. Patrons felt somewhat slighted, as this was not the previous arrangement for Machel's last concert. Several tributes were made on the night. Among those honoured were Wayne Rodriguez, Blazer Dan, Sheldon "Shel Shok" Benjamin, Explainer, Baron, Calypso Rose, and The Mighty Sparrow.
The latter two performed one song before being crowned the official King and Queen of Carnival.
Calypso Rose was crowned by former national footballer Dwight Yorke, while The Mighty Sparrow was given the honour by Brian Charles Lara. Emotions ran high for both honourees as Calypso Rose shed a few tears, while Sparrow declared, "This is the best day of my life." The 2011 Chutney Monarch winner Rikki Jai, Maximus Dan, and Barbadian singers Allison Hinds and Lil Rick gave short presentations before the international acts of Aaron Fresh, Mohombi and Pitbull came on stage. Originally scheduled to end at midnight, the show went on till 1.45 am
