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Soca for Summer 2008
The Saucy Crew
TriniSoca.com Reporters
Event Date: July 12, 2008
Posted: July 19, 2008
This year's Soca 4 Summer 2008 concert was 'D Boss': a fitting expression to describe one of this country's most anticipated annual events and the personality himself behind it. The concert attracted a crowd of various ages to the Queen's Park Savannah on Saturday 12th July, 2008. Produced by the all Soca Trini Bashment 91.9 fm radio station in collaboration with a cast of young upcoming Soca artistes including several icons, the concert also featured some top regional musicians as well. Some of the performers included Soca stars Bunji Garlin & Asylum, Faye-Ann Lyons, Tony Prescott and the big band Surface, Imij & Co., Umi Marcano, Fireball, heavyweight Jamaican performers Elephant Man and Tony Matterhorn and several local Reggae stars including Zebulon and King David.
Children getting their faces painted
This year's concert featured free entry to children who were accompanied by a parent. The object behind the idea was to promote the importance of each parent's role in their child's life according to a release by the organizers. The management of Trinibashment 91.9 fm ensured that the 2500 children they catered for were fed, entertained and secured. The children played in the bouncy castle, had their faces painted and enjoyed other entertainment provided by the organizers. Even though the gates were opened from 12 p.m., the crowd gathered from about 2 p.m.
Scaffolders mounting the big screen
While the kids were playing and having fun in the VIP area, final touches were being carried out in the concert arena. Scaffolders were tightening and securing the scaffolds surrounding the stage area, equipment was being set up on the ground within close perimeters of the stage and sound checks were being executed by various engineers and musicians on the stage. Just a few feet away from the front of the stage, cameramen were busy setting up and checking their camera crane on a ramp over five feet high.
Food Vendors frying fish
The food booths were already set up in the opposite direction a good distance away from the stage leaving sufficient space for the patrons to safely enjoy themselves. Some of the vendors were still in the process of laying out their food on display, some were frying fish and other delicacies, while others were attending to the few people who were buying.
Police Officers
Later in the afternoon before the crowd came in even larger numbers, a busload of police officers and fire officers made their entrance at the venue to ensure an incident free concert.
Discjockeys at Soca 4 Summer
By 3 p.m. the sun's heat left the Savannah hot, but this did not deter people from coming out to see their favorite Soca artistes perform. With music provided by DJs and what seemed to be a long way before the concert started, the few patrons who were there enjoyed themselves dancing and fraternizing with each other.
Synergy Soca Star Finalists 'One Circle'
The concert kicked off at 6:45 p.m. with an appearance by Marlon 'D Manager' George who belted out a couple of selections before finishing with a version of the song "Fete After Fete", made popular by his father Iwer. The first part of the show featured several upcoming singers including Synergy Soca Star finalists 'Lion I' and 'One Circle', local Reggae singers 'Zebulon' and 'Kibwe', local Hip Hop group Island Crew and King David. A brief appearance was also made on stage by Gary Hunt, Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs who presented a trophy to Marlon Mr. Music for winning the Mega Mixing Competition. Briefly, addressing the crowd, Gary Hunt advised them to listen to their parents, pray to their God, while also assuring them that their government loved them.
Frontline singers with Imij and Co.
Imij and Co. was the first big Soca band on stage and they did not disappoint as their impressive frontline belted out hit after hit for the appreciative crowd. Their repertoire included not only Soca but popular Dancehall and Hip Hop songs that sent the audience in a frenzy. They performed songs from Machel, Movado, Usher, Rihannna and Akon in a manner that won favour with the people in the crowd.
Tony Prescott and Snakie of the band Surface
Tony Prescott and Snakie of the band Surface lit up the Queen's Park Savannah with their exciting performance that like, all the bands, consisted of an eclectic mix of Soca, Reggae and Hip Hop. The overcast clouds let loose a burst of rain that sent some patrons scampering for shelter. However, other patrons stood in the rain and danced as the band Surface kept up their jamming. The rain stopped after a while, and Surface's performance climaxed with Tony Prescott singing his big hit song "All Aboard".
Peter C. Lewis
Peter C. Lewis and the Band Orchestra were next to the stage and performed a number of hits as they got the audience pumped up. During their set, Umi Marcano and Justin Cross made brief appearances on stage as the crowd enjoyed the music. However, as the night wore on, Peter Lewis stopped his performance and started to berate one of the announcers who apparently gave a cue that the band's time was up. Peter Lewis threw a tantrum and shouted that the announcer be removed from the stage, before announcing that that was the last time he ever will perform for Iwer George. He soon stormed off the stage, but not before angrily throwing the mic down.
Faye-Ann Lyons dives into the crowd
It was 1 a.m. when Bunji Garlin, Faye-Ann Lyons and the Asylum Band came on the stage. Huge waving flags suddenly appeared at the front of the stage and the crowd swelled in anticipation of their performance. From the get go Faye-Ann pumped up the audience with her winning Road March song "Get On" as the Asylum Band raised the energy with such songs as "Fiery" and "The Bomb Song". They were joined by a male patron from one of the crews in the crowd who delivered a few verses of Faye-Ann's song. After Faye-Ann cleverly convinced the crowd the guy was going to dive off the stage, she turned the act around and showed her spunk by diving off the stage into the crowd where she was caught and safely carried back to the stage. Bunji Garlin also made an impression with his famous free style chanting skills as he underscored the band's reputation as one of the top local Soca bands.
Jamaican Dancehall Sensation 'Elephant Man'
At about 1:30 a.m. Jamaican Dancehall Sensation 'Elephant Man' a.k.a 'Energy God' came to the stage and he did not disappoint the enthusiastic crowd as he performed song after song from his collection, even doing his famous trademark dances. Elephant Man hyped up the crowd and they responded warmly, singing the choruses loudly. He was soon joined on stage by another Jamaican artiste Tony Matterhorn as they kept the crowd pumped. The show ended close to 2:30 a.m., with the crowd still energetic after an exciting concert, leaving only with the disappointment that they did not see organiser and Soca star Neil 'Iwer' 'D'Boss' George appear on stage.
Soca for Summer 2008 in pictures:
www.trinisoca.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=104313
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