| |
|
|
| |
A calypso cocktail at the Barbican
Written by : Soca News
Location : London
Posted : Jul 11, 2006 : 12:11:00 AM |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Take a generous helping of old-time calypso, throw in some evergreen Sparrow and Rose standards, add a lively dash of extempo and stir vigorously – with a swizzle stick, of course.
That was the cocktail on offer for “Dirty Jim’s Swizzle Club”, and it went down well with the large and enthusiastic audience at the Barbican Hall on 23rd June. The combination of well-matured calypso being performed live by artistes who have spent decades perfecting their craft and some guaranteed show-stoppers from the Calypso King and Calypso Queen of the World made this an unmissable event for connoisseurs of the artform.
The first half was devoted to calypsos from the Dirty Jim’s era, performed in engaging style by Lord Superior and Relator. Treats included Shame and Scandal in the Family, Lord Melody’s tale of the embarrassing consequences of unfaithfulness; the catchy Nora, Kitchener’s ode to homesickness; Jean and Dinah, Sparrow’s winning 1956 composition on the American GIs’ departure from Trinidad that left the “field” free for local men; and Relator’s Gavaskar, which makes clever use of tongue-twisting Indian cricketers’ names.
The back-in-times feel continued with a somewhat one-sided extempo contest, Relator effortlessly proving himself the superior of Superior. Subjects ranged from George Bush to bird flu, but the opening bout, on Ghana’s World Cup victory over the USA, was a moment to be savoured.
The Tempo changed dramatically when Calypso Rose used that well-known number to start the second half of the show with a bang, kicking off her shoes like a 20-year-old and working the audience energetically (if you’re shy and easily embarrassed, don’t sit in the front row when Rose is on stage!). She too showed she had an extempo trick or two up her sleeves, before blasting in to Fire in mih Wire and Rum and Coca Cola. Cue the Mighty Sparrow, who cooled the pace with the elegiac Memories. Congo Man was perhaps not the best choice – any Africans in the audience may have found their sense of humour being stretched too far in being likened to cannibal headhunters, and it didn’t need pelvic thrusts to make the double-entendre points – but Sparrow was on safer ground with the lively patois-flavoured Sa Sa Yay, Jean and Dinah and the ever-popular Saltfish.
And there, rather suddenly, the show ended, 20 minutes earlier than advertised. This may have been because of the unexplained absence of the Mighty Bomber, who was listed in the programme but sadly absent from the stage. With such a vast back catalogue of songs to choose from, it is a shame that we could not have heard a little more, from Rose in particular. It was rather galling, too, to be played out of the hall with recorded reggae.
This was a show that had all the right ingredients – top performers, a highly experienced band and, in Relator, an excellent MC – but it lacked the vigorous promotion and presentational flair that would have turned an enjoyable evening into an outstanding one. An opportunity was lost by not running the show for more nights and making the effort to re-create more of the physical ambience of the original Swizzle Club in a less formal venue.
Still, this evening gave the best possible answer to those commentators who ignorantly characterise calypso as an outmoded music, for many of those enjoying the show so enthusiastically had not even been born when these songs were written. Calypso seems destined to be an artform that will long outlast both its performers and its venues. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] |
| |
|
|
|
![]() |
| |
|
|
|
![]() |
| |
|
|
|
![]() |
| |
|
|
|
![]() |
| |
|
|
|
![]() |
|
|
