The young, old, and the in-between came out last Saturday night to the final LIME HOTT 95.3 Cavalcade at the National Stadium.
Some came to hear a specific artiste, others came out just for the Saturday night lime and for the great opportunity to attend a free live show to see artistes who could very well turn out to be the best of Crop Over 2011.
Whatever the reason, patrons enjoyed the show which was packed with plenty entertainment.
The cavalcade got off to a start around 7 p.m. with DJ music to entertain the crowd until the real action started. Yannick Hooper got the night off to a start with his song for this year, Island Army. Donella, Hypasounds and Statement followed with some of their older songs as well as their new ones.
However, there was no denying that they were performing for a mellow crowd that seemed to be awaiting something or someone who was still to arrive. Indeed, they were awaiting Stiffy and his new song which is quickly becoming popular, Carry My Sheep In Town.
As MC Mac Fingall introduced him, the crowd was silent, waiting in anticipation to see who it was. When the infectious “mekkkk” was heard, the crowd burst into a frenzy and began singing the song word for word. However, they were disappointed when Stiffy’s sidekick, a blackbelly sheep, was a no-show.
Now well hyped up, Gorg and Salt kept the crowd going with old and new hits such as Keep Drinks Coming, Vex Fare and See Me And Don’t See Me.
At intervals, the comical Fingall entertained the crowd with his usual humour, with the help of the backing band. Then it was time for the stars of the night to come.
Soca Kartel, who recently celebrated its first anniversary, gave an excellent performance that kept patrons on their toes. Any and everyone could be seen “clapping” and “wukking up baddy” to the group’s old and new hits and they kept “jamming” for an entire hour. Blood’s hit song from last year Foot On Fyah was clearly still popular with Bajans and they were all too willing to join him in the dance.
Mikey also hyped up the crowd with his older calypsos I In Dat and Rhythm Session, among others. Blood’s and Mikey’s new songs De Experience (Baddy), Insane and Jammin, respectively, were also well received by the crowd. At one point Khiomal joined the group on stage to perform his duet Bacchanal with Mikey.
And as if such an excellent performance by the Kartel was not enough, they had some surprise performances in store for the crowd.
Mighty Grynner hit the stage to perform his Leggo I Hand and Lemme Go from back in the day much to the delight of the older ones in the audience. Then they got a taste of the queen of soca Alison Hinds, who gave a more subdued performance. The crowd loved her nonetheless.
The night ended on a high, leaving patrons not only wanting more, but also anticipating what else Crop Over has in store. (DB)
