Two Fridays ago, the day of the no-confidence motion moved against the Attorney General in Parliament, I was confronted again by the paradox of there being both a deeply constructive, creative Trinidad and Tobago and an insecure Trinidad and Tobago, pliable to those internal and external trends calculated to push us further into mimicry and self destruction. My confrontation with the paradox continued into Saturday and Sunday.
On Friday, I saw the opening salvoes of the no-confidence motion. In no time at all, allegations of spite and malice started flying between the opposing sides. I then went to the Little Carib Theatre to attend a performance entitled Feel de Vibes, featuring the band Overdrive and its illustrious guest performers. I returned on Saturday evening to see the performance again. By that time the parliamentary debate on the motion, earlier on Saturday morning, had degenerated to race card playing.
The debate has been well reported so readers already know of its low grade, deliberately divisive tone. I can proceed directly therefore to the contrast of the concert. While the politicians were in Parliament sewing strife in the land, at the Little Carib there was no strife and denigration, only creativity and love.
Jason Dasent, the leader and keyboardist of Overdrive, was the emcee for much of the evening and the promoter of the show. He is visually challenged but his empathy with his musicians, his guest performers and his audience was total, such that he comfortably presented an analogy of music with Stevie Wonder at its core. That is where Johann Chuckaree entered stage right to play the pan and the PHI (the UWI produced percussive harmonic instrument) together with the keyboards of Jason and Ming and the bass player and to interpret the music of Stevie Wonder.
Johann is a one of our highly skilled youthful pan musicians and "Boogsie" Sharpe is one of his musical progenitors. Note I describe him as a pan musician. I do so to emphasise how completely pan now combines with every other musical instrument, traditional and contemporary, manual and electronic. As a pan elder put it to me, "pan has no musical apartheid". Check Johann this evening at Central Bank Auditorium.
Many of our politicians know nothing of the progress of pan in world music. They think pan is two du dup and three iron. The progress from Bertie to "Boogsie" to Chuckaree is nothing short of astounding. It is a mixture of science and art. As to the fact that Bertie Marshall was an accomplished scientist, see my column Equal to Pythagoras, published on January 16, 2011.
Overdrive's guest artistes also included 3Canal in the first half. Mungal Patasar and his son made their appearance with "Tall" Kareem in the second half for pan, sitar and tabla to meet and pay mutual musical respect to each other in Beryl Mc Burnie's theatre, even as the snarling and strife in the parliamentary theatre was heading to crescendo.
The tableau on stage represented a near perfect blend of Trinbago youth and experience, every creed and race finding an equal, practical musical place. There we saw in a relevant context a piece of 3Canal music poetry entitled Borderline delivered in the first half of the concert: "Sometimes there are people in this life who want to fill your heart with strife, centre yourself, don't you go over".
Now to Sunday and Phase II's 40th anniversary concert where there was pan in harmony with choirs, trumpet and saxophone, Leston Paul playing on keyboard an arrangement of Kitchener totally illustrative of how that maestro's music can be interpreted in genres other than calypso.
The Overdrive and Phase II concerts had something else in common besides their demonstration of the capacity of pan to play with a wide range of other instruments and voices. In the absence of a funding policy for the arts, these shows are possible only because of a few enlightened sponsors and family support.
The relatives of the Overdrive crew by blood and by marriage took care of a variety of front office and backstage duties. Phase II, in common with most steel orchestras, has its pan family, poignantly demonstrated when the Lydian singers brought "Boogsie" in their midst and sang for the Lord to bless and keep him.
Our centre, our equilibrium in the madness in here, is our arts. Those making the strife are incorrigible but we must keep balanced so that we can take 3Canal's advice. "What they go do, what they go say when they realise they can't push you across the line? don't' you go over". I join them in saying at this troubled time, Trinbago please, "don't you go over".
Mind you I nearly went over the line when I saw that Adam Smith Square, which we do not use for pan, was handed over for Oktoberfest. Do we have a pan tent in Munich?
3canal: Press
Rapso group 3Canal succeeded in its promise “to raise the consciousness of patrons” at the staging of the concert ReThePublic at Queen’s Park Oval, Woodbrook, on Sunday evening. Its hour-long session on the playbill of the event commemorating the nation’s 50th Independence anniversary and 36 years as a Republic took patrons on a joyous journey of renewal, a theme that has always been a part of 3Canal’s music. “Looking back is something that we tend not to do in Trinidad,” said member Roger Roberts. “We tend to always feel that we have to be creating stuff new and not looking back at the tradition and the whole platform of the music that was done before.”
Rapso trio 3Canal and their band, the Cut+Clear Crew, will on September 1 and 2 present the House of Rapso 50/50 Love Concert at the Central Bank Auditorium, Port of Spain.
This event is in celebration of the nation's 50th anniversary of Independence, but the group is also seeking, through the show, to step up its mission of advocating 50 per cent local content to be played on local electronic media.
"At conception, we said 3Canal is making a statement and in the ensuing 15 years we have been taking a good look at life in Trinidad and Tobago, having composed a number of songs and staged several events examining and celebrating ourselves as a people.
"It is only fitting on the 50th anniversary of our Independence that we take time to celebrate the attainment of this milestone, our achievements and successes and to also reflect and ask: Where do we go from here? What do we want for ourselves?
"As we celebrate our recent unparalleled success on the global stage of the Olympics, we ask: how do we propagate and sustain success?
"It is our belief that, fundamentally, belief in self and love of self are at the heart of true success, not only success in material terms but in the broader sense of achieving our aspirations together," 3Canal member Roger Roberts stated in a news release.
The show will also feature performances by Ataklan and the group Soul Quarters, led by Omari Ashby, who was half of the rapso duo Kindred, which was one of the top rapso outfits in the 1990s.
Limited tickets will be available at the Central Bank box office and at the 3Canal headquarters at 67 Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, from August 27.
"We maintain that the proliferation of local content in our media is intrinsic to a healthy sense of self and belief in self, especially among our youth," Roberts said.
For Carnival 2012, rapso group 3Canal is continuing to do what it does best – meld social commentary with the arts. The dynamic trio is preparing for the 2012 edition of The 3Canal Show, a new album and even a pan tune written with Pelham Goodard, "Auntie Pat", which is a tribute to Pat Bishop and will be performed by Exodus for the Panorama competition.
In 2011, the album was Re Evolution Time while this year it's Reborn, but even without the "re" this theme of renewal has always been a part of 3Canal's music. "Looking back is something that we tend not to do in Trinidad. We tend to always feel that we have to be creating stuff new and not looking back at the tradition and the whole platform of the music that was done before which is the base of everything, the early calypso," says 3Canal vocalist Roger Roberts. "We always would refer to the tradition, refer to the early calypsonians and the griots when we make our music. Looking back and being aware of our history is a very, very important part of it. Carnival is a cycle of life and death and rebirth as a kind of a metaphor. So being reborn is like going into a new phase but always mindful of where we came from and the platform that was made before us."
Off the 12-track album singles released thus far are "Can't Done," "Work it Out," "Sacrifice," and "The Pappy Show" with productions by Keshav "Laza Beam" Chandradath Singh and Greg Assing. There are no collaborations on the album but one track features a chorus with youth from the NGO Tallman Foundation. The 3Canal Show, which returns to Queen's Hall after being the first performance at the renovated Little Cairb Theatre in 2011, will include two acts, The Pappy Show and The Reckoning, a combination of elements from the show for the past two years that will take a humorous look at the current affairs in T&T, according to bank vocalist Wendell Manwarren. "The PappyShow is more in the vein of the Jam It show in that it's very theatrical and The Reckoning is more in the vein of the Re-Evolution Time which was much more song and movement oriented. For us it's pleasing both sides of ourselves and pleasing both sides of the audience because we have the fans of the theatre and the fans of when we just do our thing. What's also new is that Penelope Spencer did most of the writing and normally we would do that all ourselves," he says.
The show will include appearances by performers such as Spencer, Cecilia Salazar, Mark Nottingham and Conrad Parris. The guest artistes are still to be determined. The selection of additional performers will take place at the Backyard Jam Sessions to be held at 33 Murray Street, Woodbrook, Port of Spain through a jury by the audience and band members. Manwarren feels it is important to give lesser-known musicians much needed space to showcase their talent. The space is also significant to the band's history. "This is a very active yard. Godfrey Sealy, the late local playwright, this was his home. A lot of the early theatre that we were all a part of, the rehearsals would take place back here. It was a space that we were familiar with. It had a nice vibe," says Manwarren.
This year they are also working with Mang Car Studios on a documentary – or "revo-mentary" as they call it – covering the day-to-day preparations and rehearsals for Carnival. The 3Canal Carnival season will end with their Jouvert band which is this year is themed "Occupy 2012" in homage to the US Occupy Movement. "The Jouvert band is the culmination of the whole vibes. That's when we take the music to the streets, to the people. That's when people come out of the house and enjoy the vibration. Occupy the streets. Occupy the road. Occupy Trinidad. Occupy the world!" exclaims Roberts. "The idea is that what these people are doing is what we do ritualistically every year. We occupy the streets. The road make to walk as Kitchener say. The intent is different. Their intent when they occupy is to speak to the system and speak to the establishment that is oppressing the people. When we do it here in Trinidad we just do it because we're having a good time. So we're trying to bring some of that into it so that people are aware of some of the things that influence their lives on a daily basis. The things that impact their lives and to make that statement together with us."
Tribute to Pat Bishop
This year 3Canal is also returning to the panyard working with Pelham Goodard on the tune "Auntie Pat" in tribute to Pat Bishop. The band has worked with Goodard previously on the song "Festival Time". "Auntie Pat" is the Exodus tune of choice for Panorama 2012.
Bishop worked with Exodus for more than 14 years, helping with repertoire selection, conducting and, as Goodard puts it, "shaping the music". Goodard says all members of the band took her death as a major loss because she was highly respected many times bringing practice to a standstill when she entered the yard.
Goodard says when he came up with the melody he called Manwarren because he wanted a group, rather than an individual to sing, so that the track would sound like the entire band saying thank you to Bishop not only for the work she did for the band but for the nation. "What the nation should remember about Pat Bishop is her talent, her knowledge. She's also an artist. When she came to drill she took things in stride and she got into every detail about everything. She's a good person, a teacher, a lecturer. She's all sorts of things. She's a people's person. That was a loss to all areas of society and even the government or authorities of arts and culture are at a loss," says Goodard.
Although, 3Canal never worked professionally with Bishop they note that no practitioner of the arts is outside of her influence. In fact, Manwarren had met with Bishop two nights before her death and agreed to work on a production with the Lydian Choir and Stanton Kweley, 3Canal vocalist, worked with her at UWI. "My experience was different with Pat because she was a fellow staffer at UWI when I was a lecturer there. She would be one of those people who would pop in and watch what you're doing. My students would ask her for advice and she was just somebody you could bounce ideas off of. You really couldn't miss Pat Bishop she was like a saltfish in everything," described Kewley.
Goodard says the song has received positive responses from players as well as audiences and was pleased with the outcome of collaborating with 3Canal. "People don't know that these guys are so talented. They know how to put over a lot of things and intelligence plays a big part in it because when you get a song about Pat Bishop you have to be careful with what you write."
The 3Canal show runs from February 12th-18th at Queen's Hall, St Ann's. The backyard jam sessions are on Friday 27th January & Friday 3rd February at 33 Murray Street Woodbrook.
3 Canal is known for their feel-good rapso vibrations, but it was their socially conscious side that came to the fore, when they brought their annual Re the Public concert to the Queen’s Hall stage on September 24. They came to deal with serious business. The current state of emergency was the topic of the night, and the trio treated it with gravity. The state of emergency inspired them to dig into their 15-year repertoire, presenting rarely performed but strikingly relevant numbers about crime, justice, oppression and politics. The concert they presented was stirring, poignant and powerful.
The show started off with Mistah Shak, whose Rogue took him to the Dimanche Gras stage this year. The performer, still new to many, came out singing of Jah Love, asking his audience to Defend Your Rights, and delivering his Freedom Music, which, as usual, got his audience on his side, declaring: “We need some emancipation from this jump and wave situation.” Ataklan came next, backed by Shak and his band, coming out on stage in a burst of energy, singing Straight Outa Morvant, an ode to his home town. He continued his engaging set with Caribbean Swagger and Shadow in the Dark.
Dark times
The stage was enveloped in purple mist and a voice began to read out the rights guaranteed to citizens under T&T’s constitution. Then, dressed in black with touches of red, the men of 3 Canal—Stanton Kewley, Wendell Manwarren and Roger Roberts—came onstage. They sang “Oh people, what do we know? ..it’s time to show that we know we know,” but at the end of the song, Manwarren commented: “What we don’t know is, why are we under a State of Emergency!” drawing loud applause from the audience. They launched into a newly-composed number, State of Emergency, chanting, “What is the reason, what is the cause, what is the reason? Tell we, de boss!”Manwarren those in power should not “treat we like children,” but include the people in their anti-crime initiatives. He also said we needed to “deal with criminality in the society at all levels.” They launched into Where Do We Go From Here, echoing the abject attitude felt by many citizens. The words of Martin Carter’s This is the Dark Time, My Love echoed out, as the band, Cut + Clear (Elliot Francois , drums; Corey Wallace, bass; Simon Mendoza, keys; Kiwan Landreth-Smith, guitar; and, Jayron Remy, sequencer), played.
Lights flashed evoking sirens and the music was slow, strident and rhythmic, as 3 Canal continued with a song that might have been written for the current national climate: “Emergency, de whole place red, jump high, jump low, somebody dead.” The song was, in fact, written ten years ago, over the 9/11 disaster in New York. They continued with Piti Pata: “this place have too much-a guns,” after which Manwarren chastised the “stupid punks out there with guns in their hands.” A Song for Billy was next, dedicated to a young man, nicknamed Star, one of many who were killed by gun violence. Manwarren called out and embraced dancer Lydia Byron, who was seated near the front, saying that her son, too, had been killed by a bullet earlier this year. It was a sombre and emotional point, and the atmosphere was intense.
Hope
Then 3 Canal started turning it around, singing Over the Mountain, with its message of hope and healing. They kept slowly raising the vibe with a song reminiscent of the 23rd Psalm, singing: “Be not afraid, Children, walk in the light and everything is going to be alright.” The inspirational Troddin On was next, before the words to Carter’s Looking At Your Hands rang out “… I do not sleep to dream, but dream to change the world…” Next the rapso men declared “the Re-evolution Time,” singing militantly, “I am the change I want to see, the power and the victory.”That was it. Spirits were lifted and it was time for joy again. 3 Canal performed Talk Yuh Talk and patrons walked down the area in front of the stage to dance. They continued with I Believe in Love and did Good Morning, Neighbour as a lagniappe, filling the hall with good vibrations. Patrons sang and waved, big smiles all round. Afterward, patrons said they had enjoyed the show, calling it “strong” and “positive.”
3Canal Re-Evolution show stands strong
“Still standing, still strong,” 3Canal sang onstage at Little Carib Theatre in Woodbrook, during last Saturday’s staging of their annual Carnival show. Surrounded by dancers and backed by their band Cut + Clear, the band gave their fans an energetic performance on the stage where it all started, and proved their declaration to be true. The first 3Canal Show was held at the Carib in 2004. The production has been staged at Queen’s Hall for the last four years, but returned this year as the first show to grace the stage of the newly- refurbished space.
Unlike previous editions of the 3Canal Show, which have featured various elements of theatre, this year’s presentation—Re-Evolution Time—was more like a traditional concert. A troupe of twenty dancers shared the stage with the band from start to finish, costumed like urban revolutionaries in torn denim and army green. 3Canal members Roger Roberts, Wendell Manwarren and Stanton Kewley also dressed like rapso soldiers in the first half, amid mist and strobe lighting. A large screen with some impressive changing graphics illuminated one side of the stage, as the band played new hits like I Am, After the Battle (Udecott), and Do the Right Thing.
They also performed classics like Talk Yuh Talk and a cover of Lancelot Lane’s Blow Way. Patrons had the choice of viewing the show seated in the balcony, or downstairs, standing—and dancing—in front of the stage. During Troddin On, 3 Canal hailed the Little Carib and the legacy of its founder, Beryl McBurnie, urging their audience, “Believe in yourself; be strong.” Throughout, the show maintained themes of resistance, revolution and responsibility, homing in on political change around the world, the recent change in government in T&T, and positive societal transformation. As usual, 3Canal used their charisma and craft to get their points across.
The show continued its tradition of bringing emerging talent to the stage with its slate of MLF (Music Liberation Front) performers. This year’s MLF featured Gyazette, whose lead singer Nicolai Salcedo performed Captain to a great audience response; Collis Duranty, who had the crowd singing his chorus for him on For and Bring Back My Love; and KIN Sibling Rivalry, who added soca to their usual rock-reggae mix on Carnival J’Ouvert, sung by Kiwan Landreth Smith. This brought out some rapso flavour on Mud, with Adam “Mar” Andrews on lead vocals. In the second half, the dancers were festive in red-accented, J’Ouvert-themed costumes, and the crowd downstairs was decidedly in a dancing mood. They lifted their energy as 3Canal re-emerged, sporting appliquéd jackets by The Cloth.
They were joined by Shaft, singing Surrender, and Ataklan, who got the audience’s hands in the air with Caribbean Swagger. The rapso men performed their hits Blue and Good Morning, as well as more of this year’s offerings, including Over Me, We Coming Again and I Am. During their final song, Run de Riddem, the audience kept time with their hands and chanted the chorus, “Is de rhythm we want!” Along with good vibes and plenty music, that’s exactly what they’d got. 3Canal’s Re-Evolution Time, continues at the Little Carib Theatre on Roberts Street in Woodbrook, every night until Carnival Saturday.
3Canal and the Little Carib ReEvolution
By Wayne Bowman wayne.bowman@trinidadexpress.com
In the newly restored Little Carib Theatre in Woodbrook rapso group 3Canal on Wednesday night premiered its 2011 edition of The 3Canal Show. The title of this year's production is ReEvolution Time and was the first event to take place at the Little Carib since its reopening after being closed for restoration over three years ago.
The venue was the home of legendary dancer Beryl McBurnie who, during the 1940s, created a performance space there for the nation's budding talents. Although the restoration was quite extensive the original layout and intimacy of the space was maintained. Upgrades include the latest in lighting and sound technology.
ReEvolution Time is the 3Canal Show's return to its original home and during the production the group dedicated "Trodding On" to McBurnie and the theatre. The show opened with the dancers taking the stage to oratory on the spirit of a warrior delivered by Wendell Manwarren over the music of "Reevolution Time".
3Canal-Manwarren, Roger Roberts and Stanton Kewley then took the stage to the cheering audience, those seated in the balcony and the one that chose to gather at stage level and dance to the music under the strobe lights employed in the production. There was also live animation on a screen to the right of the stage orchestrated by recent graduates of the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
The rapso watchdogs of politicians did comment on the political landscape several times during their production, for instance when they sang "Thin Cow". Manwarren drew reference to news reports that the People's Partnership Government was looking to institute the property tax, which they objected to when the PNM sought to do so last year. Manwarren said, "We did not vote for that. We voted for change. We are not asleep. The war is not over," to which the audience cheered.
Later on while performing "Power To The People", Manwarren spoke of the waves of revolution moving across the Middle East. Citing the latest protests in Libya, Manwarren shouted, "Gadaffi needs to understand he's got to go. We celebrate Egypt, Tunisia, Libya." He then reminded the audience that it is the people who decide who governs, shouting, "I am the government," as the band struck up the music of "Running Away".
Among the guest artistes performing was the band, Gyazette which performed a political commentary titled "Who Is the Captain Of This Ship," done in alternative music style blending blues, rock, kaiso and other local genres.
Also performimg was Kin Sibling Rivalry, which is fronted by 3Canal guitarist, Kiwan Landreth-Smith. They too performed music with elements of rock, kaiso and other local rhythms exploring the Jouvert experience. Colis Duranty had the audience in grip when he performed a love groove "Bring Back My Love" followed by "I Can Hardly Wait".
3Canal begins 2K11 season
By Sateesh Maharaj
3canal has much to celebrate.
This year marks the trio's 15th anniversary as a rapso group and their 18th as a Jouvert band. Member Wendell Manwarren says in many ways this is what the eighth edition of the 3Canal show, ReEvolution Time commemorates. But the big celebration this time around is the fact that the show is returning to the Little Carib Theatre where it all started in 2004.
The show runs from today to March 5.
"It started as an idea, a very rough and tumble thing until it grew and grew," he said.
When the theatre was closed for repairs 3Canal decided to "take the big step to Queen's Hall" which offered a much bigger space leading to the offering of a different show. It has been the show's home for the last four years.
"It has done well at Queen's Hall but one of the things we've always felt at the Queen's Hall was the need to liberate the space a bit more and make people get up and dance. Queen's Hall forced it to be more of a sit-down spectacle. Once we heard that Carib was available we jumped on the idea."
He said there was also a different "vibration" to the show this year as if it wanted to be more dynamic in terms of movement and people being able to "free up and dance."
He admitted that it was a smaller, much more intimate space but that is what the group hopes to trade on this time around–the intimacy and the power of the vibration up close.
"There is a definite downside to that, yes, just from an economic point of view it is almost a crazy decision but in this instance the artistic calling triumphed over the economic side of things. We used to concentrate everything in one week in Queen's Hall. In this instance we have to spread it out in two weeks."
3Canal's Roger Roberts said the show starts earlier this year and stressed that people should buy tickets early and not wait until the last week of the event.
Explaining the name of the show, Manwarren said: "Evolution, that dynamic and impulse for change to develop and improve. That is what we are talking about, celebrating change. Change is very much the topic of now. We had a recent change in the public scenario. Change is something you have to come to terms with."
He added: "In the music business the soca djs are singing soca songs. The passing of giants like Keith Smith makes you realise that it's a changed landscape now. We also recognise that within ourselves as well."
Roberts said they keep changing up the format of the show so one did not become too comfortable, to keep it vibrant and always changing.
This time around the show's emphasis would be more on the live musical vibration. One of the subtitles of the show is 'Here Comes the MLF' (Music Liberation Front). It is a commentary on the need for quotas, a cry that 3Canal has taken up and will continue to adhere to.
Manwarren said: "We think that quotas will be symbolic of a big shift in how we regard ourselves and our culture and how we are able to reward ourselves as creative people, not just musicians but across the board so that people may see themselves and in seeing themselves know themselves and in knowing themselves are able to make proper decisions and choices for themselves."
The group has released nine new songs which will be performed at the show together with older favourites which the group feels is more pertinent to what is happening now.
Roberts said: "We've written songs that we have found over time could apply year after year. We don't feel badly about doing the song again because we feel it is still relevant and we don't feel that music dies. We may just need to present it in a different way or mix."
Manwarren said the challenge now was to make the music tell the story much more than any other show and stressed that there will not be any acting in this show.
Roberts said: "There is no 3Canal show you will come to and say it was like the last one. We have to keep changing it all the time because we can't get stale or settle. We have to keep moving like a river and not like dregs."
Manwarren revealed that a group of young animators who recently graduated from UTT will be included in this show.
Lecturer/Programme Coordinator of Animation Studies at UTT, Camille Selvon-Abrahams and lecturer Mario Lewis also of UTT were instrumental in bringing the entities together. The group, known as Lab206 has been working with 3Canal in the last few months and Manwarren is pleased with what he has seen so far.
"I am excited at the prospect of what they are going to bring to the table this time around."
For further information visit www.3canal.com or call 623-7411.
3Canal declares Re-evolution
Ariapita Avenue was the place to be after 9 pm on January 21, as 3Canal’s video shoot turned into a sidewalk party. Fans answered the call to be part of the rapso trio’s video for their new song, I Am. Hundreds turned out to 3Canal headquarters, downstairs the popular Veni Mange restaurant on Ariapita Avenue in Woodbrook, to see the singers, backed by their band, Cut+Clear, as cameras recorded live takes of the song being performed. The video shoot was directed by Walt Lovelace, who has made iconic 3Canal video classics like Blue, Mud Madness and Happy Song. Lovelace and the supporting camera crew were seen making their way through the enthusiastic crowd, capturing scenes of revelry. In addition to some five energetic takes of I Am, the band delivered previous hits like Boom Up History and Blue, as well as other new music for 2011: Over Me, a sweet J’Ouvert lavwey; Run de Rhythm; and, After the Battle, which deals with the Udecott scandal. Spirits were high as the audience was visibly exhilarated by the music. They made merry and danced along to the band—and to the DJ sounds after the set ended.
15 years of music
In an interview after the show, Manwarren said this year, 3Canal marks 15 years in music and 18 years in J’Ouvert mas. He said the exciting vibe of the band’s new music had been inspired in part by their new producers Shaft, and Cut+Clear member Keshav Singh. Zack Esau and Samuel Jack engineered the songs over a month at Studio Express. “The challenge is: how do you remain relevant in this ever-changing game?” he said. He said 3Canal had succeeded by engaging their creativity “on their own terms.”
3Canal show returns to Little Carib Theatre
After four years of presenting their annual Carnival show at Queen’s Hall, 3Canal announced at their launch on February 4, that this year, the musical spectacle will return to its original home at the Little Carib Theatre. Singer Wendell Manwarren boasted that the rapso group would have the honour of “christening” the newly-renovated theatre space, established by dance grande dame Beryl McBurnie and considered holy ground for T&T theatre-goers.
The band presented a taste of what’s in store for the show, at their launch at 33 Murray Street in Woodbrook, including songs from Re Evolution Time, their new nine-track album, and two new videos. Fans of the band have been noting a new energy in the its offerings this year. And indeed, the vibes ran high at the event, which featured 3Canal live, with their band Cut and Clear.
Manwarren introduced their new video for Run de Riddem/I AM, shot two weeks before, outside their base downstairs Veni Mange restaurant on Ariapita Avenue. The video, directed by Walt Lovelace, was projected on a large screen at the back of the stage. The high-contrast, colour-saturated piece featured fans enjoying a live 3Canal performance. Its speedy cuts captured the energy of the band and the people.
The band Gyazette was up next, after it was announced that they would be part of this year’s 3Canal Show. Band members heated up the crowd with blistering renditions of their songs Little Millionaire, Down and Captain. They now have an exciting, big sound, mixing calypso, rock, reggae and funk, while still remaining unmistakably Trini. The event also launched 3Canal’s J’Ouvert band, I AM the ReEvolution. This year marks their 18th year of mas and their 15th in music.
They took the stage before a packed yard and performed their new tracks, as the crowd partied hard. Their set included We Coming Again, I AM, After the Battle, Do the Right Thing and Trodding On. The revolutionary theme was evident, with Manwarren hailing po litical shifts taking place in Egypt, Tunisia and Sudan. He said: “Revolution Time is about celebrating change.” He declared, “This is J’Ouvert morning,” and called the audience forward, before the group performed Over Me. I AM T-shirt-clad fans obeyed, crowding the space before the stage and letting loose.
When they started perennial favourite, Blue, next, those in front began a choreographed routine and it was only apparent then that they were in fact dancers from the 3 Canal show. They added visual appeal and joyful vibes as well. The show continued with old favourites like Talk Yuh Talk, Heat in de Place and Good Morning, and after the performance, fans stuck around and partied.
The 2011 edition of the 3Canal Show will be the first production at the newly restored Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook, which was closed over two years ago for extensive renovations. The show is this year titled, ReEvolution Time and Wendell Manwarren of 3Canal told the Express having the show back at the Little Carib represents that re-evolution they are exploring through the show, the group’s recordings for 2011 Carnival and their Jouvert band.
“We are excited over returning to the Little Carib this year. The last time we did the 3Canal Show there was in 2006, before it was closed for the renovations. We thought that since the 3Canal Show was the last big production there, it should be the first big show after the restoration,” Manwarren said.
There are several innovations being introduced for this year’s show the major one being the inclusion of live animation. This will be done by recent graduates of the Animation Class at the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Manwarren said when UTT’s Programme Coordinator of Animation Studies, Camile Selvon-Abrahams invited him to host the class’s graduation ceremony, he told her he would as long as 3Canal can get to work with them. The group of animators has come together under the name, Lab 206 and will create animation sequences during the production.
Along with the performance of 3Canal there will be several guest acts including fellow rapso artistes Ataklan and Mr Shak. Emphasis will also be placed on the local alternative music scene with performances by Colis Duranty as well as Gazette and Kin Sibling Rivalry.
The three components of 3Canal’s Carnival productions were launched on February 4 at Murray Street, Woodbrook where theatre practitioner, Godfrey Sealy lived. Nikki Crosby commented when she arrived at the launch that being in that space brought back some good memories. “Boy, we all started right here in this yard,” Crosby said.
Manwarren underscored Crosby’s statement saying that Sealy opened up his home to the theatre fraternity back in the early days. Manwarren said that yard served as the place where many actors and actresses got their start. He said it was the place where he first met the late Mairoon Ali and where Raymond Choo Kong used to prepare for his plays. Manwarren said the yard was also used for other events, but remains a special place in the hearts of the members of the theatre fraternity.
As for the other components of 3Canal’s Carnival 2011 the group on February 4 also launched their nine-track CD, ReEvolution Time that features the songs, “We Coming Again,” “I Am,” “After The Battle,” “Do The Right Thing,” “Power To The People,” “Running Away,” “Over Me” and “Trodding On.”
A music video for “I Am” / “Run The Riddem” was also launched on the night. 3Canal also unveiled its 2011 Jouvert presentation, I AM the Re Evolution - Power to the People. The 3Canal Show opens on February 21. There will be a Children’s show on February 20.
The poolside area of the Carlton Savannah Hotel was transformed into the Queen's Park Savannah stage of old last Emancipation Sunday evening, as Rapso favourites, 3Canal hosted their annual Freedom.com concert event and almost initiated a mid-year Jouvert celebration without mud.
Scores of faithful 3Canal fans arrived on time for the 7.30 p.m. start and were well-dressed and well-behaved for the first half of the show. Ataklan opened with a few of his hit selections and was well received, before Wendell, Stanton and Roger took the stage and led their Cut+Clear Crew through an initial set comprised of more recent 3Canal material.
Humidity was high after a day filled with downpours, but the masses braved the heat, the high-end hotel bar prices and the adventurous upper deck built over the pool. MC Rawkus hosted the proceedings in the vein of an ongoing radio program as Kin Sibling Rivalry delivered an exciting set of Caribbean rock music, before making way for Sheldon Holder and a scaled-down version of 12 The Band.
Drawing inspiration from the newly-elected political administration and their stated intentions to diversify our economy, 3Canal has reignited a call for legislation advocating 50 per cent local content across the broadcast media spectrum. Labelled as the Music Liberation Front, or MLF, this initiative was clearly illustrated in the format of Freedom.com, which ensured that 100 per cent local music was played and performed on the night.
"The Music Liberation Front is a vehicle and a platform for the promotion and proliferation of our indigenous musical expression," said Manwarren. "The call for quotas is over ten years old and still remains unanswered and I think we have suffered enough as a nation because we do not see and hear enough of ourselves. So, we are taking up the cry once again and trying to spread the message and keep it in the minds of the people as much as possible because we think the time is ripe for a positive change in this direction. No matter what anybody says, nothing bad can come of this initiative and acceptance of ourselves and in fact, we have plenty of evidence of different societies around the world that have benefited from it, so why haven't we even tried it yet?"
Returning to the stage for a second set of older favourites, 3Canal turned the energy levels up high and soon enough the upper deck and patrons all around the venue were swaying fluidly with the motion of unbridled revelry. As the set progressed with classics like "Blue", "Salt" and "Talk Yuh Talk", even the hotel staff became infected with the sweet melodies and contagious harmonies of the accomplished ensemble. All pretentious behaviour evaporated into the balmy atmosphere as the rhythm took root within the bodies present and complete joy and merriment took over the gathering. Ataklan returned to perform "Shadow" and "Soca Girl" with extensive backgrounds from 3Canal and the "Free Three" 'soul sisters' present, namely: Jamilla Hypolite, Dionne Mc Nichol-Stephenson and Jeanelle Archer before 3Canal closed with their epic, "All Around The World".
The concert was then officially over, but the party had only just begun as Rawkus and DJ Rhythm International continued to ignite the dance-floor with hits from the Kisskadee Karavan and other popular local acts over time. Manwarren expressed tremendous gratitude to all patrons who braved the rainy evening and came out to support the MLF, as well as various sponsors and the management of the Carlton Savannah Hotel.
"Aside from pushing the MLF and call for quotas," he revealed, "we're gonna be hitting the studio hard from all now. I think we were still mourning the loss of $hel$hok after the fact last year and our music suffered because we went to the studio very late and didn't have his usual quota of magic. So, we're going to hit it early this year and crank out music until we feel we have enough to make an impact on the season and the music scene in general."
For more information on 3Canal or the MLF, please log on to www.3canal.com or visit their fan page on facebook.com.
ARTISTES CALL FOR EQUAL RADIO TIME
Roughly a decade ago artistes, musicians, music producers and lovers of local music marched through Port of Spain calling for greater radio airplay for local music. Rapso artiste Wendell Manwarren of the group 3Canal observes today, that many things have changed since."Andre Tanker who was forefront in the march has since passed away and calypsonian Winston "Gypsy" Peters who was also part of the movement for fairer airplay for our local music is now the Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism. Many things have changed, yet we are still waiting for more airplay," Manwarren said.
Manwarren with 3Canal and the Cut+Clear Crew will today, Emancipation Day, make a vibrant call for better a quota for local music through their show titled Freedom.com: Free the Music – Free Yourself. This is the fifth edition of the annual concert that is usually held close to the Emancipation holiday. It takes place at the poolside of the Carlton Savannah Hotel, Cascade from 6 p.m.
The concert will be presented in a radio station format where the music acts will be punctuated by brief explorations of where local music stands today. Manwarren said this idea was initiated some time aback in the days of D'Yard, which was the name given the home of the Rituals recording studio, which produced music from rapso artistes and other local acts.
"We had a little project called MLF meaning Music Liberation Front in which we asked ourselves what would we sound like if we had our own radio station and if we did, what would the quotas be like. The problem with airplay is a perennial thing that needs to be addressed because this is all about identifying who we are," Manwarren said.
Manwarren pointed out that during a recent symposium on entertainment one of the panelists suggested that Carnival may be detrimental to the entire cultural landscape because everything seems to be locked into the season. Manwarren said he can understand such concerns because, "We fixate on Carnival and forget we have an entire year to engage. We used to hear a lot of new music playing during the August holidays, but not these days. We did not stop making music, we just stopped playing it."
Freedom.com: Free the Music – Free Yourself will feature performances by 3Canal as well as rapso artiste Ataklan. Also in the line-up is 12 the Band and Kin Sibling Rivalry, which performs what they define as Caribbean rock. The event is being described as a festival of music towards the libration of the music as 3Canal and the other artistes involved again call for a quota of at least 50/50 on radio.
"The People is the music and the music is the people. If radio will not play local music we have the podcasts and will just go viral on the internet and iPhones," Manwarren said. Tickets can be purchased today at the Carlton Savannah hotel.
3CANAL TAKES LION'S SHARE
Rapso group 3 Canal walked away with the lion’s share of awards, including the prize for Most Outstanding Production—The 3-Canal JAM-IT! Show—at Tuesday’s Cacique Awards 2009. The 21st Annual Awards Ceremony, produced by the National Drama Association of T&T (NDATT) was held at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s, and was attended to by scores of local arts and entertainment enthusiasts.
The popular music outfit also copped the awards for Most Outstanding Sound Design, Most Outstanding Director and Most Outstanding Original Script, which front-line vocalist Wendell Manwarren dedicated to his late friend — actress, comedienne and radio personality Mairoon Ali. Ali, 55, died on December 20, of hypertensive heart disease. Manwarren remained in winner’s row, capturing the evening’s special awards— Outstanding Achievement in Writing (Original Script) and Outstanding Musical Director.
Meanwhile, designer Margaret Sheppard won the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Newcomer Tramaine Lamy beat out veteran actresses Penelope Spencer and Debra Boucaud-Mason for Most Outstanding Actress, for her role as Belle in Disney’s Beauty and The Beast. Marlon de Bisque managed a similar feat, copping the award for Most Outstanding Actor over his more seasoned counterparts Errol Fabien and Richard Ragoobarsingh. The Most Outstanding Dramatic Production, meanwhile, went to the Department of Creative and Festival Arts for Fragments: Celebrating the Works of Derek Walcott, while RS Productions received the award for Most Outstanding Comedic Production.
Titled Nurture The Future, the event also provided an opportunity for young aspiring actors to display their talents in the art form. The audience was treated to performances by the Bishop Anstey Choir, The Lilliput Theatre, Trinidad Theatre Workshop and Dale Huggins. NDATT president Louris Lee-Sing said the theatre community continued to face “many challenges,” including the escalating cost of venues and advertising and dwindling audience members due to rising crime and “recent economic crises.”
She said: “It is obviously in our nature to be optimistic, to keep going and become innovative when faced with adversity, because I see the producers, actors and technical professionals exploring new opportunities in our fledgling film industry...In short, I see evolution.” Lee-Sing said it was the responsibility of the NDATT to adapt to the changing paradigms and innovate ways to benefit and service its membership.
Marlon de Bisque managed a similar feat, copping the award for Most Outstanding Actor over his more seasoned counterparts Errol Fabien and Richard Ragoobarsingh. The Most Outstanding Dramatic Production, meanwhile, went to the Department of Creative and Festival Arts for Fragments: Celebrating the Works of Derek Walcott, while RS Productions received the award for Most Outstanding Comedic Production.
Titled Nurture The Future, the event also provided an opportunity for young aspiring actors to display their talents in the art form. The audience was treated to performances by the Bishop Anstey Choir, The Lilliput Theatre, Trinidad Theatre Workshop and Dale Huggins. NDATT president Louris Lee-Sing said the theatre community continued to face “many challenges,” including the escalating cost of venues and advertising and dwindling audience members due to rising crime and “recent economic crises.”
She said: “It is obviously in our nature to be optimistic, to keep going and become innovative when faced with adversity, because I see the producers, actors and technical professionals exploring new opportunities in our fledgling film industry...In short, I see evolution.” Lee-Sing said it was the responsibility of the NDATT to adapt to the changing paradigms and innovate ways to benefit and service its membership.
3CANAL GRABS MOST CACIQUE NOMINATIONS
Rapso trio 3Canal secured nominations in 11 of the 13 categories for this year's Cacique Awards scheduled for August 3 at Queen's Hall, St Ann's on July 12 at the National Library, St Vincent St, Port of Spain.
The group earned the nominations for its Carnival 2010 production titled, The 3Canal Show: Jam-It at Queen's Hall.
This show featured 3Canal and its band, Cut+Clear in concert and was supported by drama, dance, poetry and other performance elements. Jam It was nominated for Most Outstanding Set Design, Most Outstanding Light Design, Most Outstanding Original Script and Wendell Manwarren was nominated for Most Outstanding Director.
Cecelia Salazar announced the categories and nominees before members of the theatre fraternity including several of the nominees and members of the media.
President of the National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago (NDATT), Louris Lee Sing said although it is financially challenging to present the Cacique Awards ceremony, NDATT continues to because the hard work of the people in the fraternity must be recognised and rewarded.
Lee Sing also called for more corporate support for the event.
The Vanguard Award will this year be presented to the Little Carib Theatre, which ironically is closed for major restoration work that has been moving very slowly for the past months.
The Little Carib was established by Beryl McBurnie in 1948 and served as the nurturing ground for many actors, dancers and musicians over the past 60 years.
The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Margaret Sheppard, a wardrobe and costume designer who has worked in the theatre arena for more than 20 years.
Sheppard has worked with the Baggasse Company, Marionettes Chorale, Godfrey Seale and the Trinidad Theatre Workshop and others. She is also an accomplished artist.
The Catholic priest spoke of the 91-year old woman at her funeral service as coming from a different time and from circumstances not comparable to those of the late 20th and early 21st centuries It was a time when the lower and middle social and economic classes had little by way of material possessions, that is in the manner that we today count value. But it was a time when we reached beyond our base nature and valued the non-material.
It was a time when people paid attention to something called “good manners”, which meant they said “morning neighbour.” It was a time, contrary to the times of today, when as 3Canal observes, we have drifted far away from simple but fundamental tenets of humanity: Click Link for more...
A night to remember with 3Canal
The names roll off your tongue, Bacchanal Show, Shine, Joy and Fire, and now Jam-it. Ten years after fellow band member, John Isaacs passed away, the 3Canal band came out with a production called Jam-It, for 2010.
Audience members said it was aptly suited name for a Carnival season which followed a year of true controversy, and well, general scandal.
This year’s show began with the regular segment for opening acts where young artists get a chance to flex their muscles before a crowd known to clap-on even the newest of stage takers.
At about 8.30 p.m. the main cast takes the stage and starts the show, with another aptly titled item, the song ’Start It.’
The crowd, most of whom are anything but virgins to the 3Canal experience are given their first view of the cast. The cast, most of whom are no strangers to the local theatre fraternity or Queen’s Hall are given their first view of their adoring crowd.
Mainstays like limbo queen Natalie Joseph Settle, renowned actress Penelope Spencer, and performance artists Dion McNicol and Kamal Rashad Durant are all sighted.
The theme of the first half of the show is revealed. The audience sees slave warriors, all shapes and sizes ready to fight the constabulary for their rights to beat their drums, sing their songs, and dance their dances. The Canboulay riots have begun.
Michael Cherrie, another regular at 3Canal concerts assumes the role of a police officer, ready to ban ’the people’s festival.’ He wants to stop ’they Carnival.’
Second track begins, and the crowd is treated to the jam, J’ouvert Warrior. This flows into Ah Love it.
This time the crowd, at the gala night event sings along, ’Oh ah love it, ah love, ah love meh Carnival.’ Before this, anybody observing from the outside would have described the persons gathered at the grande dame of local theatre spaces, Queen’s Hall to take in the Jam-It show, as ’stoosh.’ ’Stoosh’ means unnecessarily posh or uppity. But the crowd wasn’t ’stoosh.’
By the time Run, Come began to play, a few folks were wining in their seats. Pumping fists supported the casts while they performed to the tracks Boom Up History and Freedom Jam. 3Canal’s message of respecting those who fought for freedom, emancipation and change should have been evident to even the most disconnected concert attendee by then.
During the intermission one patron described the first half of Jam-It as ’angry.’
’But it was good anger. The kind we need to shake stuff up,’ he told the Express.
While the message of the first half was evident, the second half was parody central. Satire was the name of the game, and the Jam-It cast was playing it. And from the audience laughs and nods, it appeared they were playing it well.
The target of the satire was not so uncommon and had found himself the brunt of many a jokes within the last year.
Michael Cherrie’s speech began, ’My brothers and sisters.’ The audience laughed. He continued talking about his love for ’Echoes Divine’ and disdain for ’wajangs.’ The target of his derision, oh so obvious.
Asked if they felt uncomfortable with the show’s apparent mocking of the country’s Prime Minister, most said no.
’We vote for you, we could laugh at you. Art imitates life.’
Using a strong cocktail of militant irony, double entendre and the juxtaposition of character traits, the theatrical piece continued to highlight what citizens have termed ’the folly of our leaders.’
But the Government shouldn’t feel super special, the mocking wasn’t confined to them. The concert’s script also poked fun at what was supposed to be the concert event to top all concert events, the Michael Jackson This Is It, concert, which was cancelled due to circumstances beyond the organiser’s control. Jackson died.
Penelope Spencer even took a jeer at 3Canal themselves. The band members, Wendell Manwarren, Stanton Kewley and Roger Roberts are known for wearing the pants notoriously low. Some would say their pants are worn around their buttocks and not their waists.
When Spencer who plays the head worker at the ’Emperor’s Palace,’ (hint hint) hears that 3Canal is the band coming to play at her boss’s ’big, big ball’, she damn near faints and says, ’Oh God tell them to pull up dey pants.’
The audience bursts into back shaking chuckles.
’That was funny, very funny.’
Veteran actress, Cecelia Salazar was cast as Queen Elizabeth 11, on her recent visit to Trinidad and Tobago.
One audience member stated that Salazar was a good ’caricature’ of the royal lady. One must wonder whether or not the term ’good caricature’ was meant as a praise or critique. The statement seems paradoxical.
Either way most agreed the show was funny.
Some ’strong’ language flew around on the stage also. As such sincerely ’stoosh’ people should have probably left ’dey pickney’ home with the ’sitter.
Maybe the piece wasn’t as funny as Charlie Chaplin’s satirical film The Dictator , based on the rise of Adolf Hitler, but the resemblances were there.
But it is possible, despite the public’s pleasure, the PNM camp may not have found the play that funny. However ousted Minister of Trade Keith Rowley was in attendance at the show on its gala night. The Express didn’t get a chance to ask him what he thought of the play however.
Despite the absence of the Diego Martin West MP’s feedback, all other comments make it safe to conclude that the 3Canal Show has once again emerged as a luminary of local satire. It reminded theatre goers that smart comedy is still made in T&T.
It also reminded this Express reporter that no matter how bad we think T&T is, let’s say thank God we don’t live elsewhere.
In a country not to far South of us, let’s call the country Benezuela, ironic theatre like Jam-It most likely would have been shut down and labelled as ’anti-Government’ on day one. Instead the 3Canal show ran for eight days, ending on Carnival Saturday with no notable censorship.
Keeping a seated crowd entertained at this time of the year is no easy feat, but 3Canal was on the ball at Queen’s Hall on February 9, when it hosted its Jam-It show in tribute to the late John Isaacs, Mairoon Ali, and Sheldon “Shel Shock” Benjamin. Although the response to the pre-show was somewhat lukewarm, those in attendance could sense what lay ahead as the trio eventually made a grand entrance on stage, flanked by a theatric entourage led by theatre stalwart Penelope Spencer. Patrons got their money’s worth, and then some, as they were treated to a bit of history, politics and a whole lot of entertainment, all rolled into one.
As the group belted out song after song from their extensive repertoire, each number was linked to scenes from the dramatic re-enactment of the 1881 Camboulay riots, with a contemporary twist, of course. Preparations for the Carnival celebration by the freed Africans, amid the numerous restrictions was outlined by Captain Arthur Baker, played by Michael Cherrie, were hilarious, and the packed Queen’s Hall all but shook with laughter. But it was the second act that stole the show. Clad in colourful costumes befitting a masquerade ball, the actors were out of sorts when they were forbidden by Governor Sir Sanford Freeling, also played by Cherrie, from celebrating Carnival in the way they wanted.
According to a stiff Freeling, there was to be “no wining, no grinding, no passa passing, no daggering, no palancing and all sorts of wajang behaviour” during his ball, at which the Queen of England was expected to make an appearance. Anyone found in contravention of these restrictions, he said, would be severely punished. The hiring of the band Divine Echoes to play at the ball invoked bouts of laughter from the audience. But when it was reported that the band was unable to make it and the services of 3 Canal had instead been contracted, the reaction of the citizens, especially Spencer, sent the crowd into a frenzy.
“Oh God! Let dem pull up dey pants,” Spencer shrieked, as she fanned herself. And when the queen eventually made her entrance at the ball, the audience stopped short of rolling along the isles. Emblazoned on the bottom front of her dress was a blue devil. It was then that 3Canal again took centre stage with a new bout of energy. And by the time the curtains came down, no one could accuse the group of not having accomplished its mission. Part of the show’s proceeds will be donated to the people of Haiti.
'Jam-It' hits PNM administration hard
POPULAR local band, 3Canal and its 2010 Carnival show ’Jam-It’ is taking a series of shots at this country’s Patrick Manning led administration and its zealous hosting of two expensive international conferences last year.
Known for being anything but politically correct, this year the 3Canal Show has stepped up the usual public criticism of this country’s leaders and several patrons whom the Express spoke to after Tuesday night’s gala presentation of ’Jam-It’ said the show was indeed hitting the current People’s National Movement led administration ’real hard.’
’They are only repeating things the citizenry has been saying all year. There is serious grassroots discontent in Trinidad and Tobago, serious concern over the decisions the Government we once trusted are making, and 3Canal being the kind of band they are, are not afraid to highlight the concerns of the people. They are performers, but they are people too and the issues here affect them also. It’s time more of us tell Manning like it is. As 3Canal asked them, what they going to do ’when the people come for they millions?’ What he going to do when we want we oil and gas money?’’ said one middle aged woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Though the band, which comprises Wendell Manwarren, Stanton Kewley and Roger Roberts, published disclaimers this week stating that any resemblance their characters bore to real persons was a figment of the audience’s imagination, this only served to make the script more comedic for patrons attending Tuesday night’s show.
While most patrons interviewed by the Express after the show, said they would not describe the event as ’anti-Government,’ several attendees agreed that any die-hard Patrick Manning supporters would be uncomfortable with the cast mocking the present PM’s perceived dislike for ’wajangs,’ and even homosexuals.
Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley’s presence event only served to make actor Michael Cherrie’s impression of ’The Emperor’ and his ’anti-wajang’ sentiment even more poignant.
Rowley was fired from his post as Trade Minister in 2008, following an episode where the Prime Minister accused his fellow Cabinet member of carrying on with ’wajang’ behaviour.
Despite the underlying theme of political commentary and the steady flow of ’picong’ doled out by the band, the 3Canal ’Jam-It’ show which runs until tomorrow was well received by the audience.
Tuesday’s event was dedicated to the memory of deceased 3Canal member, John Isaacs, as well as producer, Sheldon ’$hel $hok’ Benjamin, and actress Mairoon Ali, both also deceased.
Manwarren told the Express that all profits from Tuesday’s gala event will be donated to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.
The 3canal “Freedom Now” show, featuring Wendell Manwarren, Roger Roberts and Stanton Kewely on Tuesday night at Queen’s Hall in St Ann’s was perhaps one of the best concerts in Port-of-Spain in recent years.
During the entire show emotions ranged from celebration of Emancipation, happiness to be alive and well, to doom and gloom from current injustices, to rage with the powers that be not listening to the people, to love when all else fails and lastly to hope for a better life in this country.
Every Emancipation 3canal hosts two concerts with the first being a benefit. This year the benefit was for actress Cecilia Salazar.
Four months ago she suffered Peripartum Dilated Cardiomyopathy – an enlarged, stressed and weakened heart. It meant she was in the early stages of heart failure in both the left and right chambers of her heart. Roberts explained: “Its about celebrating Emancipation but this year we decided to look at Emancipation as not dressing up in pretty clothes but what freedom really means to us and how we plan to make a difference with it.”
He added that with freedom as the breath of life, deceased producer Shelshok who was one of the celebrated persons of the event produced 90 percent of their music. And using another quote “Freedom lies in being bold,” he cited Salazar who he said took a bold choice years ago to become an actress despite the odds and a lot of her energy was poured into their work on the night.
That, coupled with 3canal deliberately bringing the band Cut + Clear to the forefront and closer to the audience, it was easier to communicate with the audience and it worked. With all instruments clearly heard, the band fired on all cylinders and their music was felt throughout the hall.
The night began with oral tradition artistes Mohammed Muwakil doing a freedom piece followed by The Griots – Tonya Evans, Mandissa Granderson and Isoke Edwards doing likewise.
3Canal then made their entrance on stage with “Happy Song” followed by “Rise,” “Now Is The Time” and “Freedom Jam.” During this song a total jam session followed with the introduction of Sheldon Holder and his guitarist Johnny Hosein Darius Balgobin and Nickolai Salcedo.
The Griots went into another interlude before 3Canal returned on stage to deliver “Millions.” During numbers, Manwarren blasted politicians for not hearing the plight of the people and even sarcastically joked on the PM and his “so-called” death threat then went on to sing “Watch Them.” By this time the audience fully got into their act as they sang with conviction, “Salt” and “Talk Yuh Talk.”
The music was pulled down a bit for Manwarren to tell a true story of a 14-year-old being gunned down the night before he’d arranged with his cousin Ataklan to work with him. Manwarren then sang “A Song For Billy” after which he stated “The killings have to stop.”
Ataklan was then introduced and he delivered “Shadow In The Dark” after which he stated, “Emancipation (slavery) hasn’t been abolished, it’s only been redesigned” but he changed the mood of the audience with his next song “Tomorrow Today” during which he asked everyone in the audience to touch someone next to them whether they knew them or not and tell the person “I Love You.” This action prompted Manwarren to declare: “Pastor Ataklan.” 3canal then surprised the audience when they next introduced Nigel Rojas of Orange Sky. He was greatly applauded as he got into “Love Each Other,” followed by a song that he stated helped saved his marriage, “The Rent.”
After the intermission the oral traditionists returned to begin the second half of the programme followed by the return of 3canal with “Illuminata,” “Slaves,” “Where Do We Go From Here,” “Giants,” “Boom Up History” and “Islands.”
At this point Salazar, who was in the audience with her baby Stella was asked to stand in the audience and the spotlight soon fell on her. She courageously and bravely did so and swayed a bit to the music, acknowledging the outpouring of love and support from members of her family and well-wishers who were out in their numbers. 3canal then closed with “Good Morning” and “Never Give Up”. That latter song got Salazar visibly emotional given her medical condition.
... I had no idea of what I was getting into when I "registered" at the 3canal storefront center the day before. 3canal is both a musical band and one of the many small production companies that stage carnival; the name, according to one of the musicians, Roger Roberts, derives from a type of machete used by cane cutters and, he says, is "a metaphor for cutting and clearing a path and space for vibes to flow and grow." Despite assurances that no one really has to pay, I'd plunked down 60 Trinidadian dollars (about $10 U.S.) for a bag containing a 3canal badge, a white tank top, a square of silver lamé cloth and—ominously—a plastic water bottle filled with white paint.
A little after 4 a.m, I returned to the 3canal storefront with my little lime of four—two Trinis and two other Americans—to find hundreds of people milling around a flatbed truck from which the 3canal musicians were blasting the band's heavy beat into the darkness. Around Port of Spain, people were assembling into 14 other Jouvay bands, each several hundred to a thousand strong, and each with its own music and colors.
When the flatbed truck started rolling, the crowd danced along behind it or, more precisely, "chipped," which is Trinidadian for moving individually to music. At first I chipped in my resolute white-lady way, conscious of my status as the only visible blue-eyed person in the crowd. But then the paint came into play, hurled from bottles and dabbed on any body at hand. A plastic bottle of rough whiskey was passed around. There was a moment of near-panic when a police car forced its way through the crowd, and I learned later that in the pushing and shoving a knife fight had broken out just behind us. But still, the vibe here was overwhelmingly sweet. A teenager planted himself in front of me and announced that I looked "too nice," a condition he corrected by gently anointing my face with fresh paint. I don't know the origins of this orgy of body-painting, and I am glad I hadn't joined one of the Jouvay bands that use chocolate or mud instead, but I know its effect: race was dissolved; even age and gender became theoretical concepts.
In the tradition of Western sociology, crowds are dangerous because they can turn into mobs. So when a contingent from our procession broke away to chase a group of Chinese men watching from the sidelines, I ran along anxiously behind them. Was there resentment of these workers, imported to build downtown skyscrapers? No. Would there be violence? No, the Jouvay celebrants just wanted to cover the foreigners in paint, and the Chinese were doubling over with laughter as they escaped. This was the true and ancient spirit of carnival: there can be no spectators, only participants, and everyone must be anointed.
Sunrise found us in a small public square, and in a condition far from the one we'd started in. We'd been moving through the streets for over three hours, powered by beers passed from hand to hand, and even my ultra-buff American friend was beginning to sag. People were still chipping away, raising their heads toward the already-hot blue sky in a kind of triumph. Hardly anyone was noticeably drunk, but we were annihilated, as individuals anyway—footsore, bone-tired, dripping with paint and sweat. We were, in some transcendent way, perfected...
[read the whole article by cilcking link below]
Barbara Ehrenreich has written more than 15 books.
Photographer Alex Smailes' book Trinidad and Tobago appeared in 2006.
...I’ve listened to the album [JOY+FIRE] and I believe it is my favorite of all the 3canal music I’ve heard. I’ll admit that in rap hybrid styles, I think in general there is too much rap and not enough of the other things. I love 60’s and 70’s classic style reggae but never much liked modern dancehall, for example. On Joy + Fire, I think the rapso mix of rap and calypso is just right for my taste. Try a track or two, and if you like them you can get the whole album. I dig it quite a bit, and I thank 3canal and Flow Trinidad for this experiment. From my perspective as a random white guy in America who has never been near Trinidad, I appreciate this greatly....
Nearly four years later, CFR finally hits the half-century. For show #50 I return to the place where it all began—cut+clear productions, headquarters of CFR’s “house band”, 3canal, for a leisurely chat with Wendell, Roger and Stanton about “Boom Up History“, the music track they’re giving away for free on Trinidadtunes.com, life on the road and the making of Joy + Fire, their 2009 release. Click the link below to listen!
Following their recent 6-week tour of Europe, 3canal is set to join forces with Amnesty International to stage ReThePublic, For the People-Know your Rights on September 22, at Queen's Hall, St Ann's. The show will form part of Amnesty's global initiative "Small Places Tour" where people are being encouraged to Think Globally Act Locally in support of the fostering of the Knowledge of Human Rights.
Part proceeds of the concert will also be contributed to the Jeffrey Chock Medical Expenses Fund.
On December 10, 1948 the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicise the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.
3canal member Roger Roberts said: "This is the second year that we have been doing the ReThePublic show which commemorates Republic Day. The tagline for our show is 'Know your Rights.' It just sort of coincided with what we were planning. We branded this year's concert under the Amnesty banner and just trying to get people to come out."
Speaking about long time friend Jeffrey Chock and his plight, Roberts said: "Ever since I knew myself in the arts; from very early working with Minshall. Jeffery Chock has been a person who has been documenting and photographing the
performing arts for years. He is a cherished friend who has worked selflessly just to capture the beauty that is around Trinidad and Tobago."
The show features 3Canal in concert, Maximus Dan unplugged and will be hosted by D'Jamettes-Cecilia Salazar, Dionne McNicol and Tonya Evans.
"They (Jamettes) will be the link between all the various elements and will articulate in their own funny way the human rights we all possess but are not aware of".
Last year's show took place at the Little Carib Theatre and, according to Roberts, it was a straight up concert. The 2008 event aims to be more varied.
ReThePublic takes place this Monday at the Queen's Hall, St Ann's from 8 p.m. For further information, please call
623-0982 and the box office at
624-1284.
EXPRESS EDITORIAL
Lighting up the Positives
As Carnival 2008 moves into high gear and as we prepare to crown the monarchs in the various fields, it is opportune that we turn the spotlight on the 3Canal group that in ten years has managed not only to creatively cut a swathe for themselves but who, at the same time, has sought to open up a space for the many young talented performers they believe to be out there.
Their critically-acclaimed new show, "Shine", is a case in point because while they have been showcasing some of their new work to appreciative audiences at Queen's Hall, they have also brought on stage a number of young people who might never have had the opportunity to shine.
The theme - of the show, their hit-bound song and their coming Jouvert band, all bearing the same name - has been deliberately chosen to highlight the reality that, whatever the deviant youth behaviour which regularly makes the headlines, Trinidad and Tobago can boast of a high level of juvenile talent that often goes unnoticed.
So much of 3Canal's work is motivational that it is little wonder that the rapso, "Good Morning", which the National Joint Action Committee's cultural arm, the National Action Cultural Committee, judged to be the best calypso sung last season, urged a return to the old community verities that took for granted the extension of courtesies between the old and the young and, particularly, from the young to the old, ancestral respect being one of the glues that hold all societies.
But, whatever their inborn talents as expressed in their melodic lines, requisite rhythms and incisive, often trenchant lyrics, the major lesson taught by these three young men must be that achievement is not possible without hard, even back-breaking work.
In addition to their performances (for fees but also for charity) both here and abroad during the season, 3Canal has not only consistently found time over the years to do recordings but also to stage an annual show that has now become a fixture on the Carnival calendar and organise a thematic Jouvert band that continues to draw thousands.
We cannot think of any other group of entertainers that has so set out to tap the mother lode of Trinidad and Tobago's cultural history in terms of music, dance and theatre, to give the society an honest yet enduringly hopeful image of itself. Given the space that they have thus opened up none, we think, should be churlish enough to begrudge them this space.