The 12:05 a.m. announcement that it was show time was a reprieve inside the Mas Camp Village, Oxford Road, last Friday. Finally the patrons were going to get a chance to see if the Surface Band, fresh from Trinidad’s Carnival, had any worth. It was the moment many seemed to have been waiting for.
Before the announcement, many of the patrons were like leaves on a day when the wind was stagnant. The heavy bass music being ‘pumped’ from the speakers of Sparkles Disco had almost zero effect as even patrons in the front who are notorious for ‘getting on bad’, were as stationary as the northern star is perceived to be.
However, with the introduction of Surface came an anticipation of excitement. For the first time since Bacchanal Dreams started four weeks ago the patrons were looking forward to something. It was obvious, as the shout of “bounce on the spot” was religiously met by jumping patrons. The flags rose, the blowing whistles sang choruses, and for the first time since the start of the Carnival season the revelry was present.
The repetitive shouts of “jump” boiled the blood in the veins of the revelry hungry patrons who readily complied. It was not only the patrons in the front who were obeying the every command of the Surface Band, but also those in the centre of the audience and to the back.
The turnout was good, and with numbers, vibes, and lots of alcohol the party was in full swing. Surface went on to cover a number of soca hits that had the patrons going on bad. Their commentary added to the vibes and boosted the energy as the patrons complied with every dance instruction they gave.
When a member of the Surface team called up two Jamaican girls onstage to showcase some Jamaican dance moves they did not disappoint. Both danced up a storm, which not only seemed to please the Surface Band members, but also the crowd.
Surface called on a guest from Trinidad who had the ladies shaking their bumpers to a song with the same title and climaxed his set with the song From One Island to Another.
When Surface took over again they were not able to maintain the ‘high’ and the vibes being experienced at the front of the stage area was not being translated to the back of the venue.
From here on the vibes rode on a roller coaster, hitting a high every now and then and then relaxing. One of the high points of Surface’s stint came when they sang Machel Montano’s Jumbie, which was met with much fanfare.
Surface left the stage on a high at 1:25 a.m. dedicating Tony Prescott’s song to all West Indians. After their departure the vibes and energy waned and the patrons began to trickle out.
A LIE..