(Note: I was live-updating this blog until the hotel internet finally gave way under the Carnival rush pouring in, and caught up after I returned home. I adjusted the posting dates to get them to appear in chronological order, please click through 'Older Posts' at the bottom of each page to continue. Links to each post are available on the right panel, and you can click on photos to enlarge, though the captions aren't shown in that larger view. Thanks, and enjoy!)
Hello everyone!
As any steel pan player does once they learn about Carnival in Trinidad, and the Panorama steel band competition that happens during it, I have long dreamed about attending and living the spectacle in person. A week ago, I was presented with a surprise opportunity to do so, along with two long time friends from the steel band I've been playing in for 15+ years.
I'm not sure I'll believe it until we hit the tarmac in Port of Spain, but with a sudden windfall like this, I feel like I have to share the experience. So, I hope you enjoy seeing Trinidad through the eyes of a first-timer whose only knowledge of the island and culture comes from decades of obsessive listening and playing of calypso, soca, and steel pan music.
In addition to describing me, the title of this blog comes from one of my favorite albums by the great calypsonian Lord Kitchener, coincidentally released in the year of my birth.
For most of my life, I have tended to primarily hear only the “music’ parts while listening to music, i.e. the background rhythms, chords, instrumentation, etc. When there were vocals, I found that I could listen to a song for years before suddenly realizing there were lyrics involved, and that the song was actually *about* something. I played instrumental steel band songs for years before I finally started listening to some of the original vocal versions, and forcing myself to work out and understand the lyrics. This is what got me hooked - calypso is beautiful music, but to me it’s really all about the story of each song and the turns of phrase used by the calypsonians.
Here is a fitting tune by the calypsonian Crazy that was running through my head during the flight, and is the reason I knew the name of the airport we were flying into - "Next thing that I get to know / We in customs in Piarco"
It’s about the excitement of returning to Trinidad for Carnival, and in this case meeting a new lovely companion on the flight (which I did not do!).
Here we go! The Queen's Park Savannah is the primary focal point for many events during Carnival.
Port of Spain, from an overlook point. Downtown is on the left, and the Savannah is the bright area near the center.
A closer view of the Savannah. The Sydney Opera House-looking building to the left is the National Academy for the Performing Arts.
The Savannah is a humongous field, with a 1-way roundabout circling it. Here is a view sitting from the grandstand, where tonight the Carnival King and Queen competitors file in from right to left. On Saturday, the 100+ member steel bands will be pushing across and performing here.
The South side stands.
One of the Junior Carnival King entrants. Each picks a song to dance along with and display their costume for judging.
Looking to the right, you can see the huge costumes of the main Kings and Queens getting staged.
It's hard to tell from the picture, but there is one person in each of these costumes. In this one, the person's head is just overlapping the bottom of the black and white spiral, and they have their arms spread out.
You can get a sense of the size from the people behind the stage. The costumes are stunning, sometimes with flashing LEDs or small fireworks.
An announcer describes what each costume represents. Each runs about $10,000 USD and takes several months to build.
The rules used to be that the wearer had to fully carry and support the costume, but now wheels are allowed.
Although wheels and support structures are legal, each still must be mobile and movable without help by the single person inside. This has made it all the way from the staging area to the right.
A back view of this Phoenix costume. They are able to dance and move around amazingly quickly. Sometimes the costume will break or fall over, and sometimes the wearers get injured.
All the costumes are judged, and a Carnival King and Queen are selected. On Carnival Monday and Tuesday, each of these costumes (not just the winners) is accompanied by a costumed group of dancing people for parades throughout the city.
Our steel band recently had the pleasure of performing Lord Kitchener's "Miss Tourist" with the Bay Area's own wonderful St. Lucian singer, composer, and pan player Harry Best. This song is about a tourist learning about the Trinidad Carnival and learning how to 'play mas' and 'bacchanal' - and the second verse starts with "The following day / we went to Maracas Bay"..
Mr. Tourist, with Maracas Bay over my left shoulder.
"Mango Chow", marinated in a mix of garlic, salt, pepper, "shado beni" (aka bandhaniya).. and MSG. Similar to kimchi's varied uses, you can get all sorts of fruits and vegetables marinated in this mixture (pineapple chow, etc). Really tasty.
Maracas Bay is about an hour's drive from Port of Spain, and is the most famous beach on the island. Considering this, it is surprisingly undeveloped - the island of Tobago is more targeted for tourism and leisure, where Trinidad is more industrial, with petroleum reserves and agriculture.
"Bakes" are deep-fried rolls that are unsurprisingly delicious. "Bake & Sharks" are sandwiches with fried shark meat inside the bakes. You can get bake & fish, or bake & chicken, but how can you resist a chance to eat shark?
You can't resist. They are delicious, particularly after adding vegetables and some ubiquitous spicy pepper sauce.
Along with names like Lord Kitchener and the Mighty Sparrow, David Rudder is on the Mount Rushmore of calypso/soca singers and composers. The prime of his stardom was more recent, in the '80s/'90s, so Trinis in their 30s through 50s grew up to his music - and he is still going strong.
Too many hits to list, but "The Hammer" is about Rudolph Charles, pan maker for the famed Desperadoes Steel Band:
"Calypso Music" is another, packed with history:
We had the chance to hear him and his killer band live. My calypso obsession has been stuck in the '50s-'70s, I knew some of his tunes, but now have a lot more homework to do!
The Normandie was one of the first hotels in Port of Spain, it's old and beautiful.
They put on a series of shows before Carnival, some big classic names in there. (The exchange rate is ~6.5 TT = 1 USD)
Inside the Normandie, dressed up for Carnival.
An amazing performance space, outside under the stars, framed by a beautiful, ancient oak(?) tree.
Probably in his 60s now, he still looks and sounds great. At one point, the entire sound system cut off during a song, and without missing a beat, he walked down off the stage in the middle of the crowd and continued to sing acoustic - it was stunning, and disappointing when the amplification came back online!
After a halftime costume change, still killing it. Everyone in the audience was singing along to every lyric in every tune.
The 'special guest' was MX Prime, who came out and sang his current huge hit "Full Extreme", a tune that 2 Panorama bands are playing arrangements of on Saturday. You hear this tune constantly while walking around, and everyone in the crowd lost their minds and started some serious jump-up when he came out.
Heading to a few panyards tonight to hear the 100-piece steel bands practicing and running their tunes for Saturday's Finals. Listening to recordings is one thing, but hearing and feeling the power in person.. Well, it's something I have only been able to imagine, and it will happen tonight. This is what it's all about.
The main event for steel pan is the Panorama Finals on Saturday night of Carnival. Quarterfinals and Semifinals have occurred in the past 2-3 weeks to winnow down to the 10 finalist bands, each with 100-120 players. It's hard to imagine what a 120-player steel band looks or sounds like before you have seen one in person, and also hard to explain once you have.
In preparation for Saturday night's competition, the bands start moving their drums from their panyards to the Savannah via semis or platform trucks on Friday. So Thursday night is their final rehearsal night in their usual practice spaces, and this is the night to go around and hear a bunch of bands at their practiced peak, and get a sneak preview of any 'surprise' adjustments they have made to their arrangements since the earlier rounds.
First up is Starlift, arranged this year by the great Robert Greenidge (more on him later).
A '7-bass', each drum has 3 notes on it, and 2 of those are typically octaves of each other - so on each there are 2 tones, a 4th or 5th apart. They really are made of 55-gallon oil barrels, heated and pounded and tuned by hand to produce resonant tones.
A little information about the development of the steel pan, often described as the only acoustic instrument invented in the 20th century. (these info photos are from a museum exhibition)
Note the "we don't.." sign - in the early days, steel bands were seen as gangs, and were often associated with violence (sometimes rightfully so). Even into the '70s/'80s, my friend growing up was discouraged by some family members from trying to join a band and learn to play pan.
Unfortunately we were at Starlift too early in the evening, and a lot of their players were attending some other competition, so we didn't get to hear them play. Next up is Phase II Pan Groove, 5-time winner arranged by the mad genius Len "Boogsie" Sharpe.
They were just starting up full band rehearsal. That's over 100 people in there, arranged as a packed rectangle with this as the front. Here is a panorama shot..
And here is a video I took walking around the perimeter of the band. Most of what you see here are various variations of bass pans, though you can hear the upper pans, and see them across the front at the end of the video. In the middle, on the raised platform, is the percussion section, with drum set, congas, cowbells, timbales, and 3 'iron' players, playing actual brake drums from old cars. They were learning a new section that Boogsie decided to change (2 days before Finals), so that's why they are playing the same 8 chords looped over and over. Most players don't read sheet music, and it's usually not available anyway - parts are taught by rote, first by the arranger to a small set of section leads, and then by them to the members of their sections. If you listen to the Phase II Finals performance recording, this section they are working in this video flies by in about 10 seconds.
Next we hit the Silver Stars panyard, just in time to hear them do a full runthrough of their tune "We are the Conquerors". You can see the line of basses extending back along the left, some high-mounted white basses in back, and a line of 3- or 4-drum 'guitar' pans raised up along the right edge. All the single- and double-pan players in the front center section are crouched down, part of the choreography they did in some sections. They use two drum set players! Their arranger is Liam Teague, an amazing, virtuousic pan player from T&T who also directs the steel pan program at Northern Illinois University.
These are quad pans, with two pans at waist level and two mounted in front of the player. A steel band's sections and pan types can be compared to a choir's SATB, where each one contains about 2 octaves' worth of notes, in a different range. These sets would be like the Tenor voice.
The 2-pan sets are like the Alto voice, either 'double seconds' (which typically strum, filling out the chords with repeated rhythms) or 'double tenors' (which tend to play or support the melody). I would guess there are about 40 doubles players here, and there is a section of single pan 'tenor' players (highest range, usually melody) standing closer together, straight ahead in the background.
Some panyards didn't allow any type of recording - I wasn't sure about this one, so I didn't hold my camera high, and didn't get much to look at. But, please have a listen. This is the sound that comes out of a 120-piece Panorama band. We happened to catch Renegades rehearsing one of my favorite moments of all the Panorama songs we would see, this crazy triplet breakdown and reentry. See if you can tap your foot through the percussion drop-out, it stays in 4/4, really!
Renegades are one of the 5 bands playing another of the season's big socas, "Good Morning", arranged by yet another amazing Trini pan player and composer, Duvone Stewart. The mural is of Jit Samaroo, long time arranger for Renegades, and one of the all-time greats.
Jit and the Renegades won 9 titles in the '80s and '90s, when some of the most legendary and inventive tunes were being arranged. His "Pan in A Minor" is the most famous, often played in steel bands all over the world, but my favorites include "Mystery Band" and "Bee's Melody".. He wrote guitar pan solo variations that just powerful and sinister, and went on forever! He passed a few years ago, but his son Amrit is also a great arranger, this year with the Supernovas.
While on the subject of Jit Samaroo and his family, here is one of my favorite videos of them. Something is in their water, or in their gene pool, but every one of them is an extraordinary player and musician. I'll never get over how easy and relaxed they make it seem, to play some of the most difficult and complex stuff that fast, that cleanly!
Regarding the previous post's mentions of the Trini pan arranger Jit Samaroo, when thinking of a typical Caribbean island's ethnic makeup, it may seem unusual to see his name and mural portrait, and realize his East Indian descent. Trinidad has a long history of colonialization (Spanish, French, then British), and after slavery was abolished in 1838, the need for plantation labor led to indentured servitude, which brought in primarily East Indians, with some Chinese and Portuguese also.
(From an exhibit at the excellent National Museum and Art Gallery) A population breakdown from before Trinidad and Tobago's 1962 independence. Now about 1.5 million, Wikipedia gives 2011 census numbers showing a similar breakdown, with roughly 1/3 African descent, 1/3 East Indian descent, and 1/4 'mixed', with Europeans/Chinese/Arabs filling out small minorities. Religious affiliations are similarly mixed among Catholic, Hindu, various Protestant, Muslim, etc. It's evident from many old calypsos (and from talking to Trinis today) how proud they are of their long history of multiculturalism and harmonious living together.
Speaking of that 'mixed' population, another word I learned from old calypso is "dougla" (dohg'-la), meaning someone of mixed African and Indian heritage. Here is a fun 1961 tune from the calypsonian Mighty Dougla about his own ethnic mix, the first verse and chorus are:
let us suppose they pass a law
they don't want people living here anymore (x2)
everybody got to find their country
according to your race originally
what a confusion I would cause in the place
they might have to shoot me in space
because they're sending Indians to India
and the Negroes back to Africa
can somebody please just tell me
where they sending poor me? (poor Dougie)
I am neither one nor the other
six of one, half a dozen of the other
if you're serious bout sending back people for true
you got to split me in two
The Indian influence is definitely present in the food, here is what they call a roti, essentially a huge burrito wrapped with the 'roti' flatbread you might know from Indian restaurants, stuffed with chicken, potatoes, curry spices.. Excuse the gross picture showing bites, it was so delicious that I almost wolfed it all down before thinking to document it with a photo. I knew to expect it, but one unusual thing is that the chicken is bone-in - so that slows down the wolfing a little, and requires two-handed eating a little messier than the usual burrito experience.. But, delicious!
And this was even better. Looks like a mess, but this is a 'double', made from a flour-based bread with saffron added, filled with chickpeas and spices. As I write this I'm staring longingly at the photo and wanting to fly back to Port of Spain! Since then I have learned from another friend who grew up in India that this likely originated from the Mumbai street food called 'double roti'.
Here is a demonstration by a group called Unity Tassa, this form of tassa drumming originated in the West Indies. The sharp, high-pitched drum is an Indian tassa, a drum head stretched over a kettle-shaped bowl, played with handmade flexible-shaft sticks. We got to try out playing the different drums - I was not able to figure out how to get even a basic double-stroke roll going, so it is even more amazing to listen to the tassa player now, and how fast, clean, and sharp he is able to play! Also, the big blue drum is made from a tree trunk, and you may notice the player's physique, which is not an accident - it and the mallet are very heavy, and they talked about playing in multi-hour parades, whew..
The National Museum also had a nice exhibit about T&T sports history, I am a sucker for these old Olympics program designs.
The center plaque in the second row may be a familiar name, Ato Boldon won medals in the 100m and 200m races in both the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney games. For the past several Olympics, he has been one of the analysts for NBC's track and field broadcasts.
Listen to enough old calypso, and you will learn about the various triumphs of the West Indian cricket team. This Kitchener tune is celebrating a win over the Australian team and their star bowler Dennis Lillee. One bonus cultural detail I learned from this song came from the end of the chorus "Ah Water Lillee, they beat you like a Bobolee" - historically, a 'bobolee' is a straw-filled effigy of Judas displayed on Good Friday, where people passing by are encouraged to hit it with sticks or slaps.
Since the colonial import of Catholicism and the European pre-Lent Carnival tradition in the 1700s, the Carnival celebration in Trinidad has drawn from many varied sources. Although there are plenty of eye-popping sights (think Rio, bikinis, etc.) to behold during the main parades on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, you get a different type of eye-popping costumes at traditional parades. Friday morning was 'Kiddies Carnival', featuring adorable kids dressed up as traditional characters and archetypes that each tend to have their own interesting histories.
These are Pierrot Grenade, descended from the Commedia dell'arte character Pierrot.
The groups of kids started out gathering in the Savannah. I saw the 'red galleon' imagery several times, often as a hat - it's likely some sort of Sailor variation.
We saw this person (couldn't tell gender!) a few times at different events. Some people work on and refine their costumes over years, and become known for their characters.
After gathering at the Savannah, the Kiddie Carnival parade proceeded down Frederick Street. This is one of those "I know this name from calypsos" places, one of the longtime traditional parade routes. Regarding the yellow flyers on the pole, I would see similar ones posted around town, advertising different groups to join, and wondered what they were all about. I would find out a few days later, on Monday, J'ouvert morning!
The Minstrel character originated from slaves' turning around of blackface costumes worn by the plantation owners, hence whiteface!
The Fancy Indian character is one of the more popular ones, drawing from Native North American imagery.
A view down Frederick Street.
In between groups and providing the omnipresent dancing rhythms are trucks - this is one playing a soca rhythm.
Another soca truck, you can see the 3 'iron' (brake drum) players on the back. That is what they play, over and over, for the entire parade!
Another great Fancy Indian.
There are a lot of different characters that you will recognize after a few examples, and wonder what their histories are. Often they will include specific behaviors or dances.
Here is a tassa group similar to the previous post's Unity Tassa. It was even more impressive remembering how heavy those tree-trunk drums were, and looking down the street at how long the parade was going to be.
Something is in the water that makes every kid in Trinidad unfailingly cute.
Double bullwhips, I think this may be a Blue Devil variant.
Another appearance, this was one of my favorite costumes.
It was exciting to catch the rare sight of a Tamboo Bamboo group. At one point in the colonial history of Carnival-related suppression, drums with skin heads were banned, and the response was cutting lengths of bamboo to give different pitches, and hitting them on the ground and with sticks, leading to a new musical form. Notice the metal drum with two notes beaten into it, high and low - this was the first step in the development of the modern steel pan.
This was our first peek at people playing Blue Devils, the leader of this group is opening a tub of black paint..
..and re-applying. This guy was intense.
Many of them had red bloodlike paint, sometimes dribbling from their mouths.
It's tough to explain how disorienting and chaotic it is, so here is a video. Loud whistles, primitive beastlike screaming and behavior, often one player will be tied with a chain and 'restrained' from the crowd by another. One of the 'beasts' will target and point at an onlooker, writhing around them until they hold out a dollar, quickly snatched away. They are accompanied by people playing biscuit tins hung around their necks, playing a specific pattern with a weird, disorienting feel. More on Blue Devils later, on Monday night we would go to the 'source'.
