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By
Queen Macoomeh
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The ‘People’s Band” AfroPan tied for 2nd place in Pan Alive (Toronto) panorama
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Toronto
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Ah doh know where to start nuh. Every time ah
siddong to write bout de 2007 Pan Alive
competition ah get a headache. Ah doh care who
vex, who please, ah sellin it as ah buy it, not
a bloomin cent profit!
Judges, oh gorme judges! Nah! Ah startin in all
yuh skin firse because is all yuh who allow some
real disrespeck to take place. Yuh din only let
dong de players eh, yuh let dong de audience an
de whole pan community. Yuh take yuh job slight.
I was dere before de show start an ah leave
after we empty out de corn soup man pot. So ah
know ah see every ting. Show time is 7pm ent? Ah
was hustlin to reach because ah get ketch in
Toronto jumbie traffic. Ah reach after seven an
de show din start yet. Pan Masters was de firse
panside an accordin to what I see, de players
was dere waitin. So what was de delay? Is nearly
8pm yuh start.
Den later Silhouettes had we waitin while
players limin. When it was time fuh dem to play,
de pans sittin dey an not one blue shirt in
sight. Den ah see de arranger stroll forward
lookin as doh is somebody else we waitin on.
Deduck marks fuh late start! Dat is disrespeck
to we an to you. De Jamestown Youth Steel
Orchestra had a minute or two delay because one
of de chirren tenor pan wire buss. Ah could
understan dat. A man run quick an fix dat in a
wink of a eye but big men in season pan sides
had to spin arong doin gawd-knows-what while we
waitin? Joke is joke but damn joke ain’t no
joke.
But dat wasn de bes part.
Afropan turn reach. Well papa, dat one had me so
confuse ah pack up meh equipment twice, unpack
tree time, ah make 2 novena, ah went in de dutty
latrine, ah eat a chinky pack-ah $5 dollar salt
nuts, ah read de whole Letter to St. Paul from
de Ephesians an still Afropan en start yet.
Dis is not a fete in here dis is madness!
When Salah Steelpan Academy done play, ah take
meh coutrements an went to set up by Afropan to
take snap. Ay ay. Ah see de pans scatter all
over de place like a jumble sale. Ah say to meh
macoomere ‘like Afropan have a new configuration
girl? Look how de pans set up vikey vi!” De two
of we stan up wid we mout open. Den ah see de
players come an shift de whole orchestra over so
to set up. Afropan was de las ban to play so dat
cah be intermission. Is over twenty minutes
Afropan had de audience waitin. We steupse, we
blow whistle, we clap in protess. Why dey do we
dat? An de judges stannin up like dey waitin on
de las train to San Fernando. Disqualify de ban!
Shims! It wasn right. Ah doh care if is de
people ban, ah doh care if dey want to exante
deyselves. Ah doh care if dem is de ole-est ban
in Toronto. To besides if dem is all dat, dey
should know better! What dey did was wrong!
An to add salt in de woun, dey din play dere bes.
Ah doh even know what it is dey play in troot.
Now I hear Afropan plenty times eh? I know dey
know how to rock de casbah till people bawl. But
dat night dey din play competition quality at
all. Doh argue meh!
No man judges. Yuh do we a injustice. Dem
decisions yuh give we dat night was like how
Dasheen Bush win election twice - pure bobol.
Even de audience bawl out “NO!” when dey hear de
results. How you could tie tree whole bans fuh
second place? Afropan who had we waitin til
fo'day mornin an play loose, New Dimension who
play a seet medley – but is dat allow? - an Pan
Fantasy. How you get dat do?
As much as ah like Salah Steelpan Academy, dey
was not de winner. De pans wasn blen togedda.
Yuh en hear dat discord? As much as ah like
Afropan, dey shudda be disqualify or lorse
plenty marks fuh unnecessary delay. Well papa in
case yuh din know, Pan Fantasy was yuh winner
eh? Dey play tight, dey had discipline, dey had
presence, de chune arrange nice. I wudda give
Silhouettes more marks fuh how dey play an take
back some fuh delay, an ah wudda give Pan
Masters more marks. Pan Masters sound better dis
year dan ever before.
Ah not done talkin yet.
Copyright August 2007
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From the News
Desk of Queen
Macoomeh
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Queen
Macoomeh at --
queenmacoomeh@hotmail.com
Results for Toronto's
2007 Panorama -
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