Happy Independence 2016
The very best concert I ever attended was Miami Sound Machine at the National Stadium, in 1988 I believe. I can’t remember anything about their performance, but I have vivid memories of the other acts on the bill that night.
The stadium was packed - both the stands and on the ground where I was standing no more than 30 feet from the stage. Mac Fingall was the MC and he was in great form: funny but efficient. He introduced the first band around 7pm - Chocolate Affair. It was the first time I’d seen the band play live and they were good. I always knew lead singer Margaret Bovell was a great vocalist but I had never seen her perform before that night. She was also easy on the eyes.
Next up was Spice and Company, a band who I had seen performing live often at Harbour Lights but that did not prepare me for how awesome they would be that night. Alan Shepherd had the crowd in his hands from note one. Through renditions of hit after hit, Alan became just one of probably 20,000 vocalists at the stadium that night. The band was tight! Note a false note, every member at the top of his game. I don’t think there was a soul in attendance that was not absolutely captivated by the performance. I have seen Spice perform many times, including recent reunions, but while they are always great, I don’t think they ever touched the heights of that night.
Spice’s performance set a high benchmark for David Rudder and Charlie’s Roots, which they somehow stepped over. Rudder was amazing. I have not seen a kaiso/soca performance by any act that compared to that one. Like Spice, he absolutely controlled the crowd. During the final bridge of “Bacchanal Lady” when he counted off “a bacchanal 1, a bacchanal 2…”, I believe he got to 20 and still the crowd counted along with him, while making the required wine and juck for each bacchanal. It was a spectacular performance.
Through these performances I was proud to be a Barbadian and a West Indian. These bands were performing at an international level in the days before Caribbean artistes routinely top worldwide charts.
Then Miami Sound Machine performed for a while, I guess.
Happy Independence Barbados!
