Sweet Pan - J’Ouvert Morning, and:
Phase II vs All Stars |
Independent
Viewpoint
-
by D. Anthony Blackman
In the mid to late 1950’s, steelband and panmen
were very closely associated with and defined as
badjohnism and hooliganism. A steelband clash
resulted in stabbing, cutting, lick down, buss
head and chopping up with the odd killing. These badjohns armed themselves with iron bolts, bull
pistles, razors, cutlasses, ice picks, bottles
and big stones, which were just some of the
weaponry found in any steelband’s arsenal. Our
parents played pan and/or mas while our
grandparents took us to “See Mas” including Ole
Mas/J’Ouvert, on the streets of uptown Port of
Spain. However, we only saw the streets J’Ouvert
morning, because, before we knew it we were
moved to another level of seeing Mas, which was
from the ever popular middle class vantage
point, the blazing hot Bleachers in the Queen’s
Park Savannah.
All this protective custody and guidance was
based on class, and the stigma attached to
“beating pan.” Parents or guardians did
everything possible to keep their siblings from
emulating these ‘quote’ people with no ambition,
hooligans, ‘unquote’, fighting against each
other, during their steelband clashes for
strange but simplistic reasons such as, more
innovative or sweeter pan, or a boss tune
especially a bomb tune. Matter of fact this was
nothing less than 'gang warfare', as the riots
were usually regional, e.g. Invaders [West POS]
and Tokyo [East POS], or Despers and Invaders,
that kind of steelband cum musical turf war. It
also epitomizes the late Lord Blakie’s calypso
hit “Steelband Clash”
…Invaders songin sweet comin dong
Charlotte St…
…Nevah me again jumpin ‘n ah stellband ‘n
Port ah Spain…
Nevertheless, our connection with the steelbands
continued to be a J'Ouvert morning thing only
because, I would imagine now, there was nothing
in the savannah at that time of the day. Eventually we were allowed to go closer to town, wid we band Invaders, but only for a heavily
monitored and chaperoned chip, under the
watchful eyes of our elder relatives and/or
neighbours. We later moved on to Starlift, but,
the chippin visa expired anywhere between Strand
cinema and Green Corner. Those days you had to
turn back when de band reach dey boy and [fine
yuh tail] head back down Tragarete Rd. or
Ariapita Ave. otherwise is 'de fines' cut arse.'
The steelband rivalry and riots continued even
after Carnival, very close to where we grew up,
in the lower east side of Woodbrook, closer to
Wrightson Rd. Across de border we called the
area, right behind the infamous 'Gaza Strip' of
nightclubs. As a consequence, we remained on
total lock down as far as steelband, beating pan
and goin een tong J’ouvert morning or Carnival
time was concerned, until the early 1960’s at
about age 11/12. Fortunately the riots ended by
this time and there were now organized
competitions e.g. J’Ouvert morning bomb,
steelband music festivals, Panorama, and an
association for the steelband. The
implementation of these ideas, corporate
sponsorship of steelbands, government funding
and intervention etc. truly assisted in
replacing the violent approach to musical
rivalry.
But, while Invaders, the sweetest, slowest chip
to town or Starlift was stuck by or approaching
Green Corner on the way to the competition, I
always headed uptown for Park and Fredrick, that
was the place to be on J’Ouvert morning, because
the bomb competition was judged two blocks down
Fredrick St. by the Town Hall, [now City Hall]. Additionally, Panorama finals was part of the
Carnival Sunday night Dimache Gras show, which
finished close to J’Ouvert, so many of the
finalists came straight from the savannah down
Fredrick St. On that corner you had bands
converging and clashing from three [3]
directions, south on Fredrick, and east and west
on Park. That was the spot where I listened to
many a band play their Panorama tunes on the
move, and many of them waited for that area to
drop their 'bomb' [tunes], lord that was 'Sweet Pan in Yuh Ruckungkatungkung.'
PHASE II Goes
Chippin' with
Blessed Assurance 'Behind de Bridge' |
This
J’Ouvert morning some 44 years later, Phase II
Pan Groove took pan lovers down memory lane as
they ventured ‘behind de bridge’ for a musical
rivalry just like it occurred in the past. After
mesmerizing the audience and judges at Victoria
Square in front of the offices of Pan Trinbago,
with the superb rendition of the hymn
“Blessed Assurance” also known locally as
“This is my story, this is my song,” the
rack then rolled forward, with the crowd
applauding and with no hesitation, missing a
beat or change of tune, the Phase headed for
Green Corner and east into Park Street.
Imagine the nostalgia and the buzz as the sweet
pan in honey sounds of the west filled the empty
Park Street air, with no bands or DJ’s in sight.
Everyone aware by then……..we goin by hell yard
fuh All Stars, de mudder of bomb tunes, is de
reel musical cut arse dey gettin dis mornin……. .
Then the goose bumps began to set in as I saw a
longtime crack shot from “Blanca,” meh boy
Horace a.k.a Breds [who played, I believe, up to
and during the musical glory days of Angostura
Old Oak Casablanca], following the band on the
pavement with glee from Park & Fredrick Streets
to Rosary Church, reminiscing and cherishing the
moment, as this sweet sounding West band headed
into East Port of Spain, on J’Ouvert morning.
Crossing Charlotte Street corner into Piccadilly
Street ‘round de bridge,’ another notorious
rioting zone, now happily transformed into a
musical zone. Visualize this setting………flag
flying, iron ringing, some of the All Stars
faithful gaping from the back of their yard, on
the other side of the dry river wondering… buh
wey Phase II goin dis hour? hear wey dey playin….
Before the dust could settle, a scintillating
performance was being admirably accepted by a
large group of All Stars supporters and players,
mostly elders, in their hell yard gateway. They
danced and sang along, [This is my story this
is my song], waved and applauded the
pore-raising brilliance of “Boogsie” Sharpe‘s
arrangement of Blessed Assurance. In
return, Phase fanatics hoisted flags and Tee
shirts, beating their chests, claiming victory,
vengeance, hear it man, hear it, this year was
the beaver trick, its more than one [1] point,
Boogsie rules. And notably, all this went down
with pure peace and love, no fights, no riot,
just a friendly battle in that musical war zone.
Blessèd
assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my
song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect
delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Perfect submission, all is at
rest
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
Playing of the hymn/song Blessed Assurance,
has to be awarded a Steelband Grammy, and placed
in the annals or category of winning bomb tunes.
In fact, this 17th century hymn was
the featured song in two [2] Academy Award
winning movies in the 1980’s. I believe this
tune of choice was inspired by the passing late
last year [2007], of Ras Eli Bang, a revered
Phase tenor panist, who also inspired the
scissors tail outfit for the Musical Vengeance
of the grand [South] Panorama finals. Pan
connoisseurs from the Grand Stand side of the
savannah should remember him in a scissors tail
suit, complete with rose/carnation in the lapel,
specifically at the prelims. Back in those days
the bands rolled on stage facing west, played
and exited in similar format, until the
revolutionary man wid de hammer, Rudolph Charles
and Desperadoes pioneered the trend of facing
the grand stand and by extension the judges.
All Stars did acknowledge this J’Ouvert morning
feat, and later publicly thanked Phase II for
this gesture, but it would have been a heavy
musical showdown, [if there were no DJ’s/big
trucks on Ariapita Avenue] had the Phase made it
to East Dry River earlier, to catch them before
they parked up to rest for their Monday mas.
Well my younger pan players and friends, you can
now appreciate how some of the pan, panmen and
steelband traditions have changed. Imagine,
steelbands running home early J’Ouvert morning
to come back out Monday evening, huh!! Pan folks
my age know about little or no sleep from Sunday
night until you drop Monday night. What a pity
these bands did not clash musically on de road
by de corner of Charlotte and Park or Park and
St. Vincent [Green Corner]; what a memorable
steelband musical clash that would have been.
In
any case, in these modern times bands hardly
ever pass each other on the same street, they
usually go one behind the other. Remember when
two bands clash, band meet band, each attempting
to out play each other, with the highly skilled
flagmen dancing, women wining low, and the
panmen and ironmen playing their hearts out. Dem
days yuh band sure tuh get drong out if yuh
engine room or yuh tune soft, or, yuh cud get
yuh pan mash up and some chop……….not in these
times thanks to God Almighty, and all those
stalwarts who fought to end the violence and
elevate the art form. Nonetheless, right here in
Trinidad the mecca of the steelband, DJ’s and
the big music trucks do all the damage and
destruction to steelband now.
Up
next…….Some thoughts RE: Pan on de Road and the
DJ/Big Truck takeover
Author: D. Anthony
Blackman
Copyright February 14, 2008
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