Carnival Monday
and Steelpan!
Eric Mannweiler reports on his 2011 steelband panorama
experiences
Posted by
Eric Mannweiler
on March 12, 2011 at 6:29 p.m.
Hello again everyone,
I left off at the end of J'Ouvert
morning. Like I said before, there was a
brief costume change (20 minutes of sleep)
and then it was on to Act II: Carnival
Monday! People kept telling me Starlift had
one of the largest mas bands on the road
Monday. We had five different steelbands
that joined our band! With our truck leading
the charge, there was also Powerboat
Scorpions (a single pan group from Carenage),
World Wide Steelband, one that I didn't
catch the name of, and finally Woodbrook
Playboyz in the back! Taking a similar route
as J'Ouvert, I noticed a totally different
kind of energy and feel for Carnival Monday.
J'Ouvert was more chaotic, mischievous and
all about the music for Starlift, while
Carnival Monday was organized and became
this showcase performance of pan and mas.
With the flagman opening the way, the pans
up front and a giant entourage of bands and
mas players behind us, it felt like the band
was proudly strutting through the street as
if to say "Yeah, that's right, this is
STARLIFT coming through!"
The crowd was more separated from the
bands than J'Ouvert, so it wasn't as
intimate a relationship, but people were
still dancing and singing along when we
passed. There was still the same love and
respect for the steelband that was shown on
the night/morning before. Soundtrucks
stopped their music, people looked up at us
and smiled, danced along, and made me feel
like we were their favorite band!
I have to admit, I loved the reactions
people were giving me as a white Yankee
playing on the road! Of course I knew I
would stick out, but I didn't know how
common that was and how people would react.
During J'Ouvert I thought I was noticing
people smiling, dancing and positively
reacting a little more to me specifically as
my rack passed. I told myself it was mostly
my imagination... Carnival Monday though, it
was a lot more obvious, and I have to admit,
I kind of made me feel a bit famous (down,
ego, down!) People grabbed their cameras as
I passed, people smiled and pointed me out
to their friends, reached up for high fives
and fist bumps, and yes, a number of ladies
blew kisses at me... I about died laughing
as we passed through Independence Square,
when a little boy looked up at me tugged on
his dad's sleeve and said "he's white!" His
dad and I shared a smile. I never saw anyone
react negatively to me, and the responses
were honestly what gave me the energy to
play all day without much food or sleep!
Another nice thing about Monday was
seeing people that I knew in the crowd. I
also took a short break to walk back to
Playboyz racks and see my friends playing. I
was also blown away when I saw the enormous
structures of the Carnival King and Queen
costumes! Many of them almost took up the
entire street! It's hard to believe these
huge, awesome and fantastical creations,
with their welded and wheeled frames, are
costumes worn by one person! Some are also
surprisingly articulate and animated!
I will say, once we got to the Savannah
on Fredrick Street, traffic was a mess! The
bands were bottle-necked in the street by
vendors, and the mas competition on stage
was everybody's destination... We had to
stop, and I had a friend come with me as I
attempted to walk up to see the costumes
ahead of us. I have never been so crowded in
my life: people were pushed up against me on
all sides, and once the crowd started
moving, you had no choice but to follow.
(Word of warning, in these situations it's
best to watch your pockets: my friend was
watching and saved me from getting
picked...) Eventually the traffic began
flowing again, and we finally made it to the
stage. The truck went along side of the
stage, and I was on the North Stand side, so
the only thing I saw was practically empty
seats.
Once our mas band crossed the stage, we
were heading home for the night, and the
band was definitely wearing down a bit. Most
of us went almost straight through the day,
and as we looped songs over and over, my
brain was turning mushy... Some of the tunes
really only had a verse and chorus, but I
would forget which part I had just played
and which was coming up. The last stretch
home was really tough, as seemingly half the
players were trying to end the piece by not
playing and the rest of us would be trying
to keep it going. We ended up playing our
masqueraders all the way back to Ariapita,
and one of the coolest feelings was seeing
kids rush to the doors, windows and gates to
watch us pass by. Families gather to see us,
and I could see the amazement in the kids'
faces. I imagined those kids remembering
that moment as they grow up and hoped the
memory would inspire them to play pan later
in life...
Carnival Monday came to an end, and all
of us had the opportunity for a somewhat
reasonable night of sleep. This was the
intermission before Act III: Carnival
Tuesday! Again, I don't want to write too
much in one post, so I will end here and
pick up Tuesday in the next post. Thanks for
reading, and until next time,
Life for Pan
Eric
Mannweiler
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