Alternative Concept 3 2005 Trinidad Part 1
by Nigel Telesford

Imagine you have VIP tickets to the most-anticipated fete of Trinidad Carnival 2005… But you never get to experience the wonder of it all, because you and 5000 other patrons are stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for more than four hours en route to the venue. Unfortunately, the potential glory of the Alternative Concept 3, held at Pier 2, Chaguaramas was marred by this tragic incident.

Notice, I say incident and not accident: reports of several Police-led roadblocks strategically positioned having raised my suspicions of a conspiracy from early. I can anticipate your next question easily: why would the authorities conspire to ensure that such a motorist’s nightmare would certainly occur on the cusp of Carnival?

Well, let’s consider the facts: since its inception, the Alternative Concept has competed directly with what was formerly the biggest event of the season, the annual Brass Festival, which is held at PSA Grounds, Long Circular Road, St. James. Take one guess where the thousands of frustrated AC3 patrons ended up, after waiting in traffic for hours…? That’s right. Now you see what I’m saying…

Perhaps, my mind’s been warped from watching too many James Bond movies, but this particular chain of events certainly reeks of a conspiracy to me. Such is life. We live and we learn that all is fair in love and war. And fete too, apparently!

Anyway, back to Pier 2 and the 5000-or so patrons who heeded advance warnings to arrive early… The band Surface kicked things off around 11 pm; albeit minus their fearless leader, Tony Prescott, who was stuck in the traffic melee as well. Female vocalist, Nicole Greaves tried her best to hold down the fort in his absence, but after winging it for about 35 minutes; she decided to call on their ‘surprise’ guest artiste, Jamaican Deejay, Merciless for help. Now, Merciless was invited to perform the remix to Tony Prescott’s hit song, “Gyal” and to complete the event’s theme of combining Soca with Dancehall and Hip Hop, but as a newcomer to the Soca stage and with Prescott still absent, his presence served only to highlight the dilemma taking place.

Arriving almost an hour late, Prescott took some time to take control and re-structure the band’s set, but soon enough his tremendous stage experience and string of hit songs worked their magic and made the audience his to command.

KMC and his band, Red, White and Black made their way through the traffic and ran straight on-stage around 12.30 am. By this time the crowd had grown significantly and patrons were still trickling through the gates as the traffic began to flow a bit more freely. Thus, the show began in earnest as KMC and crew whipped the masses into a frenzy with assorted offerings from their catalogue. From his first entry into the Soca arena, “Bashment To Carnival” to his Road March contender, “First Experience”, KMC had Pier 2 wrapped around his little finger.

Their Jamaican guest act, Wayne Marshal did well to harness the energy already injected into the audience by the band, but even the added support of ace pannist, Ken “Professor” Philmore could not disguise the fact that KMC’s voice had left the building at some point during the set. Still, the phenomenal combination of a live Soca band, live steel-pan and Jamaican Deejay made the “First Experience (Remix)” a beautiful one indeed and solidified their place in time and space eternal.

Now for the main event: Machel Montano and Xtatik. By this time the ranks had swollen considerably, but a cursory glance to the East revealed a seemingly never-ending line of vehicles still in-transit to AC3; and we talking about 2 in the morning here eh! Well yes, if it wasn’t for the magic the ‘boy’ does make onstage with music, I and all would’ah curse him and his whole entourage; including the show promoter, stage manager and all!

On one of the cheapest stages I have EVER seen Machel perform, the Xtatik spell was cast; transforming the masses into mindless puppets of festivity. Ah mean, they didn’t even have no confetti for Christ’s sake! No bubbles, no special balloons and at show-time, the VIP Section had long become a virtual sandwich of a location. Still, these glitches went largely un-noticed as the assembly jumped and waved and wined and get on bad until 4 am.

Weaving through his extensive catalogue, Machel took us on a journey through the last two decades of Carnival; successfully retracing his walk into the light of evolution and readying us for the future which he plans to pave with love, rather than lust. Hip-Hop Icon, “The Human Beatbox”, Doug E Fresh solidified his return to the limelight by sharing the hottest stage in the universe with grace, poise and masterful control. Enchanted by the energy on display, Doug E longed to do more, but as he himself would say after the show:

“Sometimes to be a good leader, you gotta know when to hold back and follow someone else.”

Jamaican Deejay quartet, T.O.K endeavored to add the proverbial icing on the cake, but after the maelstrom already invoked on-stage prior to their appearance, there was little energy left for much more shenanigans… All is well, that ends well, right?

Alternative Concept 3 2005 Trinidad PART 2
by Nigel Telesford

Yeah right! The local press had a field day; making Machel the scapegoat for the traffic situation on the night and quoting the complaints of many who never made it to the venue and a sorry few who got their just in time to hear that the show was over.

A week later, the stage was set at Skinner Park in San Fernando, where only a few thousand patrons chose to experience the magic of AC3 Part Two on Carnival Saturday night. Approximately 3000 devoted fans tuned into The Xtatik Experience as it unfolded into the wee hours of Sunday morning. Machel wrung blouses and T-shirts into confetti and drove the mass of music-driven maniacs into the midst of madness.

But just as they tottered on the edge, he restored equilibrium with a mind-blowing mixture: a fantastic fusion of cultures, genres and instruments that molded hip-hop, soca and dancehall for all eternity. Accompanied by Doug E Fresh and a live quartet of violinists, “We Not Giving Up” became an anthem that surely echoed across the continents, awakening the ‘love fires’ smoldering in all of mankind, from its remote broadcast location in the Caribbean.

Performing hit after hit from their extensive catalogue and including guest appearances from Leroy Caliste “The Black Stalin”, Rikki Jai and Drupatee Ragoonai, the Xtatik set continued for more than 2 hours, culminating in the collaboration previously described, which somehow managed to be unplugged and orchestrated at the same time. It’s virtually impossible for you to imagine the energy invoked as these elements were combined before a crowd of hyper, half-drunken revellers, mere hours before the Greatest Show on Earth… Unless you were there to experience it yourself; clothes drenched in the sweat emanating from your goose-pimpled flesh as you witnessed the dawn of a delightful new day in music.

So, you know what to do next year… Get your tickets for AC4 and arrive early! Undoubtedly, Machel, Peter C, Farmer Nappy and crew will have more surprises in store; as they continue to defy the man-made boundaries surrounding music and dance with superior creative energies and endeavours. Last we saw them, they were hurrying up to MOBS2, Chaguaramas from AC3: Part 2, destined to deliver The Xtatik Experience yet again, as the sun rose on Island People’s “Insomnia 2005”.