Machel thrills audience at ‘Road March II’ event

At some point, early in his “Road March II” concert, held at the Winifred Atwell Auditorium, Queen’s Hall, St Anns last Thursday, famed musician Etienne Charles asked the audience for feedback on the show, “so far”. When they applauded, he joked that as the show goes on, he intends to “up the ante... for the aunties”, The audience erupted in laughter.

He didn’t lie.

A few hours later, Charles announced that the show was over, and the stage lights went down. A video with Machel Montano speaking about his road march songs came up suddenly and got everyone’s attention. The camera then panned to the backstage area of the auditorium where a ready Montano, mic in hand, started walked towards the stage. As he launched into his new song “Bet Meh”, it was clear to all...the party was NOT over.

Earlier, Charles kicked off the show with Invader’s 1953 Road March “Sly Mongoose”, then he was joined on stage by Calgary, Canada-born Lisa La Touche (whose father is from Trinidad).

As he played “Miss Tourist” (the 1968 Road March), La Touche’s tap danced, her shoes giving a percussive backdrop to Charles’s trumpet playing. It was fun to watch the musical banter: the call of the trumpet and the answer of La Touche’s shoes. The audience seemed to enjoy it too. Read More