Macomere Fifi wins!!! Welcome to your CALYPSO YEARS

Attending the Kaiso 365 Calypso Monarch finals last night reminded me of those Carlsberg commercials. They showed men leaving behind the beer they drank in college to graduate to their Carlsberg years. I guess in Trinidad, it would be the shift from rum and coke to scotch and coconut water.
I hadn't visited one of our local calypso tents before, and the last time I could remember really paying attention to this type of Calypso was when I was a boy, and was too young to go and lime with my friends in town. I used to sit with my family and watch the Dimanche Gras competion.
I had a very good time last night. The performers went all out and even used props or had people doing skits before their performances to help drive their message home. It was nostalgic without being stale or seeming old fashioned. The topics were current and relevant, there was lots of humor, with lyrics to make a politician cringe, or turn a woman's body into jelly ;)
I know lots of our readers are our age or younger, and our experience of Mas is BBF (bikini, beads and feathers) and for the most part, live Trini music is Soca and Pan.
But, there is MORE. And the Calypso scene in Toronto is strong and vibrant and is well worth you giving it a look. So get your posse together for something different and hit a Calypso tent. You still have time check out HERE for more shows before Caribana.

WELCOME TO YOUR CALYPSO YEARS!!!

Maocomere Fifi, last night's big Monarch winner. She won Best Lyrics, Melody, Presentation, Vocal Rendition, Most Original Calypso, Arrangement and Peoples Choice.









Pictured below (in the order they performed): Naki, Smokey, Structure, DeCarra, The Web, Redman, Penshioner, Guney.