A 15-year-old lad, named Jelanie Wells, made his calypso debut with the aplomb of a seasoned veteran at the opening of Kaiso Karavan in the auditorium at La Joya Complex, St Joseph, last Saturday night. Performing a selection, tinged with a bit of humour, titled Ah Going To Play Mas, the baby-faced youngster's diction, timing and stage presence were far superior to similar attributes of some of the singers on the 28-member cast. Operated by the East Zone of Trinbago Unified Calypsonians' Organisation (Tuco), Kaiso Karavan's 2012 season was opened by Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism Winston Peters before a full house of calypso lovers, which included former minister of Culture and Gender Affairs Joan Yuille-Williams, and Tuco president Lutalo Masimba. The night's songs were a mix of the usual political and social commentaries, flavoured with soca, a little rapso, and some attempts at humour.
In the latter genre, Mryon B was outstanding. He appeared on stage with bandages all over his body to tell the rib-tickling tale of the injuries he sustained when sleeping in the same bed with a heavyweight female partner, in a song titled Baby Roll Over. He received well-earned encores for the effort. Brother Alpha's He Take In Front, Jo L's Contro, Young Creole's My Groin and Surpriser's Sweet Man Alstan also generated some chuckles for their humour content but were not even within striking distance of Myron B's composition. Former National Calypso Monarch Kurt Allen proffered a strong argument in the heavily lyrical Long Live Calypso. The Original DeFosto's contribution of San Fernando Has Spoken was musically rich and Anthony Johnson's Imposters was well-crafted.
Hard Style used beautiful language in composing Death Penalty, while Stinger's Advice In Song was story-telling at its best.
As customary, the Karavan reserved a segment of the programme to showcase vintage calypsonians who, on this occasion, were Surpriser, Young Creole and Power. As stated before, Surpriser and Creole had elements of humour in their contributions but the songs were composed using the double entendre style. Power's offering was titled We Want Peace. From the material showcased it appears the tent has lost a little ground this year compared to what it presented in former years. But with the vast experience of the band, led by Fortunia Ruiz, the undoubted talent of show host Godfrey Pierre, hard-working chorus group and the commitment of the zone's management team, 2012 could still turn into a good year for Kaiso Karavan.