It is indeed sad to see that an extremely talented person's ego has so inflated, that he perceives himself to be better than others, that he can do and say as he pleases and we all would sit in reverence and swallow it.
Machel Montano states that he is on a "higher level" than we are but it is apparent that whilst climbing up his Stairway to Heaven, some vital values (humility) that he once had were dropped, the load being too heavy perhaps and he opted to keep some less than pleasant qualities.
Machel is probably the most talented soca artiste that T&T has ever seen and may very well go down in history as being the best ever. There is no doubt of his talent. Sadly though within recent times, some say it is after winning the Soul Train award, his perceived arrogance has in fact indeed reached a higher level.
The incident at Fatima's all-inclusive fete and his remarks regarding his behaviour and his stance of being wrong and strong reminds me of a school yard bully who rants and vents his anger on a hapless victim, because their other world is spiralling out of their control.
I sincerely hope that people supporting him by making comments regarding his behaviour at Fatima, actually attended the fete. It is fair to say that no one has a right to voice an opinion either for or against either party if they were not there at the fete.
I have always been a huge Montano fan. I have bought his music, legit, no download, over the years. I visited his office and left him a card saying thanks for stopping over to take pictures at Mario's St Augustine. I have attended Machel Monday, up to last year. I love Machel's music, I love watching him perform to a captivated audience. I used to love going to Zen on Ash Wednesday back in the day to hear him sing raw.
This year, I chose not to attend Machel Monday. You see, I was at Fatima fete and I felt utterly disgusted, and insulted by Machel's rant. Patrons were at the fete since 5 pm and he came onstage after midnight. He felt that our "energy" wasn't as he wanted. Fact is, we waited so long that we were tired. We were tired of waiting and waiting for his appearance...yet we did not boo or lambaste him for being late when he got on stage.
Machel had no respect for fans, his musicians, his dancers or the promoters who paid him to perform. He did not perform for free. He claims that he could not hear his voice due to the sound system which in his words was "the worse." He needed to save his voice for Machel Monday. So apparently, he was doing us a favour by being at Fatima. If he knew that his voice may be compromised then he simply should not have accepted Fatima's invitation (and money) to perform.
I and hundreds of other patrons did not stay back for more abuse. I am also a perfectionist and I expected a perfect execution regardless of sound issues. A perfectionist has to juggle daily in an imperfect world, and make the best of what they have and perfect it. I chose to walk because his behaviour was less than perfect.
From now on I will listen to him on the radio, but I will not be attending a fete just to hear Machel. If he happens to be performing at a fete I attend, great, but it would not be the deciding factor of if I am going.
My decision to leave the fete, to not attend Machel Monday, to not support him at Soca Monarch, may not affect him in the least, but I, like Machel, accept things I cannot change and I am brave enough to change the things I can change. The Serenity Prayer is my mantra.
Jennifer Ramsingh
Diamond Vale