Earlier this year I spoke about the death of Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival, not the actual festival but the very essence of it. One reason for my statement was that no band in Trinidad paid Tribute to the Abolition of the African slave trade just 200 years ago.
Next year however, at least one band is looking at Africa for Carnival 2008.The big band Legacy has broken the ranks that won’t touch the black continent in their presentation PASSAGES .
The presentation is not a direct tribute to the abolition of the slave trade but as Big Mike put it “a balance to this years Hiawatha”. From the city of Meroe, via the White Nile to t
he Zulu’s of South Africa, Passages touches different aspects of the ‘dark continent’ as explained on the web site “PASSAGES will take you on a journey from Morocco in the North through the Central African nations of Kenya and Uganda down to the tip of South Africa, presenting our interpretation of the tribes, cultures, geography, wildlife and spirit of the fascinating African Continent.”.
PASSAGES is a great concept, Legacy’s journey through the continent is an effective one, if only because of Africa’s historical, cultural, and geographical vastness and variety, that makes it almost impossible to creatively cover the continent totally.
However, because Big Mike refuses to stray from a formula that has been truly tried and tested, (maybe rightly so) the band falls short in truly capturing the creative and visual nuances that can be found when exploring the mother of civilizations that is AFRICA.
Big Mike’s Legacy, is the only band that in my opinion successfully bridges the fun band genre with that of real mas, (if such categories truly exist) and because of this I always consider Legacy a candidate for the Band of the Year title. I like the theme, and the way the concept of Passages was executed, however I do believe that if Big Mike &Co did truly challenge the boundaries of their creative outer limits Passages could be more spectacular.
Next year however, at least one band is looking at Africa for Carnival 2008.The big band Legacy has broken the ranks that won’t touch the black continent in their presentation PASSAGES .
The presentation is not a direct tribute to the abolition of the slave trade but as Big Mike put it “a balance to this years Hiawatha”. From the city of Meroe, via the White Nile to t
he Zulu’s of South Africa, Passages touches different aspects of the ‘dark continent’ as explained on the web site “PASSAGES will take you on a journey from Morocco in the North through the Central African nations of Kenya and Uganda down to the tip of South Africa, presenting our interpretation of the tribes, cultures, geography, wildlife and spirit of the fascinating African Continent.”.PASSAGES is a great concept, Legacy’s journey through the continent is an effective one, if only because of Africa’s historical, cultural, and geographical vastness and variety, that makes it almost impossible to creatively cover the continent totally.
However, because Big Mike refuses to stray from a formula that has been truly tried and tested, (maybe rightly so) the band falls short in truly capturing the creative and visual nuances that can be found when exploring the mother of civilizations that is AFRICA.
Big Mike’s Legacy, is the only band that in my opinion successfully bridges the fun band genre with that of real mas, (if such categories truly exist) and because of this I always consider Legacy a candidate for the Band of the Year title. I like the theme, and the way the concept of Passages was executed, however I do believe that if Big Mike &Co did truly challenge the boundaries of their creative outer limits Passages could be more spectacular.
I give LEGACY, 4 STARS, its a good band but could have been more.
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