Mashramani or “MASH” as it is called here is an official national holiday in February to celebrate Guyana’s 1970 independence. The event cumulates in a carnival like parade and masquerade with a day off work for the whole country on Feb 23rd. But why wait until the end of February when you can start the party now ...why indeed...? So “MASH” fever is in the air here and many special events including cooking, theatre, and concerts are all to be held this month....Yay!
Conveniently located a few blocks from me, huge outdoor live MASH concerts will take place every weekend this month (well not convenient if you want to sleep I suppose) but who wants to sleep when you can dance? So of course we had to check it out. Having been to several concerts before in Guyana I know to expect, and was trying to remember the overwhelm I felt at the first crazy Chutney concert way back in August and realize I am now quite used to how large events are done here...and upon reflection we have a lot we could learn about concert production in North America from our Guyana friends...
Ticket Prices...$1000 GYD $5 bucks at the door!...well it was a gate...ok a bus window with cattle fencing...but still it was $5 bucks...( 5 bucks!!)...yep read that and feel very bad Live Nation Concerts....Yes I’m talking to you!! If a 3rd world country can put on huge successful outdoor concerts for three thousand plus people at 5 bucks a head...maybe you can do it for even lets say $50 a head instead of the $150 you regularly gouge music lovers for....huh?....yep nothing to say – I thought so.
Drinks...They haven’t heard of the drink only in this designated enclosed spot style “beer garden” concept down here....and wouldn’t consider anything with those kind of preposterous regulations. Instead it is a free for all with few if any rules that I can see, although bottle return is somewhat encouraged. You are free to either bring your own drinks (and some folks bring whole coolers full... an alcoholic picnic anyone?)...or buy drinks (for very cheap) including whole bottles of rum and vodka, and the promoters also contracts with local bars to set up booths around the perimeter of the massive dance floor so you can do almost do a pub crawl if you will within the show....fun times ensue with this lapse attitude towards drinking... and of course your dancing around empty bottle skills will also improve.
Food...When was the last time you had duck or goat curry at a music event, or fried fish and plantain chips for that matter ...probably never right?...But wow it is the most amazing midnight snack ever....hot curry in roti....yum. Popcorn and $9 hot dogs are no contest for fresh hot homemade midnight dance munchies.
Whining...Whining is the Trinidadian/Guyanese way of dancing and for those who don’t know it is best described as dry sex on the dance floor. The woman sticks out her booty and the gentlemen partner (or two) comes from behind and places one or two hands on her hips and together they rhythmically dance and grind like they were having a great sexy time, or making a hot porno...and at times...ok often ... there is NOTHING much left to the imagination and the activity even can progress to other more obvious positions. This style of dancing can be kind of a shock for the uninitiated...but the eroticness fits with the highly sexualized culture and the soca dance tunes ...and with the right guy..it’s tons of sexy fun, with the wrong guy...well you might just have to leave.
Concert Times...Here in Guyana at concerts bigger is better, louder is better so of course longer is also better. And really if you are going to set up speakers and amplifiers and hire DJ’s and bring in all those drinks and goats...well why shut down at 11? Why not at 3...or 4 or 5!!....or (what an amazing concept) when everyone is pretty much done.
Entrepreneurs...Supporting the local economy is intrinsic to events here...Well I think it just happens that local entrepreneurs will set up outside big events with their wares and are not discouraged by promoters...So unlike our concerts where all you can buy is licensed sanctioned products for hefty fees and $10 bags of popcorn...Here outside the gates of most concerts you can buy cd’s, corn on the cob (with gravy!), get a taxi from the hundreds waiting, buy a cold drinks, candy, jewellery, have your picture taken while you are all dressed up, etc. Etc....It’s all adds to the spectacle.
So I send a big welcome to MASH and a month of very loud Soca, Chutney and Reggae music, terrible egotistic DJ’s, tacky contests, cheap drinks, goat curry, ripped jeans so tight they defy gravity, frenetic dancing on a massive outdoor stage with 3000 thousand of your closet friends under a star filled sky where even the fire flies seem to dance.
No comments:
Post a Comment