Two years after announcing Machel Monday 10 would be the final show of his Carnival concert series in 2020, soca star Machel Montano, the artiste dubbed as the king of soca, made a switch from the Monday before Carnival to Fantastic Friday for his concert – Machel 40-One Show to celebrate 40 years in the business.
Thousands of people stood in cramped conditions for hours waiting for the gates of the Hasely Crawford Stadium to open so they could enter the Machel 40-One Show on Friday night.
[caption id="attachment_1001908" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Workmen place a protective covering on the field of the Hasely Crawford Stadium around 9 pm on Friday ahead of the Machel Montano concert. - Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
The gates were advertised to open at 6 pm but were not up to 9 pm, leading to anger and frustration by general ticket holders who packed both Wrightson Road Extension and Fitzblackman Drive while queuing to enter.
Around 9.30 pm, the MC apologised for the late start, saying fire officers requested some adjustments to the organisers’ arrangement, and promised the concert would begin at 10 pm to give those at the gates time to enter.
However, one audience member pointed out that, at that time, workers were still putting down flooring to cover the grass at the complex in the general section.
Patrons took to social media to complain. One person on Twitter wrote, “When Machel said “40" he meant the number of hours you’d have to wait outside. Patrons who celebrated 40th anniversary concert in New York said the comparison was chalk and cheese.
They also complained about the amount of traffic some experienced in the Port of Spain area, which started around 9 pm and delayed party-goers in the Woodbrook, Wrightson Road, St Clair, St James and Beetham areas. Many people found it difficult to find a parking spot.
Although people bought premium tickets knowing what it entailed, some of those ticket holders complained about the high price of the tickets which went up to $1,000 on Friday. The main issue was that the tickets were not food and drinks inclusive. They also felt the food and drinks available for purchase were expensive and that the lines to get to them were too long.
Also, it was possible someone forgot about acoustics when they set up the sound system at the stadium. Those in the stands complained that, while they could hear the songs well enough, when anyone was speaking, the “echoes” made the words muffled and difficult to discern.
However, as announced, the show started at 10 pm with Sekon Sta and numerous other local performers including Preddy and Hey Choppi.
[caption id="attachment_1001909" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Sekon Sta the opening act at Machel Montano;s concert at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain on Friday. -Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
At 11 pm, the Afrobeats section of the show began to the appreciation of the crowd who gladly sang and danced along to African artist Rema. Wiz Kid, came on next and many in the crowd, and a few in the sta
