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KOMPA MAGAZINE 2017 COMPASFEST REPORT: BIG WINNERS + More!

KOMPA MAGAZINE 2017 COMPASFEST REPORT: BIG WINNERS + More!

Postby kompamagazine » Mon May 22, 2017 1:26 pm

KOMPA MAGAZINE 2017 COMPAS FESTIVAL REPORT!

Here is our take on this 19th edition of the festival.

It was good to see the festival come back to its original home...THE AMPHITHEATER by the water. To us...THAT'S THE REAL COMPASFEST. The backstage area is EXCELLENT...and the whole setup works out just fine in all aspects.

This year the festival for the first time went to a 2 day format of Saturday and Sunday, with the idea of giving the bands more time on stage, as well as having a bigger menu in terms of different types of acts/performers in the lineup. Some bands DID get more time on stage than they would have gotten in a one day festival, and for other bands, things did not work out as well in terms of time. Bands like Harmonik, T-Vice, Klass were the MOST affected by that in our opinion because they did not really get the chance to do what they wanted to do on that stage in front for the public. I really feel bad for Harmonik (Their first SHOW CLOSER opportunity); and they had to simply come out and do a little "BENYEN" skit because they had to give up the stage for the festival to close.

BEFORE we go and address the timing issue and more...I will tell you THE WINNERS of the 2 day festival in our opinion.

*THE COMPASFEST 2017 WINNERS in our opinion are TABOU COMBO, KREYOL LA, MICKAEL GUIRAND, and KAI.

*TABOU COMBO in my opinion should NOT even be mentioned in the same sentence as the other acts in terms of concerts/festivals SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY DO THAT KIND OF STUFF IN THEIR SLEEP ALL THE TIME.....COMPARED TO THE OTHER ACTS ON THE CARD. Having said that, they kept it simple and delivered with their MUSIC and CROWD PARTICIPATION. When TABOU had to end their set because they were told that their time had been cut short, as they were getting off the stage, many fans in the crowd, including quite a few behind us, just kept chanting "TABOU TABOU TABOU". The crowd at the festival is pretty STRAIGHT UP...they will tell you if you are wasting their time on that stage...and it was the contrary for TABOU. TABOU kicked ass at the fest.

*KREYOL LA: Whether they made their impact with carnival songs or what have you, in my opinion, THEY STOLE THE SHOW WITH THEIR MICKEAL GUIRAND "Back from CHILI" skit. I knew that this thing was going to go down about 2 weeks ago, but I was wondering if they were going to pull it off to perfection; when they DID make it happen, and the crowd simply went CRAAAAAAAAZY when MICKAEL came on stage, the mission was accomplished. I also liked that skit that they had with their gong player T-BRI, a guy who I think you will hear a lot more from in the future. I urge KREYOL LA to keep putting the spotlight on this kid because he is not only a talented gong player, he seems to have something magical about his personality that attracts fans to him...so they should use that to their advantage.

*MICKAEL GUIRAND: How much has he been missed on the market by the fans? The response from the fans when he came out from the backstage area to come on the stage with a traveling bag...said it all. He and TI JOE proceeded to rock that stage afterwards with their "BO W PAM PI BON" skit, where they were trying to get their side of the theater to make more noise. MICKAEL got some nice HEAT from BERCY, and now COMPASFEST, It's a song/CD, as well as your band "VAYB" that the fans want to see now. MG....Mission accomplished.

*KAÏ: RICHARD CAVE fans have no reason to worry about him being a frontman at a festival after the group's show at Compasfest. They blew the roof off the place with their song "Malade", as well as a couple of Carimi classics, and also with their kanaval. A well calculated and executed show timed to perfection....giving them the RIGHT AMOUNT OF TIME ON STAGE to make their desired impact and bounce. KAI did very well, and I was not the only one saying that backstage afterwards either.


******
STAGE VISUAL PRESENTATION: The 2 bands from the ones that I saw, who in my opinion came to give a VISUAL SHOW and more were NU LOOK and KLASS.

*NU LOOK: From the KING's chair, to the dancers, to the fire props on stage, NU LOOK had all the stuff needed to justify their FESTIVAL CLOSER showing from the first day....only issue was, despite the fact that they DID have fans singing along to the tunes and all, I am not sure WHY; but I have seen NU LOOK and Arly give better MUSICAL PERFORMANCES and get better crowd responses than what they did on Saturday. I am also not sure if they were rushing through their show for fear of not being told to give up the stage before they got the chance to finish it. All in all, it was a very good performance from Nu Look with EXCELLENT SHOW CONCERT VISUALS....but it just was not the best performance of the night....even though it had the best show visual than any other act on Saturday night.

*KLASS: Before the show, the technicians were there fixing the WHEELING DRUMS machine right in front of everybody...therefore killing the surprise and impact it should have had visually. Don't get me wrong, it was still a very good thing to do...only it was NOT a surprise, simply we already saw it coming. In terms of OUTFITS....KLASS was on TOP OF THE KLASS among the best...if not the best for the festival...from the acts that I saw. They did play well and did good even though they had to cut short their presentation BECAUSE OF TIME ISSUES, as they were told to leave the stage. You could tell that RICHIE was being extremely diplomatic and trying not to show his anger when he told the crowd that it is no one's fault...they just have to get off the stage in order for Harmonik to have some time to come up on stage.


PS: We did not see Zenglen, Zatrap, Enposib, Rockfam.
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>>> 3 "GREAT MOMENTS"<<<

1) MICKAEL GUIRAND "comes back from CHILI" skit with Kreyol La: We already addressed that one.

*2) GAZZMAN jumping into the crowd during "heartbreak & Misery", and proceeding to go further into it up deeper away from the stage as he continues to sing ALONG WITH THE CROWD. That was a MAGIC MOMENT. In my opinion, EASILY ONE OF GAZZMAN's best moments in a festival setting as a member of DISIP...and perhaps even for his entire career.

*3) SWEET MICKY SPEECH about Haiti: If you as a Haitian were not touched by his moving "proud to be Haitian speech"...you need to check yourself. THAT WAS AWESOME. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand with that one.....analyzing his every word. BRAVO.

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>>>>>>>TIMING ISSUE<<<<<<<

A lot of people from the crowd to media personalities were NOT happy about the timing issue, and found it hard to understand why HARMONIK (The festival closer), who no doubt had prepared a kick ass visual show....did NOT get the chance to execute it. Was it a technical issue, or was it a TIMING issue where they had to give up the park? KLASS lost some of their time as well because they told us that on stage. GAZZMAN made a very public issue about that just before he left the stage on Saturday...he was not happy. The TIMING ISSUE reared its ugly head again this year.....on both Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully next year it gets resolved. We don't fully know what caused the problem, so until we hear it from the main men themselves regarding that......all we can do is hope for the best next year.
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>>>2 DAY FESTIVAL......YES I am "FOR" it...and I hope it stays that way.

I really hope that NOEL & CECIBON keep this 2 day festival thing going. I think in the long run it will work out for the best. It's just a matter of getting the fans USED to the 2 day affair now. I also strongly suggest that BOTH DAYS are "EVENLY" balanced in terms of popular acts. From the fist time that I saw the lineup, I felt, and I was not the only one...that the SATURDAY had the bigger lineup in terms of bands that are more popular. Next year, I would divide the T-VICE/DJAKOUT on separate days...as well as others, in order to give the fans the incentive to come see BOTH DAYS. Also...PLEASE KEEP IT AT THE AMPHITHEATER.
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>>>>SOME THINGS THAT I LIKED<<<<<

*I liked the fact that a lot of acts were allowed to perform in between sets...it is a good way to put some spotlight on some of our other talents from other music genres.

*1 BLUE BRACELET TOTAL ACCESS: In all the years that I have been coming to the festival....THIS YEAR WAS ONE OF THE EASIEST in terms of getting access to where you wanted to go in terms of the bracelet. SAME THING NEXT YEAR please.

*KAKO & TONTON BICHA: I want those 2 BACK as hosts next year because they were funny and kept the show moving along. Great improvisation, as well as great chemistry between the 2. Great job guys. They had a great reaction from the crowd.

*GREAT DANCING ACTS: Very colorful and very well done.

*FRIENDLY SECURITY: No flexing of the muscles trying to show WHO'S BOSS...IT'S MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY. This year's security were very professional and very low profile in getting the job done properly...the way that it should be done. BRAVO!

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>>>>>SOME THINGS THAT I DID NOT LIKE>>>>>>

It's very clear for all to see that there were a couple of acts that performed IN BETWEEN THE BIG DOGS...who simply WASTED PEOPLE'S TIME.

*Timing Issue....ENOUGH SAID

*SOME IN THE CROWD WITH NO RESPECT FOR THE ARTISTS: The COMPASFEST crowd does NOT play, but there is a limit in terms of what you can or can't say to an artist doing their best to try and please YOU THE PUBLIC. Some of the words that some in the crowd were throwing out there at some of our acts...including the established ones.....I think it was tacky to say the least.

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>>>>FINAL WORD<<<<

NEXT YEAR will be 20 YEARS since COMPAS FESTIVAL has been making us Haitians proud......LET'S WISH THEM THE BEST starting from NOW until next year. I am sure that NOEL & CECIBON will be more critical of themselves than anyone for the way the timing issue turned out this year, so instead of emphasizing on something that they will hear a lot of in the next few days, I would rather wish them the best of luck for next year...their 20th edition. I am positive that they are already discussing how to make it better next year. Once again you brought out HAITIAN PRIDE in the streets of Downtown Miami...and THAT must be praised once again...for that we say to you and all the bands that participated...THANK YOU. Looking forward to next year......KEEP IT 2 DAYS....AMPHITHEATER!

PS: SPECIAL THANKS to MIA LOPEZ and SARAH for everything.

Peace!

VIDEOS are still on the way...we already do have some on our youtube KOMPAGROOVES CHANNEL...with MORE on the way!
(CLICK on the link below)
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2450

KM!
 
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