Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

It takes magic to be able to draw a full house to a calypso/jazz/soca concert on the same night as Single Pan Band Finals. Songstress Stacey Sobers achieved this feat with her show Crackers and Cheese at Kafe Blue (formerly Kaiso Blues Cafe) on November 23.

Each patron was presented with a cracker and cheese hors d’oeuvre upon entry. MC Damian Melville said, in introducing the show, that “Crackers and Cheese was the name given to a recital to complete a course of study for an Associate Degree in Performing Arts. It’s a rite of passage, a meal given in a wake when someone has passed away, you know about Crix and biscuit? Nowadays is food and a bag. It’s a meal when you’re at next to nothing, hard times, catching your … times, it’s a meal you have when you have almost everything, an hors d’oeuvre, it’s satisfaction, it’s shareable, it is her story, her song, her celebration.”

It was easy to see why Sobers is a multiple-award-winning vocalist, as her performances thrilled the audience, with her smooth, mellow vocals, powerful performances and skillful audience interaction. In the first half, backed by Chantal Esdelle & Moyenne, she charmed and powered her way through Nina Simone’s Feeling Good, Natalie Cole’s Orange Colored Sky, Etta James’ At Last and Ella Andall’s My Whole Spirit is Music, backed by vocalists Syntyche and Chloe Bishop. She then captivated the audience further with two of the original songs which propelled her into popularity: Queens and Kings, and My Land.  Sobers said she had a special connection to these songs, as Queens and Kings won her two calypso crowns and My Land reminds her of how much she loves her country of T&T.

Chantel Esdelle and Moyenne took over the stage for the remainder of the first half. The band is composed of vocalist Esdelle on keyboards, Kevin Sobers (Stacey’s brother) on tenor pan and vocals, Donald Noel on percussion and Douglas Redon on bass guitar. They played three original jazz pieces, Yemanja and Kaiso Kaiso, both composed by Esdelle, and Lo mejor de mi, composed by Sobers. The mix of melodies reflected the rhythms of the Caribbean and showed the interest of the band in exploring African American jazz.

Stacey Sobers and her band Music Connection then re-entered the stage, for what she described as the let loose and get down section of the show. She began with the original song which catapulted her to fame, Leh Meh Know (When You Coming), which the audience sang along to vociferously. She moved on to Michael Buble’s version of Sway, Regina Belle’s Come to Me and Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive. Sobers paid tribute to two of her idols, Carol Jacobs and the Mighty Shadow, singing their songs Pressure and Dingolay respectively.

She then switched places with her fellow bandmates, Patrick Johnson on keys and Lincoln Melville on guitar, backing them up vocally as they sang. Melville sang Labi Siffre’s Something Inside So Strong and B.B. King’s Rock Me Baby, thrilling the audience with his smooth voice and energetic personality on stage. Next was Johnson’s rendition of Chaka Demus and Pliers’ Murder She Wrote, with the title character changed to Stacey, and featuring a rap section by Sobers which had the audience screaming with delight. She said this was one of the most requested songs by the band. The final song of the set was Teddy Pendergrass’ When Somebody Loves You Back, sung by Johnson.

Sobers thanked everyone who had made the concert possible, including Carl and Carol Jacobs, her bands and backup singers, and invited the audience to come and see her and Music Connection perform again.