COMPASFEST 2019: THE KOMPA MAGAZINE REPORT band by band!

[kompamagazine]

We wanted to take our time and let all the performances that we saw sink in.....no pressure to rush and write something. Here is the MIAMI COMPASFEST 2019 REPORT from KOMPA MAGAZINE!

JUST TO BE CLEAR, I have to let you guys know that when we got to the venue, the first band that we got to see LIVE was ENPOSIB. Therefore we missed the bands that played before that.
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*ENPOSIB: The energy displayed by vocalist MEDJY is out of this world. He can carry a show just with THAT stage energy. This was a straight to the bone performance, meaning no special affair in terms of outfits or choreography; but having said that, ENPOSIB had the crowd going with just their music and energy. I enjoyed their performance very much.

*HARMONIK: The group had a SOLID PERFORMANCE. They also showed that their hits "BENYEN" and "INCROYABLE" are still very much favorites of the public. They gave what I call a "9 TO 5" performance...meaning just came to play music and have a good time while giving the fans a good time as well. I suspect that they are reserving all of their tricks for 2020 at the festival when their new CD will be one year old on the market.

*NU LOOK: I missed the Mariachi band intro because I went outside the venue to check and see if my car was still there and had not been towed where I had parked it. THANKFULLY it was there. Nu Look did have their mariachi outfits on as they performed their fan favorite hit of the moment "CAUCHEMAR" and other songs. The KING did NOT go all out in terms of pushing the envelope in the SHOW department, but they still did their thing. Solid performance.

*ZENGLEN: I suspect that the fact that they were the CHOSEN ONES to close the festival...did NOT work in their favor because by that time, it was clear that the crowd was tired and ready to go. They came out with their dancers and played "Swete l Danse", "Grev Bebe", and "5 Dwet". In my opinion, it was almost the same show that they gave at the Orlando Caribbean Festival a couple of months earlier. They did the best that they could have done under the circumstances.

*DJAKOUT #1: The 2 BIGGEST BUZZ MOVES of the night came from DJAKOUT. First when the crowd was led to believe at the beginning of their set that Shabba was NOT here, and then RORO proceeded to say that the band was going to show that they can play a festival without him...ONLY TO HAVE SHABBA POP OUT OF A HUGE GIFT BOX on the stage...the crowd went crazy. The most special moment of the evening came at the end of their set when POUCHON gave SHABBA a hug with Roro also standing there and giving his blessing....that got a huge response from the crowd; and I can almost guarantee you that a lot of people had some tears coming out of their eyes. That also signaled that Shabba had officially returned to the group after his suspension/vacation. Having said that, after THAT, in terms of performance, I have seen DJAKOUT perform much better at past Haitian Compas Festivals and others. In this case, everything else that happened on stage that night for Djakout....was MORE IMPORTANT than the actual performance.

*GABEL: People might NOT want to say it, or might be afraid to say it; but in my opinion, I thought that GABEL in terms of SHOW PRESENTATION (Outfits/Dancers)...had one of the three best of the night (Talking strictly about show presentation). The dancers with the flames, the outfits that the group wore at the beginning of their show., as well as the surprise guest appearance by EDY FRANCOIS...BON BAGAY NET. Having said that, I thought that they did NOT get the crowd reaction that they deserved or needed in some parts of their performance, and I am not sure why that was. Also as great as the guest appearance by the legendary Francois was, it actually cut down on the show's MOMENTUM if you observe the show carefully, the heat went down a notch. Having said that, I command GABEL for putting their all into that performance because it showed that they went the extra mile or extra yard to try and make a statement at Compasfest. In my opinion...THEY DID, and one can never exclude GABEL when the word "FESTIVAL" is brought up because YOU KNOW that they will give you your money's worth.

*KAI: I am actually VERY SURPRISED that not too many people are talking about KAI's performance more because it was THAT GOOD in my opinion. First when Richard Cave came out with the guitar to sing his MEGA HIT song "MALADE"...only the crowd backing him up in terms of voices...that was MAGICAL. The crowd went crazy. Also the surprise of comedian SUCCESS JR coming on the stage to sing Rutshelle's part in "Kansè"...that got the crowd going too. He backed THAT up with a classic CARIMI hit. There was a time when Richard asked the fans to take out their phones, I actually thought that he was going to do the exact same VAYB "LUMEN LUMYE/ETENN LUMYE" skit...THANK GOD that he did NOT do that because that would have been World War 3 in my opinion after that. Having said all that, the DANCERS also were a big part of the KAI show presentation throughout the set....my only questionable call for the Kai set was the outfit/costumes that the group had on....nothing special. All in all, in my opinion, it was one of the best TOTAL performances of Compasfest 2019.

*VAYB: GREAT INTRO with the cheerleaders/sports team theme. The "LUMEN LUMYE/ETENN LUMYE" skit simply was amazing at the festival...to put it simply...it was a hit. VAYB HAD THE BEST GROUP CHOREOGRAPHY AT THE FESTIVAL (meaning MEMBERS OF THE BAND actually putting in work.); and with THAT comes "closer" than its rival Kai to being considered a CARIMI family member....if you want to put it that way. The JUDE guitar skit "OU PAKA FÈ SA" was pure gold, as was the "SAK PASSE....NAP BOULE"...all stuff that the band uses LIVE during regular parties....even though I was surprised that "ONE NIGHT STAND" actually cut down on their momentum. I imagine it would have been MUCH DIFFERENT had ROODY ROODBOY been there at the festival to sing the song with them. I also thought that they would have played potential banger "OU PA NAN PLAS MWEN" longer than that one part that they did. There were moments that they got GREAT CROWD REACTION, and there were also moments when I thought the crowd was going to EXPLODE.....but didn't....and THAT in my opinion affected the overall reaction a little bit, to their entire show. They had the BIG PRODUCTION ON POINT...They chose most of the best parts that they needed to blow this festival out of the water, in the end, they did excellent...but it could/should have been MUCH BETTER. Having said all that...it was one of the shows that I enjoyed the most at the festival.

*T-VICE: They brought out some old favorites... "Who got the keys to my BIMA", their animation was on point, the outfits in terms of the band and the dancers also checked out....excluding that one dancer whose outfit would not turn on. I was surprised that their newest song "San Limit" did not get a bigger reaction there...whereas "Lage Cha" because of its uptempo nature got a better response. Then I can't really say that because their hit "Moving On" had the fans singing. They of course took it to the next level when they went into kanaval mode...and that is when they turned the festival upside down...and IN MY OPINION GOT THE MOST HEATED REACTION AT THE FESTIVAL. It shows you that when T-VICE goes into kanaval mode, and especially when they take out the "HELICOPTE" meringue...all hell will break loose PARTY MODE wise. Critics will say that they have an unfair advantage because all they need to do at festivals is break into kanaval mode, or HELICOPTE MODE; but others will say IT'S THEIR HIT SONG...SE POU YO LI YE...YO JWE LI WHEN THEY WANT TO OR FEEL LIKE IT. As one person told me one time....AL COMPOSE HELICOPTER PA W! . They delivered the goods once again.

*******OTHER NOTES*******

*I actually LOVE THE VENUE. The area reminds me of SOHO in Manhattan New York. Very artsy and great area to hang out. They actually had long lines lined up for a CLUB and a BAR that was right across from the festival....AFTER THE FESTIVAL WAS OVER. The backstage area is very SPACIOUS. It gives the media and musicians lots of space to move around without feeling cramped up.

The STAGE AREA also is great, even though I felt that the space DIRECTLY in front of the RUNWAY PART of the stage was too small to accommodate the media...maybe next year they should consider pushing the railings separating the fans from the stage BACK a little bit further. Talking about the RUNWAY PART "only".....there's PLENTY OF SPACE on BOTH SIDES of the stage...and that is why MOST VIDEOS being shot of the performances FROM THE MEDIA AREA.....are mostly from the SIDE or BACK of the vocalists...when they decide to go on the RUNWAY part.

*KREYOL LA...RUTSHELLE...ROODY ROODBOY were NOT there. Kreyol La and Roody announcing publicly that they would not be able to make it there days before the festival...not sure if Rutshelle did. If they were there, I am positive they would have added their own touch to the festival.

From what I could see from where I was standing, the crowd showed up in great numbers to celebrate the flag and the groups. I ALSO WAS EXTREMELY SURPRISED and HAPPY at HOW QUICKLY I was able to be out of the area. NO TRAFFIC....usually at COMPASFEST, you can expect a 1 hour traffic jam before you get on the highway or something...it took me 10 MINUTES where I was....and that made my experience this year MUCH BETTER in that area.

*CUBANO TRIBUTE: The tribute was well put together with the VIDEO. It showed that they went the extra mile with that video presentation. My only issue was WITH THE CROWD during that part of the show. I suspect that most fans that were there at the festival, are probably too young to understand what this LEGEND/ICON (CUBANO) means to the HMI. I thought they should have showed or given MORE RESPECT to what was happening on that stage throughout this whole presentation.

ALL IN ALL, I had a great time covering the festivities this year. COMPASFEST 2019.....It was worth it being there for sure.
SPECIAL THANKS to MIA LOPEZ and ALEXANDRE FKD......
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