By Scott Rollins

On the 8th of November 1999 Kofi Ayivor left for Barbados. His old buddy Eddy Grant had phoned a few weeks previously and asked him to take part in his newly reformed Frontline Orchestra to play a millenium gig on Tobago. For the next eight weeks the band rehearsed every day for long hours. Alongside Kofi on drums, congas, timbales and percussion were Willie Stewart (ex-drummer of Third World), Arturo Tappin as musical director, keyboards and saxophones, Jamacian bass player Daniel Thompson, Defoe on guitar, Ras Mel Glover Jr. on guitar, Sheldon Bernard on keyboards and on backing vocals Jackie Robinson, Kadian Dixon, Ryan Bailey and Simone Niles.

Kofi and the band arrived on Tobago on the 28th of December. The band lodges at the Turtle Beach Hotel on the waters of Great Courtland Bay. Kofi sees fishing nets on the beach and in no time he is chatting with the local fisherman. Before he knows it he is up to his chest in the bay carrying his section of the net into the waters. It reminds him of his youth on the coast of Ghana where he helped the fisherman haul in their catch nearly half a century earlier. In March of each year the sand under his feet is the breeding ground of leatherneck turtles who come in their thousands to lay their eggs. Kofi is happy. He comes out of the water and relaxes, takes out his djembe and begins playing to the sea. Children gather around and later the fishermen tell him they could hear him several kilometers out from shore in their small vessels. He is home.

A mile down shore the local catch is laid out on top of a section of stone wall that runs along the coastal road. Kingfish, bonita, tuna, dolphin are all for sale to tourist and locals alike.
The technical rehearsal and sound check for all the participating musicians (almost all of whom are signed to Eddy Grant's Ice Records label) takes place on the 30th of December.
Shaw Park, Tobago's cricket grounds and football pitch, on the coast near the bay at the island's capitol of Scarborough was the site of what was billed "the Caribbean's largest stage ever". A 100 foot wide structure with miles of cables, wires and television equipment loomed white against a black sky, bathed in light from the sport field's light towers. BBC and stage technicians were busy providing various bands a final sound check before the big day. Back stage whole rhythm sections were being rolled to center stage one by one on big platforms on wheels like floats in a parade. Guyanese band The Yoruba Singers took the stage for their sound check and calypso legend Lord Kitchener was chatting with Grant in the wings. They just managed to complete their sound check and as the Frontline Orchestra's instruments were being put into position the weather had other ideas. Wind and rain began wreaking havoc. Sheets of water were driven onstage, musicians and technicians scurrying to protect instruments and electronic equipment. What began as a minor irritation began to take on more ominous overtones when the entire stage and towers of electronic equipment began to shake, as whole rows of lights blinked red like the eyes of a crocodile when light in shone on them in the dark. Then in the midst of the deluge the sound of drums could be heard. Kofi had begun playing phrases on the congas. Rays of light swept intermittantly across the dark recesses of back stage. Eddy Grant picked up some sticks and started crossing rhythms with him on Kofi's djembe. With everyone worried about the weather Kofi said he was playing rhythms to make the rain and wind settle down. Five minutes later and the Frontline Orchestra were on stage for their sound check. Twenty minutes into the sound check the wind and rain returned, this time with a vengeance everything had to be wheeled back again. A few minutes later Kofi's congas resounded in the dark. Grant joined in again, this time on cowbell. They were joined by Arturo Tappin the band's sax player who improvised wailing riffs in the wind and rain. The tower of electronic equipment swayed ominously and Arturo launched into a wicked rendition of My Favorite Things. The stage manager told everyone to leave the stage immediately. For a few minutes it looked as though the ringbang celebration might not happen at all.

Half an hour later the stage crew returned, wheeling the equipment back out for a last attempt at a proper sound check. A choir of children climbed on stage. They were to sing on Grant's world hit Give Me Hope Johanna. A phalanx of microphones was set behind the band as they jammed for sound levels and once again the rain and wind stopped the proceedings. This time there was a tangle of bodies and equipment rushing to get offstage.
Grant gathered together the children at the back and led them through the tune acapella reassuring them that things would be just fine. The children sang with passion as the rain swept in. The decision was taken to call it a night without a proper sound check.

That night the wind shrieked across the island and the rain swept in intermittant gusts. We awoke hoping the stage was still intact. The sun shone and a gentle, but insistent breeze was blowing. Going to Shaw Park early to watch the crowd gather and everyone set up I wandered around the venue visiting the food stalls with the famous Tobagan pig foot souse, chicken with pigeon peas and rice. Workers were stuffing rags into rum bottles filled with spirits and kerosene that would act as torches to usher in the new year. They were placing them in patterns around the stands and grounds. One of the concession stand workers where the booze was sold was elated. He spoke directly to me as I approached. "What a glorious day. The sunshine and this breeze is drying the grass and mud." When I told him I heard a steel support cable had snapped in the wind the night before and that it had been touch and go he replied: "Eddy Grant prayed nothing would happen to this party. We did too, of course nothing could stop this happening. The spirit was too strong". He was beaming from ear to ear as he dispensed me with a beer. The crowd began trickling in by early afternoon. Local lads with crates of Coke and quart bottles of rum, European and North American tourists mingled. The sound system was pumping out calypso and socas with an absolutely visceral bass that went straight through the body. "Salt in the sugar, uuum!"

Finally by mid-afternoon the steel drum orchestra known is the BWIA Invaders (the show's sponsering airline) opened the show. Clearly not all the sound problems had been ironed out as yet and it took a few numbers to get some kind of balance. Next up was a local Tobagan gospel group The Signal Hill Choir who got the revelers going with some lively vocals, foot stomping and clapping. The BWIA Invaders then went on to accompany steel drum virtuoso Len "Boogsie" Sharpe and in a cameo appearance Lord Kitchener. Yours truly took a short break from the grounds and missed the next few acts but was back by early evening when Ray Cape and his Kaiso All-Stars took the stage acting as the house orchestra as it were, for a number of premiere Caribbean stars who each sang two or three numbers. The concert really began taking off when Super Blue jumped on stage after a slight mix-up in the introductions. He strutted his stuff across the mammoth stage unwinding a blue sash from around his head in pirate fashion exhorting the crowd to revel. His soca up-tempo numbers got the everyone up and dancing. In quick succession came Calypso Rose the Caribbean's foremost diva who clearly relished the big stage on her local turf. Black Stalin and the Mighty Terror strutted their stuff, getting on in years but holding their own as Ray Cape and his wonderful brass section accompanied them to their own compositions of calypsos with the traditionally longer lyrics and satrical story lines.

Finally at 11:30 Eddy Grant and the Frontline Orchestra took the stage as the headline act that would take us all into the new millenium. Their solid eight weeks of rehearsal paid off as they laid down a tight set of eight numbers that included some of Eddy's old hits such as War Party and a song written especially for the event called East Dry River, that commemorates the process of going back to the roots of one's origins. This was sung on acoustic guitar with background vocal and bass accompaniment. Just before the firework display to celebrate the new millenium the band launched into a rendition of his hit Gimme Hope Johanna where Kofi Ayivor took an extended solo on congas. The audience by now was ecstatic and Grant was getting into his lead guitar work, up to Hendrix-like antics, playing his white Fender with his teeth and then behind his back working to a climax by unstrapping it, throwing it to the stage and kicking it to the manic prancing delights of the front rows of delerious fans.

Friends who viewed the international link on the BBC said the band was on for about three minutes before they switched away to Venezuela. Nevertheless the entire concert had been videotaped and recorded for cd release at a later date. We will keep you posted for broadcast and/or release dates. After Eddy Grant it was the turn of the younger Ringbang musicians to pump it up on stage with their wicked drum/bass grooves and in your face lyrics. They played on into the wee hours of the morning.
All in all, barring a few minor hiccups the show went off well, giving the audience a cross section of the English speaking Caribbean's music from The Yoruba Singers from Guyana and artists from Trindidad, Tobago, Barbados, and Antigua. Some 11,000 paying guests had come to see the show.
In the meantime offers have been coming in to have Eddy and the new Frontline Orchestra, including Kofi to do a series of live gigs in Africa and the Caribbean. We will keep you posted.

Scott Rollins