Saturday November 6, 2010 was the long-anticipated album release party of Djakout #1 in New York. After a long hiatus from the New York’s HMI scene, the public was more than ready to see what the band has been up to and what the newly released CD was all about.
My party and I arrived at Mangoville night club shortly before 11:30pm. As we walked into the facility, the musicians were just arriving. As I made my entrance into the ballroom, my first impression was that the attendance was low. I did not give it too much thought as the night was still young. It was my first time at Mangoville night club, and I have to say the club did not impress me at all. Just a large room with one bar. Only a few tables and chairs were left on each side of the dance floor. One area was set with a table decorated with balloons and small buffet table to its side, a VIP section, or something for the musicians. A press conference was set to take place, but it never took place. Instead, around midnight, Mr. Richard Urbain, new representant of the band in NY, took the stage and welcomed the band to NY and thanked the attendees for coming to show their support. He also announced that everyone who paid for a bal ticket will be given a new CD of the band. At the entrance, when a bal ticket was either purchased or presented to the bouncer, a ticket stub was given back and that was used to reclaim your cd. Kudos to Richard Urbain for this nice gesture and keeping his words (it was advertised on the party’s flyer). After that, the musicians autographed the cds for some fans.
At this point, the public, including myself, was eager to get the party started. All musicians, one by one, were introduced and asked to come on stage.
The band started with an old hit from a previous album, possibly Fruit de La Passion or Sam Fe Ou. (I apologize; I am not good at remembering song titles.) First thing I noticed about the band, is how determined and calm all the musicians looked! They came ready to show what they have up their sleeves .At this point, I was observing the public’s reaction. Many people were just observing the band, watching on the sidelines.
In no particular order they played some of these songs:
Kout Lang
La Familiar
Realite a (new release)
Premier Lo (new release)
Profite(new release)- In that particular song, Roro did a lot talking about how life is too short and we should enjoy our lives, and how we should let females be (I put it nicely). The reaction of the public was so energetic to that song. It was amazing!
Pale Francais
Shake Dada- I can tell already this song will be a crowd’s favorite. The ladies came prepared for that song, and they had no shame in shaking “what their mama gave them” by coming on stage. Guys were dancing, too… so, tout moun jwen!
My impressions of this event-
Cons- There was nothing special about this album release party. Beside the fact that some cds and calendars of the band were given away. Although it was a nice gesture, there was nothing special, the “wow factor” was missing. It was just a regular bal on the organization side of things.
Pros- The band has improved tremendously: they are now a true example of the saying “practice makes perfect”. They took advantage of the time off they had from the live circuit to rehearse as a band and worked hard to provide a great performance.
Honestly, this is the first time in a long time, I have seen Djakout#1 played that well. I love the fact they played mostly slow songs, while also playing some "chofe pomp" songs. A few people that attended complained about that, but I told them it is because they jumped on the "a Djakout band wagon" late, post la familia days, where they were mostly showcasing the Compas raboday styles, the sote pompe type of music! This style of music really helped the band but they also lost some true fans that supported Djakout since day one ( when it was about playing some good compas direct where people could actually dance with their partners/bouboute/wife when going out). Not all the time when you go out do you want to dance like you are at a carnival party; there is a time to jump and have fun, but there is a time to dance, maybe a ½ carro with a bouboute…
They played at least four songs off the new album, which in my opinion is an advantage. There is always a honeymoon stage when the album is just released, during which most bands delay their live renditions of newly released songs, simply because they don’t have time to rehearse the new songs.
They put a lot of focus, on their new guitar player Didi Santana, formerly of the group Kdans. Didi showcased his skills and the public enjoyed that!
Djakout#1 went back to the core, where it all started. It is the beginning of new era (I hope). My advice to Djakout#1# 1 is to not let the fans pressure them into going back to the "fait bruit, rele anmwey" ways; continue to balance out your repertoire with a choice of both slow songs and a few hot tempo songs (the same way they did at that event). Keep the “pale anpil, woywoy, fait bruit” to a minimum. If you guys follow this advice, and with a lot of rehearsals, discipline and professionalism, and a good marketing campaign, I can see the band going really far.
My party and I arrived at Mangoville night club shortly before 11:30pm. As we walked into the facility, the musicians were just arriving. As I made my entrance into the ballroom, my first impression was that the attendance was low. I did not give it too much thought as the night was still young. It was my first time at Mangoville night club, and I have to say the club did not impress me at all. Just a large room with one bar. Only a few tables and chairs were left on each side of the dance floor. One area was set with a table decorated with balloons and small buffet table to its side, a VIP section, or something for the musicians. A press conference was set to take place, but it never took place. Instead, around midnight, Mr. Richard Urbain, new representant of the band in NY, took the stage and welcomed the band to NY and thanked the attendees for coming to show their support. He also announced that everyone who paid for a bal ticket will be given a new CD of the band. At the entrance, when a bal ticket was either purchased or presented to the bouncer, a ticket stub was given back and that was used to reclaim your cd. Kudos to Richard Urbain for this nice gesture and keeping his words (it was advertised on the party’s flyer). After that, the musicians autographed the cds for some fans.
At this point, the public, including myself, was eager to get the party started. All musicians, one by one, were introduced and asked to come on stage.
The band started with an old hit from a previous album, possibly Fruit de La Passion or Sam Fe Ou. (I apologize; I am not good at remembering song titles.) First thing I noticed about the band, is how determined and calm all the musicians looked! They came ready to show what they have up their sleeves .At this point, I was observing the public’s reaction. Many people were just observing the band, watching on the sidelines.
In no particular order they played some of these songs:
Kout Lang
La Familiar
Realite a (new release)
Premier Lo (new release)
Profite(new release)- In that particular song, Roro did a lot talking about how life is too short and we should enjoy our lives, and how we should let females be (I put it nicely). The reaction of the public was so energetic to that song. It was amazing!
Pale Francais
Shake Dada- I can tell already this song will be a crowd’s favorite. The ladies came prepared for that song, and they had no shame in shaking “what their mama gave them” by coming on stage. Guys were dancing, too… so, tout moun jwen!
My impressions of this event-
Cons- There was nothing special about this album release party. Beside the fact that some cds and calendars of the band were given away. Although it was a nice gesture, there was nothing special, the “wow factor” was missing. It was just a regular bal on the organization side of things.
Pros- The band has improved tremendously: they are now a true example of the saying “practice makes perfect”. They took advantage of the time off they had from the live circuit to rehearse as a band and worked hard to provide a great performance.
Honestly, this is the first time in a long time, I have seen Djakout#1 played that well. I love the fact they played mostly slow songs, while also playing some "chofe pomp" songs. A few people that attended complained about that, but I told them it is because they jumped on the "a Djakout band wagon" late, post la familia days, where they were mostly showcasing the Compas raboday styles, the sote pompe type of music! This style of music really helped the band but they also lost some true fans that supported Djakout since day one ( when it was about playing some good compas direct where people could actually dance with their partners/bouboute/wife when going out). Not all the time when you go out do you want to dance like you are at a carnival party; there is a time to jump and have fun, but there is a time to dance, maybe a ½ carro with a bouboute…
They played at least four songs off the new album, which in my opinion is an advantage. There is always a honeymoon stage when the album is just released, during which most bands delay their live renditions of newly released songs, simply because they don’t have time to rehearse the new songs.
They put a lot of focus, on their new guitar player Didi Santana, formerly of the group Kdans. Didi showcased his skills and the public enjoyed that!
Djakout#1 went back to the core, where it all started. It is the beginning of new era (I hope). My advice to Djakout#1# 1 is to not let the fans pressure them into going back to the "fait bruit, rele anmwey" ways; continue to balance out your repertoire with a choice of both slow songs and a few hot tempo songs (the same way they did at that event). Keep the “pale anpil, woywoy, fait bruit” to a minimum. If you guys follow this advice, and with a lot of rehearsals, discipline and professionalism, and a good marketing campaign, I can see the band going really far.
