5 DWET POU ZENGLEN

The great concert series of 2000, of the Washington, DC area, concluded with one of the best concerts of the year. Zenglen is a band emerging out of the shadows of T-Vice, and the superstars of Tabou Combo into its own spotlight.

They are part of the new generation who put an emphasis on making the crowd scream with delight. Still if you want to get your konpa on avek dam ou, they will move you. With Gracia Delva upfront, Zenglen is destined to rise to the top of the charts for years to come.

With the Haitian community in the Washington DC area not as large as that of Miami, or New York, we seldom have the pleasure to enjoy a variety of bands like those other communities.

But nou voye konpa monte with the best of them. The nation capital is all about business and politics on weekdays, but when the weekend comes,

we party.

With the year coming to an end and the temperature dropping, people were in the mood to have one last good time. By the time Zenglen got on stage, close to midnight, the crowd was more than ready to be entertained.

After a few apologies, the band got right down to business, and the crowd was not far behind. Gracia Delva, along with Brutus Derissaint on guitar, were tight from the on set. Although the band has a traditional look, the sound is modern.

The traditional horn section brings to mind the legendary bands, such as Tropicana, Tabou Combo and others. As always, the horn section was tight.

Gracia brings a unique style to konpa. He is like no other. He brings a lot of energy and humor to the show.

Also up front was Brutus Derissaint on guitar and sometimes vocals. A great konpa band is as good as the band, Brutus, Richie (drums) and others are as good as they come.

Zenglen had many in the crowd hypnotize with their brand of konpa. The bands reputation will certainly grow as time goes on.

Among the many surprises of the evening, was Nicolina Florentino on sax.

Not only did she wow the crowd on sax, she also had them screaming for more when she played the flute.

Backed up by such a versatile band, Gracia made it look easy on the mic.

By the time that the band dropped 5 Dwet the crowd was ready.

Ready to go wild, scream and jump. The band is rapidly building its reputation as a solid, versatile, Haitian band.

Many in the community are starting to feel the groove of Zenglen. There is not doubt that the band will only get better and bring konpa to the fore front in world music.

Ralph Blanchard of Strings was there and showed his versatility by playing with Zenglen on stage. It shows that there's enough room in the music scene for Strings as well as Zenglen.

The show ended like any great concert should end, with the audience begging for more as the white lights came on.

Luc Bernard, of Lacaille Productions, took a chance and brought down Zenglen to the Washington area, and the community certainly showed its appreciation. Many stayed around dancing even after the lights turned on and way into the next morning.

The standard has been raised, and we are looking forward to the new year.

Bring on 2001!