The question, "Why are we really in a State of Emergency and on lockdown?" was asked several times during the concert ReThePublic presented by rapso group 3Canal on Republic Day, September 24.

The artistes on stage that night all seemed to be on fire and directed their flames toward the People's Partnership Government and politicians in general. The cheers of the audience served to fan the lyrical flames.

The show began at 6 p.m. and ran for just a little over two hours with no intermission because of the curfew. This annual concert is a unique celebration of Trinbago becoming a Republic in 1976. During the show the audience is reminded through various statements of their constitutional rights and other freedoms due them as citizens of the Republic.

On this night, however, the audience was also warned by the artistes during their respective performances that their basic civil rights are being eroded systematically by the very people that should be protecting them.

Wendel Manwarren from 3Canal said during the performance that he agreed that crime is out of hand and needs to be addressed, but he questioned whether the SoE is really for the purpose of dealing with crime and criminal elements.

The audience signalled its agreement when Manwarren said the Government must ensure crime is eradicated or, in the least, greatly lessened by the time the SoE is lifted.

Opening the show was Mistah Shak with his band, which set the pace for what was to come with a superb performance. The towering, socially conscious musician debuted a new song that was not yet even titled and addressed the SoE and the shortfalls of this present Administration and those previous that contributed to crime getting out of hand.

Another song Shak performed was his very popular "Freedom Music", in which he calls on fellow local artistes, especially soca artistes, to inject more substance into their songs and swing away from the jump, wave and wine lyrics, which only serve to keep the people in a state of mental slavery as it does not feed their intellect, but just puts more money into the pockets of those who want to keep the people mentally locked down.

Ataklan took the stage singing "Shadow In The Dark", to cheers from the audience. As if underscoring the sentiments of his fellow cast members, Ataklan repeated the line, "Some may not see where I'm coming from 'cause they favour one party; I like none," a few times as the people began to sing along.

Ataklan also did a retrospective piece possibly titled "Never Leaving Morvant", which also saw the audience singing along.

Not all of Klany's performance was political as he got his dance on with, "Caribbean Swagga".

The headline act, 3Canal with the Cut + Clear Band, opened its set with "For The People" following up with a song titled, "We Living In It", addressing the SoE. For this show the group visited several songs it had not performed for some time.

The trio, Wendell Manwarren, Roger Roberts and Stanton Kewley, was more reflective on this night, choosing songs that lamented what the nation and world at large have become, while encouraging the people to keep moving forward towards a better time. One of the songs was, "A Song For Billy," about a boy named, Kaleem "Billy" Danglade from Morvant who was killed in 2005. The young drummer, who actually died in the arms of Ataklan, had great promise as an all-round artiste.

The mood became more sombre when Manwarren, before the group performed "Over The Mountain", announced that internationally acclaimed limbo dancer, Nydia Byron, who was sitting in the front row, had lost her son earlier this year to gun violence. As the band played, Byron could keep the agony in no longer and broke down. She was comforted by well known 3Canal supporter, Jacqueline Morris.

After rousing the people with the uplifting "I Am", followed by the daring "Talk Yuh Talk", Roger Roberts told the audience not to be afraid to get up and dance, which several people did.

As more patrons abandoned their seats the group performed "Never Give Up" and "I Believe," ending with "Good Morning" as a member of the Queen's Hall crew told them from backstage that it was time to end the show.

Not only 3Canal was sizzling on the night, but the Cut+Clear Crew helped to light the place on fire with its own performance supporting the vocalists. It was especially enjoyable seeing the interaction between guitarist Kiwan Landreth-Smith and bassist Corey Atheleny Wallace as they danced around the stage. Drummer Elliot Francois also seemed ready to jump off his platform and join his band mates in their dancing.

As 3Canal and the band wound down the show, patrons chipped out of Queen's Hall in the hopes of making it to their respective homes before the curfew, after a truly enjoyable and thought-provoking show. In the two hours 3Canal performed among other rarely sung songs, "Emergency", "Piti Pata", "Illuminata", Trodding On" and "Over The Mountain".