Antigua Panorama 2005

Antigua Panorama 2005 showed an increase in audience attendance and crowd response. This reflected a strong effort by the organizing committee to market the Carnival events more aggressively. In particular with the pan, there were complaints by the public that many of the tunes composed with pan in mind were not well known. Discussions were held among interested parties and a plan was put in place. This led to specific tunes being chosen for selection by the various bands.

These tunes were then afforded substantial airplay giving the public a better appreciation of the arrangers’ development of the basic tunes. Six bands played in the Panorama Finals. Three bands, Cable & Wireless Hell’s Gate Steel Orchestra, WIOC Gemonites Steel Orchestra and Mahico Stars Steel Orchestra chose Outta Control composed by Len “Boogsie” Sharpe and Alvin Daniell and sung by “Kia Panman”. Defending champions Caribseas Harmonites Steel Orchestra went for Sweet Pan sung by Kantu. Popular band AMP Halcyon Steel Orchestra led by Victor “Babu” Samuel elected to play Jam de Pan Again composed and sung by Smarty Jr. Road Rage, the 2004 roadmarch by the Burning Flames was the interesting choice of Ebonites Steel Orchestra.

The Panorama finals though affected by incessant rain, proved to be very exciting. The crowd was also entertained by three “Iron Bands”. They played between the competing bands.

First up was AMP Halcyon Steel Orchestra. They introduced the tune on the hook line from the chorus of the tune, “Jam de pan again”. It was short and crisp but to the point. Their first statement was accurate but I found they took a long time to develop. After a lively jam session they went into a solo that added a fresh perspective to the tune. There were many intricate runs well handled by the talented front line. The tempo chosen was ideal for the piece and the rhythm section held the tempo throughout. In terms of balance, the middle pans seemed subdued and needed to come out more. Their tone was excellent, rhythm tight, but not very creative. Overall it was a good performance and the Panorama was off to a great start.

Cable & Wireless Hell’s Gate Steel Orchestra played in the second slot. They started on the first line of the chorus of Outta Control, “Carnival is de occasion…”, and then went into a rising sequence. They flirted up and down the scale, paused and gave the first interpretation of the tune. They had good tempo and a better balance than the previous band. In terms of the melodic line of the composition they had a slight variation towards the end of the chorus. What I liked about this arrangement is the use of parts of the melody line as bass runs. This served to keep the original melody always present in the arrangement. There was an interesting conversation between the front line pans and the background ones. Melodic and motific development was easily recognizable in their arrangement and I suspect that the arranger sought to satisfy all aspects of the judging critera. Coming to the close they had a catchy samba section played in the minor mode. Their rhythm though could have been more pronounced. They recapitulated to the original melody with variations that led to a strong ending.

Ebonites Steel Orchestra used an introduction that was based on the chords of the selected tune. It led into a chromatic run, a stop and into the first playing of the verse and chorus of the tune. The tune is one of the shorter selections and they chose to play the verse twice and the chorus twice as well. After that they went into a solo on the verse while transferring the melody into the background pans. They never quite captured the excitement of the Burning Flames rendition of Road Rage. The tempo needed to be quicker to achieve the mood of the tune. Late in the development they used a minor interpretation but more melodic development was necessary. After a plain restatement of the melodic line they built up to the usual rhythmic ending.

Caribseas Harmonites Steel Orchestra, the defending champions, appeared very confident. They produced a big band sound as they began on the first line of the verse of their selected song, Sweet pan. They also wove into the introduction another phrase from the middle of the verse before the expected chromatic to usher in the first statement. They incorporated an early jam session that was in keeping with the theme of the tune. They had excellent tone and balance with every pan singing out clearly. The rhythm section though was lost and did not come across forceful enough. Motivic development was a feature of the arrangement and good dynamics with a soft passage in the latter third of the arrangement. They had a beautiful samba section but the rhythm did nothing to enhance it. The final statement had some unison playing that produced increased volume into a rising sequence and a powerful finish.

WIOC Gemonites Steel Orchestra came next. Their choice of Outta Control seemed out of context for a band that had a reputation of being more reserved and correct. But this time they let their hair down and the body language of the players showed that they appreciated the theme of their selection. They started with a vibrant tempo and an accurate playing of the tune first time around. They definitely had the best rhythm for the night. It was loud and clear, tight and integrated into the arrangement. The arrangement was filled with subtle changes in rhythm and levels of volume that made for good dynamics. Here too, they addressed all aspects of the judging criteria and managed to capture the attention of the audience which responded to their lively passages. They served up a carnival styled breakaway ending before swinging back into the chorus and a resounding finish that caused the audience to erupt in loud approval.

Mahico Stars Steel orchestra was a bit anti-climatic playing the same tune after Gemonites. They are a young and promising band but were obviously not quite ready for the big times. The arrangement was simple but adequate and the players handled it well. They stuck to their guns to the end and the audience showed their appreciation by giving them an encouraging round of applause at the end of their performance.

The judges results were as follows:

1. WIOC Gemonites Steel Orchestra
2. Caribseas Harmonites Steel Orchestra
3. Cable & Wireless Hell’s Gate Steel Orchestra
4. AMP halcyon Steel Orchestra
5. Ebonites Steel Orchestra
6. Mahico Stars Steel Orchestra

Overall Antigua can be proud of the standard of this year’s Panorama. I would like to see a preliminary round with comments from a judging panel to allow bands to develop even more before the final night. This could take the form of a “Blockorama” with all of the bands at a chosen venue and the public invited to get a preview of the performances. This will also serve to heighten the interest of the public and expose the melodies of the band’s choices. If this procedure is adopted I am confident that next year’s competition would be even keener.