Baltimore, Maryland
- In a few weeks New York will become the toast
of the steelband music world as it gears up for
the 2007 Panorama competition. However,
there is no doubt the place to be this weekend was
Baltimore, Maryland. Not to be outdone or
overshadowed, Baltimore held it’s annual “Pan on
the Move” steelband music festival. Local
area steelbands from Maryland, in addition to a
contingent of groups from New York and a
group from Philadelphia all participated in this
year’s
show. The event is the brainchild of the
Baltimore
Education and Culture Institute (BECI).
Present out of Maryland were Pan Masters, DC Pan Jammers, St. Veronica’s Steel Orchestra and
Harbor Knights Youth Steel Orchestra; out of New York
came Women In Steel, Utopia Pan Soul: the Next
Generation, Higher
Levin and Hearts of Steel; and Philadelphia Pan
Stars down from Pennsylvania. Indeed, all the
bands came prepared to perform at a high level.
Each band was offered an opportunity to showcase
their musical works by performing two pieces of choice.
Initially, all of the bands were given a warm-up
round as a means of introducing themselves to
the present steel band music buffs.
This
went down without much fanfare as most of the
bands were saving their knock-out pieces for the
later rounds - that is until New York’s Higher
Levin came on and proceeded to serve notice that
they were prepared to give a knock-out blow even
during warm-up! The crowd ‘Oohed’ and ‘Aahed’ as Higher Levin
wowed the crowd with their “DJ”
like mix of popular dance hall and soca
favorites. This woke up all the other
bands as they were not willing to be participants
in any of the ‘licks’ that was being shared.
Or perhaps we should we say the “serving
of potential licks” that was being placed on the
musical menu by
Higher Levin - because this was only the warm-up
session. As one visitor remarked as she
walked away after they finished - “What can they
do to top that?”
From that point on all the bands performed very
spirited and very well arranged musical pieces
as their innate competitive nature took over.
There were no losers here - this was a win, win,
win situation. The audience was privy to
some excellent music and performances that
covered many different genres of music which highlighted just how great steelband music can
be.
There were many great musical highlights to the
event. Here are just a few that come to
mind.
Pan Masters dropped an awesome
original score called Don Quixote and topped it
off with a stellar interpretation of Band From
Space. Utopia Pan Soul: the Next
Generation whipped up a sophisticated and
uniquely colored version of Gnarls
Barkley’s Crazy as only they can do, that made you say
“Wicked!” Higher Levin put
together a version of the world famous Hot
Hot Hot ‘that
made you say “how did they come up with that?”
St. Veronica’s Woman on the Bass was simply
fabulous. Women In Steel showed that
although the contingent that went to Baltimore
was very young in age, they were quite capable of commanding
attention center stage. Philadelphia Pan Stars,
who in 2007 would go on to win the Carlos
Lezama Challenge trophy at stake every year,
got a rousing ovation with their versions of Rock the Boat’
and Sharing Licks.
Harbor Knights, who have made some significant strides
forward in the last couple of years, showed
growth and development with their version of
Rhianna’s Unfaithful. Hearts of Steel took
the audience into ‘old school heaven’ with great
calypso pieces from the past that had the crowd
singing and chipping along.
The event takes place in a wide open spacious
field. This is an unplugged event - no
artificial amplification. What you see and
hear, is what it is. This is steelpan
music at its purist and best. The pan
instruments tonal qualities, band balance and
instrument make-up, are clearly heard. The
audience is comprised of a mix of fairly
knowledgeable, and extremely discerning
steelband music fans.
When Steel Talks’
only gripe was there was not an easy way for
media/news outlets to move around and capture live media
without clashing with the crowd (maybe a five-foot
frozen zone, only for media would take care of
this issue) - and of course (but this
is very self-serving) - a separate tent to
interview and talk to the players, arrangers and
management would be nice - people are always
interested in going beyond just the performances.
This set up would allow event
organizers and steelpan folks to become acclimated to
the scenario of business acumen: that of giving interviews, and marketing
and promoting themselves and their organizations,
thereby maximizing the fruits of their efforts
and output, and the fostering an atmosphere for
potential business affiliations.
Simply put: this event was about the music -
great steelband music. It was a perfect
environment for steelpan people to have a day out
with friends and family, and for the wider
community to join in the fun. Bands in the
country who wants to showcase their musical
abilities among some heavy hitters, should seek
an invitation from the Baltimore Culture and
Education Institute as soon as possible.
In fact we have been informed that some
exceptional steel orchestras have already
inquired about being placed under consideration
for an invitation to next year’s festival. Pan on
the Move will only grow in status and
popularity. With that growth one can
expect that there will be much less focus on the
competitive marketing
of the event, and more emphasis on the ability to
entertain, and the opportunity to educate about culture, generate
unique pan music and
expose phenomenal talent. Pan on the Move is on
its way to becoming the “Woodstock Festival” of
the steelpan music world, should the event
organizers be savvy enough to recognize and
exploit its potential.
Check it out for yourself
next year.
Pan on
the Move 2007 Festival in Pictures