Antigua -
Day two of the Moods of Pan Festival is always filled with
excitement and expectation - it's the evening of the Five
Alive contest. This year was no exception. The
Deanery grounds, where the three-day festival is
traditionally held was bristling with anticipation. The
Five Alive competition brings a special brand of steelpan crowd
to the grounds, as they are well aware that they are much more
than passive spectators. Indeed, they are participants
and front seat judges whose opinions count in the final
tallying of the winners.
The spectacular steelband sextet, guest
artistes, Just Six, opened up what would be an
evening of fantastic music and theater. Last year's
Five Alive champion, Golden Hands
repeated their winning ways as the
2007
Five Alive champs. The show ran quickly and
smoothly as the show's producers (Gemonites) again used a
double-stage setup that allowed one act to perform as
another set up. While the judges tallied the scores for
the Five Alive contest, the audience was presented with a
special treat.
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Exodus Steel Orchestra
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The internationally, critically-acclaimed
Exodus Steel Orchestra from Trinidad and Tobago dressed in
their organization's colors of black and white, took the
stage and proceeded to give the audience a little taste of
what was to come on the following night, Sunday, where
they would be featured. Exodus fired off a musical
barrage that left most the steelpan devotees giddy with
steelpan music ecstasy. There is little doubt that
anyone who experienced the musical tease Exodus laid down on this night,
would make the mistake of not returning for the full
performance on Sunday.
The Moods of Pan Festival - day two - was
far from over. After Exodus left the stage, and the
crowd in a blissful musical frenzy, the
Five Alive results
were given. As luck or destiny would have it Golden
Hands Steel Orchestra was already on stage, waiting to give
their full stage side performance, when it was announced that
their five person-squad had won the Five Alive competition
for the second year in a row.
Golden Hands then proceeded to remind the crowd that their
stage ensemble, under director Mrs. Franka Headley, was
equally talented and entertaining as their smaller
subset, executing an array of musical selections that
highlighted their versatility, musicianship and showmanship.
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Golden Hands Steel Orchestra
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And if that was not enough, the show's
producers made sure that the final act would bring the house
down and no one would be left seated. The Antiguan
super group 'Three Cylinder' took the stage and
literally sent the audience round the bend and, others,
literally 'into the trees' pulling down branches and more -
as per the instructions of one of their tunes! No one
was left seated as these superb musicians reeled off hit
after hit after hit. And it is no wonder - Three
Cylinder is made up of two of the founding members of one of
Antigua’s and the Caribbean's most successful bands, the
former Burning Flames. The trio which consists
of Toriano "Onyan" Edwards - (vocalist & lead guitar), David
"Krokus" Edwards (bass player) and Dalma "Boogie" George
(drums), are some of the most sought-after musicians in the
world.
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Three Cylinder
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Day two's performing lineup at the Moods
of Pan festival was sufficient for anyone to jump on a plane
from anywhere in the world, and take in these great
performances. Moods of Pan is highly recommend for any
pan and/or music lover.
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