Pandemonium of the sweetest nature rained down on the Big Yard stage in the wee hours of yesterday morning as Trinis went wild when Phase II Pan Groove was declared the 2005 National Panorama champion. They beat defending champ Exodus by 20 points with a score of 478 points.
By Wayne BowmanIt was the widest margin of victory in Panorama history.
Founding arranger of the band, Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, stood motionless and wide-eyed in the Grand Stand, Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, for several seconds following the announcement before he, too, joined in the revelry along with Ray Holman, who had drilled the band alongside him.
Playing "Trini Gone Wild," a Sharpe composition sung by Colin Lucas, Phase II had sent the entire Savannah, both the Grand and North stands, into a state of orderly disorder during their performance. Phase II kicked off its presentation at 3:52 am with Sharpe conducting the musicians as they literally ramajayed on their instruments, creating an air of excitement throughout the performance.
As promised, Sharpe had added certain elements to the piece that were not part of the arrangement when the band topped the semi-final round two weeks earlier. The tempo had not been tampered with, but the bounce was further accentuated by lifting the guitar pans just a bit and spicing up the engine room. A couple of extra short, speedy runs were added as well as a sharp crescendo, which made many jump out of their seats.
The band received a standing ovation as it ended the competition in which eight large bands had performed before the judges in the hope of claiming the lucrative $400,000 first prize. Also taking place on Saturday was the final of the Medium Band Category. Sharpe and Holman were presented with the Challenge Trophy and cheque immediately following the announcement that it had won.
An ecstatic Sharpe said that this victory was long in coming and that his band-members had travelled a long and agonising road. He cited that the performance as probably the best delivered by the band since "Woman Is Boss" in 1988, which is the last time Phase II took the championship. "The players really worked hard and Ray (Holman) drilled them and cleaned up the music nicely," Sharpe said as scores of people crowded in on him to extend their congratulations.
Although denied the chance to score a hat trick, the members of the Exodus Steel Orchestra were for the most part quite upbeat and happy with their second place position. The band had performed DeFosto's 2005 hit "From Beyond" under the direction of arranger, Pelham Goddard to score 458 points and take the $350,000 prize for second place. Playing in the second position, Exodus took the stage at 12:12 am and proceeded to wow the audience with a truly thrilling presentation.
Desperadoes under the direction of Clive Bradley, performed Emmanuel "Oba" Sinnette's 2005 offering "Action." The accurate tuning done by the team of Bertie Marshall, Lincoln Noel, Clifford Alfred and Desmond Richardson, rang through as Despers played the sweet symphony that Bradley had turned the tune into.
