Even though most rhythm sections were on the now infamous Greens, the North Stand was still standing during Panorama yesterday. Day two of the semifinal round of the competition kicked off in blazing hot sun and a thin crowd. Half way through the medium band category it was clear, however, that the North Stand possees were still coming out in their numbers despite the Greens party having grown in popularity.
The North Stand also remained the area of choice for the likes of President George Maxwell Richards and Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing. Arima Angel Harps was the first of 14 medium band contestants to grace the stage yesterday playing Winston De Fosto Scarborough's We Come Out to Play. This was a popular song in the medium category with three bands playing it. The other bands playing Scarborough's 2013 offering included Pan Elders and Curepe Scherzando.
Another popular tune of choice was Denyse Plummer's Shock Attack. NGC Couva Joylanders, who placed first in the preliminary round, continued to shine with their rendition of the 2008 tune Band from Space.
They came up against stiff competition nonetheless by strong performances from three bands: Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille, who played Arrow's Long Time; Pamberi who played Kerwin Du Bois' Wettin' (one of the few bands playing 2013 soca); and NLCB Buccooneers who played Gold by Machel Montano, Rikki Jai, Duanne O'Connor and Karene Asche.
On the Greens, the party was slow to start with many people just standing around. Greens activities included beer-chugging competitions, live DJs, tassa groups, a mega-screen with Panorama broadcast and scheduled performances by Montano and Lyrikal.
The show ran smoothly with transitions between bands moving quickly and no delays between the medium and large category competitions. At 6.24 pm only three large bands had performed. They were Humming Bird Pan Groove, BP Renegades and PCS Nitrogen Silver Stars. Shock Attack was played by both Renegades and Silver Stars.
