A district notorious for marijuana cultivation, Biche was high on intoxicating pan music last Saturday when Pan Trinbago staged its second edition this year of Pan in De Countryside.
Scores of pan lovers gathered at the community recreation grounds to enjoy the music of five steel orchestras from across the nation.
Geographically Biche is not that far from Port-of-Spain but it is indeed far via road commute, actually two hours of driving, via Cumuto, from Port-of-Spain.
A convoy of maxi taxis and cars filled with pan lovers from distant points made the trip. The event attracted the largest turnout of pan lovers from the North in its two-year history, most of whom had never been to Biche. The event took on the ambience of a huge food fest as most people walked with picnic baskets bearing a wide assortment of delectable goodies.
Steelbands headlining the event included Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars, Arima Golden Symphony, Marsicans, Panatics, and Supa Novas, with supplemental music by DJ KC Klass is Class.
The Biche facility, ensconced between luscious green foliage, a spacious community centre and sports field, is one of the nicest we've been to, rivalled perhaps only by Blanchisseuse. Single pan band Marsicans of Arima got the live performances going, followed by Panatics, coming all the way from by the waterwheel in Diego Martin to rustic Biche. Fielding young pannists, the band touched all with its soulful interpretation of Adele's Someone Like You, as well as Quando Quando and Benjai's Trini.
Pan Trinbago secretary Richard Forteau interrupted Panatics' performance to commend the band on the age diversity of its players, drawing attention to its grey-haired drummer and its teenaged tenor players. He quipped that the future of the national instrument is in good hands.
What I found interesting is that most of the steelbands participating in this series of live shows have mostly young musicians but the fans who've faithfully followed for two years are rarely beneath the age of 40.
Makes one wonder when the current crop of pan enthusiasts are no more who'll be left to follow and support steelband events? Also, is steelband's support base becoming extinct?
Panatics had the crowd singing the refrain of Bunji Garlin's Differentology, and drew warm applause at the end of its performance, preceded by popular selections like Merchant's Caribbean Connection, Just Friends, Someone Like You, Lovely Day, Quando Quando and Caribbean Queen.
Supernovas of Surrey Village, Lopinot, was next. Under the astute musical direction of arranger Amrit Samaroo, son of legendary arranger Jit Samaroo, this band has placed in the top three in Panorama for the past two years in the Small Band category. Supernovas opened with Sniper's Portrait of Trinidad, and a very brief drizzle sent some people scampering but, failed to stymie the performance or the audience's enthusiasm. The well-rehearsed Supernovas merrily continued its performance, bringing the audience to life with the late Lord Blakie's Maria and Maestro's Gold.
Arima Golden Symphony, national Small Band Panorama champion for four years on a stretch, with arranger Terrence "BJ" Marcelle in the lead, followed Supernovas. The champion band also offered a beautiful repertoire, especially its lively interpretation of SuperBlue's Fantastic Friday, and including How Great Thou Art, Love Theme, Just the Two of Us and I am Blessed.
Beginning its performance at 9.45 pm, the All Stars set was more than worth the tedious journey to the countryside. All Stars' opening medley of Sparrow's Drunk and Disorderly, Lizard, Jean and Dinah and Jane, whetted the appetite for much more to come. The legendary Duke Street band dug deep into its trove of classics and came up with the disco hit of yesteryear, Do It Fluid (I Like to Party), followed by Tonight, Mas que nada, I Believe I Could Fly and Procul Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale. With everyone present in the palm of its hand, All Stars took the intensity of its performance higher with a medley that comprised Machel Montano's The Fog, Rikki Jai's Guinness and Puncheon, and Swallow's Doh Stop Dis Party. There was only place to go after this, to the peak of the musical mountain and the band obliged, climaxing its hour-long performance with its 1980 winning National Panorama selection, the immortal Scrunter's Woman on de Bass.
Fully sated from hours of excellent pan music and leaving Biche at 11 pm, little did I know even more excitement lay ahead. Having gone through the pitch black Biche rain forest, in heavy rain of course, after passing through Cumuto and Sangre Grande, the maxi taxi got a flat tyre as we approached the Valencia junction which took over an hour repair as the tyre stubbornly refused to be removed. With the assistance of four other drivers from the red band route, the tyre was finally changed and we resumed our journey into Port-of-Spain after one on Sunday morning. We eventually safely got into the city around 2.30 am.
Upcoming steelband events
June 15:
7 pm: St James Community Improvement Committee hosts WeBeat St James Live 13 Steelband Street Parade, featuring Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove, Republic Bank Exodus, CAL Invaders, White Oak Starlift, Valley Harps, Carib Woodbrook Playboyz and more, Western Main Road, St James
June 16: (FATHER'S DAY)
5 pm: Pan Trinbago (North Region) stages Pan 1.2.3....Plus, featuring Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars, Couva Joylanders, Sun Valley and more, Trinidad All Stars pan pard, Duke Street, Port-of-Spain;
June 18:
8 pm: bpTT Renegades stages Pan Jam, feat Republic Bank Exodus, Junior Sammy Group of Companies Skiffle, Renegades, Crazy, Explainer, Renegades Pan Theatre, Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain;
July 6:
11 am: St Mary's College Past Students' Union holds BBQ With the Saints, in aid of Sedley Joseph Medical Expenses, St Mary's College Grounds, Serpentine Road, St Clair;
2 pm: St Margaret's Boys' AC School Steelband hosts Youth Pan Extravaganza, Junior Sammy Group of Companies Skiffle Pan Theatre, Coffee Street, San Fernando;
4 pm: Pan Trinbago stages Pan in De Countryside, Speyside, Tobago;
July 13:
2 pm: St Margaret's Boys' AC School Steelband hosts Youth Pan Extravaganza, Queen's Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain;
August 22:
8 pm: CAL Invaders Steel Orch stages Versatility...The Concert, Lord Kitchener Auditorium, National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port-of-Spain
Another drizzle preceded Trinidad All Stars' performance, as well as a brief birthday celebration, complete with three cakes, of three of the band's musicians–Jason Lewis, Netfa Nathan, Blenton Peltier.
Pan symposium in South
?
On the subject of pan, The University of T&T is in the process of planning a Pan Symposium, scheduled Saturday, June 29, at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), South facilities, from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm. The moderator for the symposium will be Felipe Noguera and the panellists will include Dr Hollis "Chalkdust" Liverpool, Dr Kim Johnson, Nestor Sullivan, Michael Cooper, Amrit Samaroo, and Michelle Huggins Watts among others. The theme of the symposium is life lesson through pan music, and the discussion pillars are as follows: Learning from:
�2 The instrument;
�2 The community;
�2 The movement,
�2 Teaching the instrument
The primary objective of the symposium will be to:
�2 To understand and appreciate the history of Pan Music, and its impact on the peoples of T&T, as well as the global community;
�2 To understand the structure and creative elements of pan music;
�2 To understand the scope and business opportunities and
�2To implement the lessons learned from the history of pan music to enhance the curriculum and teaching methodology within the context of UTT's Pan Programme.