Trini Revellers, Legacy impress Savannah crowd

It was a tight race yesterday between Machel Montano’s "Scandalous" and Patrice Roberts and Machel Montano’s "Band of the Year." However, the song "Band of the Year" may not qualify for the Road March title as this year’s rules do not allow "sampling" of music, which "Band of the Year" is said to contain.

The Grand Stand and the North Stand were considerably full compared to Carnival Monday’s paucity of patrons.

Revelry at the Queen’s Park Savannah started on time yesterday, as the reigning large band champion 2005 Trini Revellers gave one of the most memorable presentations and displayed the most vivid costumes.

Portraying "Rome — The Empire," the band came on the stage at 8 am with a reenactment of ancient Roman times, with a section of Roman musicians bearing trumpets, blowing their instruments to give the signal that "Rome — The Empire" is ready to take the stage. Trini Revellers used a wide variety of fabrics, especially velvet, for certain sections of the band. Gladiators bore shields and swords, while the senators were draped in luxurious robes of a deep velvet red. The spectators clapped their approval for the band, as it was easy to establish what each section represented through their clear portrayals.

The second large band to take the stage was Masquerade’s "Atlantis," covering the stage with the colours of the sea, allowing the audience to envision what the mythical sunken island of Atlantis must look like. Sea nymphs in baby blues and soft pinks glided beautifully across the stage, accompanied by all aspects of the sea — "Corals," "Sand Seekers" and "Poseidon’s Court."

Cleverly used were Seafarers dressed in Fancy Sailor costumes, a vital part of the ocean. Most of the costumes bore aspects of the sea such as seashells, pearls and seaweed.

The large band Legacy, run by Big Mike Antoine and Juliet de la Bastide, was third to take the stage giving a good presentation of "Kingdom," with a lot of choreographed dancing, the rolling out of a red carpet for servants to carry de la Bastide on a throne, and the release of doves into the air. Singing with the band was 2006 Soca Monarch and Groovy Soca Monarch winner, Shurwayne Winchester, as revellers jumped in colours of gold, burnt orange and bronze. The band was comprised mostly of feathers, beads and bikinis.

Harts’ 2006 presentation of "Voyage BC" took the stage at 11 am, but the band failed to link their costumes to what exactly they were supposed to portray. While a sea of bikini clad women in pastel colours and beads ran across the stage, there were no banners to enlighten the crowd as to what each section represented. Most of Harts’ costumes got jumbled up together as many people kept running to the back of the band to take a last jump.

The next big band to take the stage at 1.25 pm was Tribe with their presentation of "What Lies Beneath." Their costumes were decorated mainly with large fluffy plumes and colourful feathers.

Still to take the stage were popular bands such as Poison, Brian Mac Farlane’s "Threads of Joy" and Peter Minshall’s "Sacred Heart."

Medium band Skandal-us with their presentation of "Havana" also pleased the audience, in addition to small bands dressed in traditional costumes such as Midnight Robbers and Fancy Sailors.