Click to view full size

SOCA superstar Machel Montano moved closer to his record 12th Road March title with his energetic hit “Encore” dominating at various judging points on the road Carnival Tuesday. But Voice (Aaron St Louis) is still hoping to play the spoiler and win his first Road March title as his “Cyah Behave” was also played frequently.

Though not a judging point, Montano’s “Encore” thundered through the speakers yesterday at the Socadrome, emerging as the top anthem of choice for DJs as big band masqueraders crossed the stage at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. Hot on its heels was Voice’s infectious “Cyah Behave”, followed closely by Ian “Bunji Garlin” Alvarez’s gritty “Still A Road Man”. With 18 songs vying for the coveted Road March title, these three tracks were the most played yesterday at the Socadrome; over at the Queen’s Park Savannah and Downtown Port of Spain yesterday afternoon, it was “Cyah Behave” that dominated playlists.

Back at the Socadrome, the morning began under brooding, overcast skies. Rain puddles glistened on the stage erected in the stadium’s parking lot, a shift from previous years when the stage stood in the middle of the bleachers, offering spectators a bird’s-eye view of the mas.