APUA staged its annual Power Rumble fete on 17 July, and from all accounts it was a success. The feature performances for the evening included, Taxik, El-A-Kru and Destra Garcia.

The Revo Band kicked things off, by warming up the crowd while party patrons trickled into the grounds at 9pm. Although the night was still early, and the party atmosphere was not in full swing, those present were intent on having a good time while grooving to the sounds of the Revo Band.

The soca energy was further heightened by a performance from party monarch semi-finalist Lil Pimp, who sang the infamous Jam With the Midget.

By 10:30 party patrons began pouring in as the first feature band Taxik with lead singers Sleepy and Claudette Peters (CP) got set to hit the stage.

Dressed in a sizzling outfit, which brought the image of a hip ballerina to mind and colourful leggings to match, CP entered the stage singing some songs from yesteryear and a few 2009 releases, including Showtime, Mardi Gras, Fly Away and On the Road. Sleepy also sang his party monarch contender Over your Head while the party patrons sang along.

As the audience eagerly awaited the next performance, they were kept entertained by two more party monarch semi-finalists, 3 Pac Banton and Lion King singing Wine Pon Me and Chooking respectively. The atmosphere was very energetic, the guests seemed to be enjoying themselves and setting the mood for the upcoming carnival activities.

It was now time for El-A-Kru to hit the stage and that they did with a dynamic performance. Lead singer “Tizzy” Sebastian and her dancers certainly set the stage for the remainder of the show. The vivacious performer also sang her own past hits such as Wuk Me and Expose, accompanied by her dancers. By this time it was hard to spot one individual who was not enjoying themselves either by following instructions from Tizzy or those who timidly moved their waistline. Among her 2009 hits performed were Push and TZ Wine. Those were certainly sexy numbers that further kept the partygoers’ eyes glued to the stage and of course there were those who tried to mimic as best they could the actual dance moves.

It was now time for Trinidadian Guest artiste “Destra” Garcia who gave another hot, dynamic performance, also accompanied by her dancers. Some of the songs performed included Tremble It; I Dare you, Its Carnival and Saddle, among others. Destra certainly knows how to command the crowd and it held on to every word and instruction that she gave.

The audience was moving left to right, hands in the air, it was complete involvement. Those unable to handle the stampede either stepped to the side or moved out of the way. Destra is certainly another great performer, and not only was the crowd hanging on to every word that left her mouth, they were also drawn to the movements on stage.

The choreography for one of her songs Saddle certainly kept both men and women entertained. Whilst the men seemed fixated on every move, the women were singing along as if it were their anthem.

Not only did APUA Power Rumble further add to the pre-carnival hype, for some it left them thinking about Power Rumble 2010.