YUMA 2014 Launch 'Cirque' - The Review

Coming out from the slumber...a brief review.
Rating Scale 1 to 5. 1 absolute crud, 5 fabulous

The Event: YUMA Launch of their 2014 presentation "Cirque"
Venue: Hasley Crawford National Stadium
Date: August 10th 2013
Time: 10:30pm to 5am (I think)
Price: $300 per person

The Review:
Bar -  shit! Yes drinks were free, but...The bar served White Oak rum, Black Label rum, Forres Park Puncheon, Correira's Hard Wine and Skyy Vodka. Utter shite!!! Thank goodness for the BrewHouse with Stag/Carib/Carib Pilsner/Heinekin on tap. There was a Cafe Patron booth for shots, as well as a booth serving what looked like a 'punch', but the signage had Skyyy vodka so I steered clear. There were also Angostura Rum Cocktails bar, and a Chivas bar which was solely for those with 'special bands'. Rating - 2.5 

Food - Wendy's and Macco Taco's were the options. Partook of Wendy's (yess it is unhealthy!!) Rating - 3

Amenities - porta-potties of the basic type, they were kept relatively clean. Running water and soap provided. Lighting was not the best, and no mirrors available. Female patrons however were not very dignified and discarded paper towels in the sinks even though a garbage bin was within 5 ft. Rating - 3

Layout and ambiance - decent. It was very different and innovative I guess, of Yuma to utilise outside the covered stands area on a straight stretch. It allowed visibility of the stage from almost any vantage point within the area. Stage was a long wide stretch, decorated in white, with YUMA banner stretched across the back. Lots of screens to aid in visual. Ambiance was kind of bleh and generic. Rating - 3

Presentation - Good that it was introduced by a Cirque-inspired dance performance. Did not like that section names were not announced. Only realised half-way through the second section parade on stage that section names were being displayed on the screens...not cool, since keeping track of names and matching to costumes was thus a bit difficult. Rating - 3

Music -  ok I guess. They played a good mix and had the crowd moving and involved, then lost me completely with the rap session. Rating - 4

Costumes - not bad at all. The designs were pretty decent. Some were a bit 'out of the box ' (ohhh how I loathe that cliche!!) Some strong backlines, and some notable frontlines...a brazilian wax is required for some of those frontlines ladies! (Ohhh and the model for one of the FLs gave us stage-side a show we did NOT need) Rating - 3.5

Overall - 3

Review - Yuma's NEON

Event: Yuma's Neon

Location: Queen's Park West was stated on the flyer. The ticket had Queen's Park West as well. The actual venue was Queen's Royal College Courtyard. No complaints...BUT if that's the venue, advertise as such nah!


Date: February 11th 2012


Ambience/Layout: Loved the lighting...neon lights lit up the QRC facade and entrance. Lights were still being strung up when we arrived, or maybe they were fixing things, but guys were on ladders/scaffolding fixing things near the entrance when we got there at close to midnight...not cool.
LOVED the elevated stage/DJ booth in the middle with the bars setup around the stage area. Everyone, and I do mean everyone in attendance could have gotten a good view of the stage/DJ area. Only issue is that because the courtyard area was used, the actual paved area was limited...made for a slightly more intimate feel than most fetes have.

Food/drinks: At the price of the ticket, we were slightly sceptical of drink quality..but those fears were laid to rest upon arrival. Patron shot booth just to the right of the entrance. NUVO at the bar, also noticed Bailey's and the rum cocktails booth...but personally I saw Nuvo available, nothing else really mattered :-) The guy in the group complained that Johnny wasn't provided...sooo Yuma, next time Johnny please and thanks. Those that had the rum cocktails said that the ones they sampled were yuck...guess it's a matter of taste (I don't drink rum so it all tastes the same to me). Food had to be purchased, as this was semi-inclusive. I only saw gyros on sale, but there was also a cold-stone cart with free mini-containers...yum!


Performances: ALL of the advertised artistes performed, and performed fabulously...the exception Sherwayne. Unless we missed him by arriving when we did, Yuma owes us for false advertising, cause when we left (when it was done!) we still hadn't seen him. The artistes that performed were FANTABULOUS...I don't know if it was the drinks that were flowing, the vibe of dancing in rain or what...but the energy off of the crowd and performers during the performances was contagious...it was impossible to remain unmoved.


Bathrooms: Porta potties so bleh. But there were facilities to wash hands, with soap and mirrors sooo it wasn't too awful. Men used the school bathrooms...make note it's an all-boys school, so imagine the condition of those washrooms.

The Crowd: Guess we arrived at a great time. Peeps who got there earlier said people weren't dancing much. We were late, yes yes admittedly a lot was my fault...but by the time we found a parking space (about 3 blocks away!) and get in it was almost midnight. We had made up our minds to enjoy ourselves, especially since for a couple of the crew this was last fete)...WE HAD a BLAST. the crowd when we got there seemed to be enjoying themselves, there were a couple groups that seemed to be hearing other music, 'cause we totally lost our timing when we glanced over at them. Rain started, some folks headed for shelter, we didn't bother...we partied in the rain *grin*

Rating: 4...lack of flushable bathrooms, poor advertising re venue and lack of Johnny caused the loss in points. Fix that and this will get a 5. Think I can do this again for 2013.

Review - Army Fete

Event: Army Fete...d safest fete

Location: Queen's Park Savannah


Date: February 10th 2012


The promo: Take a read and check the FB page
Ambience: I was in the SIG section (Specially Invited Guests)...to the left of back stage.


Layout: SIG was to the left of backstage, VIP was to the right of backstage. General was HUGE!!! Only downside of the setup was that it rained earlier so parts of the ground was quite muddy. Other than that there are no complaints.


Food/drinks: SIG is food and drink inclusive. One bar though sooo as the night proceeded the line to get drinks got longer and longer. Food was provision and stew pork/chicken, bake and roasted pork, corn soup, pies...zero complaints!


Performances: KES was the opening act. Then Shal, TC, Iwer,  Bunji & Fayann and Asylum , 3Suns, Tallpree all came on...I left around just after 3...I missed Swappi siigh!


Bathrooms: The porta-cools, air-conditioned, kept clean throughout the night. Just that some ladies seem to not realise the bathrooms could be flushed...ladies, ladies please please try to be a little appreciative of the amenities provided.

The Crowd: The general crowd for Army fete has to be experienced. People were stripping, the fence shook, a cloud of dust rose over the crowd...that crowd is huge. Bucket, Iwer's Jab and Fayann's drop on the ground and roll were the favourites. Bucket seemed to be hte absolute favourite though...followed closely by Iwer's Jab... Crazy experience

Rating: 3.5...we couldn't get across to the VIP area, even though SIG was supposed to have access to all areas. Other than that had a blast at Army.

Notes: Why oh why do people even attempt fighting in Army fete. You're dealing with soldiers who have to work while others are feting...you're just looking for trouble #justSaying

Review - KES in concert

Event: KES in Concert @ Normandie Under the Trees

Location: Normandie Hotel, St. Ann's


Date: Fenruary 9th 2012


Ambience: Under the gorgeous trees in Normandie's courtyard...


Layout: Chairs were available for those that wanted to sit, lots of folks went up in front the stage. It had rained earlier so there were spots of soft ground...but all in all the ground was pretty firm.


Food/drinks: Food and bars were set up to the back. A separate bar for beers. Food was available for sale, corn soup, bake and shark. Drinks were available right up till the end.

Performances: KES in concert ...he brought on Nelson, David Rudder, JW &  Blaze, Shal and TC and Michele X. This was a very very good performance.


Bathrooms: Normandie's bathrooms ...decent. The line was just looong!

Rating: 3.5

Review - Hott 93's 'Inferno'

Event: HOTT 93's Inferno

Location: Pier2


Date: January 27th 2012


Ambience: Bleh! That about sums it up.


Layout: Before I go further let me just state that I'm glad we paid for VIP quite simply because VIP was to the front i.e. right in front the stage. General was just beyond VIP separated by a fence.


Food/drinks: Food and bars were set up around the perimeter...ok, to be fair I did not taste anything eh...but read on. Gyros, fries, fried chicken, bar-b-que chicken all unappetizingly set up upon entry and had to be purchased! WTF?! Drinks in VIP included rum, Black and White Scotch, Skyy 'nasty' vodka, beers, and water...in flipping VIP?! No thank you!


Performances: Fantabulous...this saved the night from being awful. Kees, KRich, Swappi,Shal, TC, Kerwin, Machel, Patrice, Farmer Nappy. No complaints at all. Dil-e-Nadan however, needs to go back to rehearsals...they were horrible!


Bathrooms: Four, count them 1, 2, 3, 4 porta-pottie units for the entire female population of the VIP audience = absolute failure! The smell alone ick! We resorted to using one of the few units setup for the men, cause the men were using the fences...NASTY!

Rating: 2.5 ...without the great performances from all but Dil-e-Nadan this would have failed miserably!

To the organisers: when initially advertised this was not a cooler fete. We called, you confirmed that. Then during the few days before the event it was switched to a cooler/bucket event for general admission ticket holders ONLY. Just note that you have lost MAJOR stripes for doing that...and 'cause VIP was such shit I doubt we'll go back next year.

p/s:- my friends and I walked with our own drinks and were well sauced before we even got inside...so the shitty bar did not mar our enjoyment one bit!

Reviews - times two (HNC Vintage and ONE Fete)

Yep folks, two reviews.
One of a Carnival show and the other of a fete.

First up: HNC's "Vintage Fuh So!" on Friday January 20th
Anyone who knows about secondary schools in PoS, already knows that HNC is always different. So many schools doing all-inclusive fetes, what does HNC do? A Carnival show, a VINTAGE Carnival show at that.
This was the 7th year that they've been having the show, first couple years it was at the school compound. Past few years it's been at Queen's Hall.
Location:  Queen's Hall.
Ambience: On arrival, we were greeted by blue devils and fire-breathing characters to get one in the spirit of things.
Food/drinks: Corn soup and doubles booths were setup for some pre-show munchies. On entry, we were handed a slip of paper with instructions on how to pre-order eats at the intermission if so desired (no eating in the main part of the hall during the show nah!), and then there were wine booths, the main cafeteria and a couple others. Didn't do much wandering around in the lobby, chatted a bit and then went in to find a seat.
Performances:
MC this year was Nicki Crosby, a welcome change from Black Sage.
Live music supplied by 'The Soca Unit', comprising former members of Blue Venuters, Xtatik, Sound Revolution etc, lead by Vincent Rivers (hope I got the name right).
Performers were, in order of appearance:

• Baron - never been a fan. Not a bad performance, just seemed to go on for too long
• 3Canal - I have never witnessed a performance by them that I haven't liked. This was no exception. Personally they should have been in the second half, but they had to go to another show...awww well!
• Ricki Jai - 1st time I've ever seen this guy perform outside of a competition or fete. Not too bad. Possibly not the best audience for this performance but not too shabby
• Ronnie McIntosh - loved the energy and hype of this performer.

After-show: When the show ended, the lime moved outside and ended to the sounds of Tripolians. Patrons were invited to be flag wavers if they so desired.

Show started at 8pm and ended just about 3 hrs later...tight performances, only one hiccup with the band. Not a bad show, they have had better shows in previous years.

Rating: 3 out of 5. The performances just did not have the sparkle of previous years.

Next event: ONE Fete on Sunday January 22nd
Location: Queen's Park Oval. As always parking was an absolute bitch! However, an enterprising homeowner offered parking in an empty lot of land, with security, for $40...parked there.
Ambience: From the packaging that the ticket came in, I guess the theme was desert-ish. Walking in there were Morrocan/middle-east themed displays, and belly-dancers. There was a guy twirling fire-sticks as well.
Layout: Food court was to the left of the entrance. Bars to the left-front, in the middle and then to the right. Stage was in the middle, set well back. Good view from most everywhere. Ohhh there were also a couple VIP/VVIP elevated sections on the sides. My only issue with the layout was the entrance...smallish, and then there were champagne/dewars booths so the lines made an already limited space feel unnecessarily congested.
Food/drinks: no complaints here, lots of variety. I did a little reconnaissance, before joining the lines. And yes the lines were LONG, especially for Arabian, chinese and Bake & shark. I had the chinese, sushi and grilled options...quite tasty, no adverse reactions. Drinks galore, rum cocktail booth included. Lots of Nuvo for the fans, cocktails and champagne...did not partake of much, had to drive after all.
Performances: I don't know his name, but he's the guy from the morning show on107.1 fm...he was the host I guess. He filled in the times between the bands. Kees performed first, with quite a few guest artistes in between. Let me just say it now: something seems to be lacking from Kees' set, it just seems off. Otherwise it was a good performance. Guests included: Kerwin Dubois (fabulous), JW & Blaze (good), Michelle X...then Iwer came on stage and the crowd went wild. That man, love him or hate him, can move a crowd!! Machel and band came on just around 11 and performed until it was done when it was close to 1am...Patrice I am soo glad that you can hold your own in that melee. Machel's performance as always is high energy, and even made me start liking that 'Pump yuh Flag' song.
Bathrooms: these were set all the way to the front of the fete on the right of the stage area. Big area, tonnes of mirrors, staff keeping things clean throughout the night. A Treseme truck/booth where people were getting their hair styled on the spot, and soap, tissue and hand cream throughout the night...no complaints despite the facilities being porta-potties

It drizzled off and on during the entire fete, and other than one occasion when people scampered for what limited shelter was available, most people stayed put and partied in the rain (and some folks had their umbrellas)

Rating: 4 out of 5. Parking issues and a relatively small entry area made this event lose points.

Hopefully I'll post more reviews in the weeks to come.

Band Launch Reviews

This post is overdue, but yuh know what, better late than never.

Thus far I have attended launches for TRIBE, Island People and YUMA.

Rating scale: 0 (awful, awful)  to 5 (fantabulous concept and delivery)

• Venue
• TRIBE - Queen's Park Savannah. (5)
• Island People - Bowen Marine, Chaguaramas (aka the hole!) (3.5)
• YUMA - Pier 2, Chaguaramas (aka the hole!) (4)
• Parking
• TRIBE - not a problem, the Savannah after all (5)
• Island People - on the road's surrounding the venue. 'Parkng attendants' stalking yuh for 'a lil something'..not cool at all! (3)
• YUMA - half of Pier 2, getting out of there was a b!tch (4)
• Stage
• TRIBE - Clear view of stage from just about everywhere. Except if you setup camp behind the sound/camera tower which was smack dab in the centre. (4)
• Island People - Kinda odd. Stage was quite high and had an elevated section with lots of scaffolding. That scaffolding affected picture taking by all but the photographers who were closest to the stage. (3)
• YUMA - LOVED this concept. A central normal stage, with a 'catwalk/runway' around the venue. Great concept for all patrons to get a good view of the costumes. Points only lost because lighting on the runway was not the best for taking pictures (4.5)
• Drinks
• TRIBE - semi-free drinks i.e. Rum, Beers, vodka, certain brands of other drinks. Bars on both sides and in the back. Angostura Rum Cocktail bar had a presence. (4)
• Island People - semi-free drinks i.e. Rum, Beers, vodka, certain brands of other drinks. Two bars, and one didn't begin serving until about an hour after we arrived, oh and NO HEINEKEN...meh! (3)
• YUMA - premium free drinks. But Nuvo ran out :-( (4.5)
• Food
• TRIBE - Tao shushi, usual stuff. Food stalls were setup slightly to the right of the entrance, easy to traverse, no congestion. (4)
• Island People - Tao shushi, gyros, doubles. Shushi and doubles were setup near the entrance, unobtrusively off the pathways. Gyros were in the middle of the passageway heading towards the bathrooms..why? (3.5)
• YUMA - Only noticed gyros, in an easily accessed area... (3)
• Presentation Concept and Execution
• TRIBE - theme "Take me to...". 'Flight Attendants' brought on the costumes, felt kinda like a travel promotion, generic modelling of costumes(3.5)
• Island People - theme "Heroes". Great presentation concept. All about the heroes fighting the scourge of villains who have been threatening 'Westopia'. The Big Boss was 'Cyclops' (4.5)
• YUMA - theme "Press Play". Generic modelling of costumes...with the noted exception of the 'Call of duty' models who marched on in their military inspired costumes (3.5)
• Costumes
• TRIBE - siiiighh...could have been better. Some wowed, others bleh, For the theme I really expected over the top fabulousness. I have seen better from TRIBE...oh and only frontlines were presented. (3)
• Island People - another siiiiighhhhh...what in the world were the designers smoking when they drew these designs, then who d a$$ approved the designs and then inhaled some strong ish by actually making these prototypes. Spandex leggings in 2011?!!! Admittedly they are currently working on a redesign, but judging from the costumes launched...bleh One or two costumes saved this from being a total mess.(2)
• YUMA - le sigh. Firstly, how did they decide which games to use? Next, how'd the come up with the colour palette after deciding on games to be represented. Then...why oh why are the backlines so bland. the frontlines far outshine these backlines. Doh get me wrong, costumes are nice, but I am loving the FLs waaaaaay more than any of the BLs that were presented.(4)
• Launch Party
• TRIBE - as usual it's a party. Kes performed, people enjoyed themselves (3.5)
• Island People - good music, great energy, the stage was advantaged by guys! (4)
• YUMA - great music, great energy, that runway became a dance floor, the stage was bum rushed for an impromptu conga-line (5)

Overall Ratings (average of all scores)

• TRIBE - 4
• Island People - 3
• YUMA - 4

Carnival 2011 Review - TRIBE 'The Way of the Warrior'

Ah it's all over, my shoulders are sunburnt, once again I have a rash from exposure to people and all that dust, not nearly as bad as it was in previous years though...but I had a blast on the road with TRIBE once again.

Let's see on to my review:
COLLECTION
As always this was a breeze, made even faster by the fact that this year I went the Fas Track route. The entire collection time from time that I parked in Cascadia to the time I got back to my car was about half an hour...no wait to go inside. I was ushered in to the ballroom to the Fas Track station where they verified my payments and printed out my receipt. Went to the collection area and a very very enthusiastic customer service representative reviewed my receipt, and went off to locate my costume. She brought everything back, checked off everything whilst showing me each item, did a mini demo of how the bra for my costume is to be worn and was bubbling and dancing all through the entire process. I did not catch your name, but you did well.
Mind you, I collected the same day as a couple people in YUMA. I had time drop them to Movietowne, get to Cascadia, collect my costume, get back from Cascadia to Movietowne and still had at least a half hour to kill..not cool!
MONDAY EXPERIENCE
Food - No problems getting lunch at all. I was among the second wave of masqueraders that got to the lunch stop and had from the Food Etcetera tent. Food was good, and for those that know me, yes I actually ate cassava, it tasted that good! A couple friends had food from Pollo Tropical and their reviews were all positive.
Drinks - I started my day with lots and lots of Gatorade, water and coconut water. I was nursing the remnants of a headache caused by lack of sleep. By about 3pm I'd moved on to Uncle Johnny and coconut water...ahhh my day was going good. Some of the trucks had slow servers whilst others were ultra-efficient, forgot to take note of which were the slow trucks...oh and the pace of the trucks, drivers, drivers remember people trying to place orders and collect drinks so please slow down a bit.
On the road - Met the band around noon, took the shuttle to the band which was on Frederick St by then, close to the museum. Lost the first crew I was with by the time we got to Memorial Park, met up with the next crew and limed, chipped, wined onto the greens then waited to cross the Savannah stage. Ohhh the stage, the stage, the stage! It was bittersweet seeing that stage. Bitter 'cause of the usual looong wait and total chaos about waiting to enter the Savannah (oh BTW whose bright idea was it to have drinks trucks turn off and leave the band by Keate Street?! Masqueraders were left with the option of either loading up on water/gatorade and hope it was enough to last till you cross OR patronise those vendors along Memorial or along the greens...and doh give me no talks about small man making money, they made nuff money ok wonder if it was a conspiracy...charging $10 for a small bottle of water wtf!!!) Anyways the sweet of the stage: the vibrations under yuh feet whilst waiting, the build up by the DJs, then the release of actually being let onto the stage that pulsated and vibrated under your feet. I stamped, stomped and advantaged that stage...the soles of my feet felt like they were on fire! We crossed and then headed to the lunch stop. From the lunch stop we headed down to Tragarete Road, turned left and continued on to Stanmore...TRIBE was done by about 6:30ish on Monday night.
Other - Truck movement was on the fast side...WHY?! Bathroom facilities at the lunch stop were efficient. Security was on point, but they were not nearly as strict as past years 'cause I saw several non-masqueraders in the midst of the band at several points during the day.
TUESDAY EXPERIENCE
Food - Got to the band around 8am, I'd eaten breakfast at home, so did not partake of TRIBE's breakfast offerings. From the reviews I heard it was aight. I was among the third or fourth wave of masqueraders that got to the lunch stop and this time I took Pollo Tropical...yumm yumm! Saw lollies and yogurt being distributed as well. Later on we got chips from the various bar trucks and when the band got closer to Stanmore got my Marios pizza slice. All in all quite decent food experience.
Drinks - Started off with gatorade and water again and by about 11am was onto Uncle Johnny and coconut water alternating with gatorade and water. No complaints this time, I'd found the truck with efficient service and decent pace.

On the road - Met the band around 8am, took the shuttle to the band which was partly on Frederick St with the rest of the band on Park St. Tried to walk back to see IP and YUMA who I'd heard were behind us, but after walking back and only seeing bits of IP around Globe I turned back and met up with my crew who were up near the Royal Jail. Saw a bunch of Gladiators in full garb, capes included. Again the journey to the stage along Memorial Park and then the greens. That was a looooong wait in noonday sun...we left the band, walked up and saw Oasis ahead of a us and another smallish band. Oasis looked good, but they were soooo small. Same feelings on seeing that stage, but this time I was in full costume, I crossed from the first section and went back and crossed again and again until Amazon or Mongol Fighters I think. Met up with the remainder of the crew after crossing, and then headed to the lunch stop. From the lunch stop we tried to keep up with the trucks only to realsie that they were headed into St. James...not a problem, we waited near the British Embassy, saw IP as they were headed to their lunch stop after crossing the stage and met back up with the band jsut as they were passing in front Fatima. At that point apparently a masquerader had climbed the railings outside the school, slipped and got impaled on the spikes. Blood everywhere... medics assisted him until an ambulance could get to the band. That was quite a sobering experience and I hope others keep that in mind. After that, the band moved on along Mucurapo onto Robert St at alternating brisk and slow pace depending on the amount of spectators in the area. The band continued chipping along eastwards till Carlos, turned north to get to Tragarate and then east till Stanmore. With it getting darker and darker, security was still in place, then they announced that masqueraders with bands were able to enjoy las lap in Jenny's car park...quite a sweet touch. All this time folks in YUMA were trying to get me, by then it was about 8:30ish sooo I left the band then and proceeded to the car park

Other - Bathroom facilities at the lunch stop were efficient, with foot massages and full body massages on offer if so desired. Clean facilities, wipes, mouthwash, body and feminine sprays, painkillers, hand soap and hand cream...yep usual bathroom amenities were in place. Security was on point, but they were not nearly as strict as past years 'cause I saw several non-masqueraders in the midst of the band at several points during the day and also in the park...though I did see more than one non-masquerader being removed from the lunch stop.

So my rating for TRIBE 2011 out of 10: 8.5, points lost for lapses in security and trucks leaving unannounced after the lunch stop.

Review 2011 - Panorama Semi-Finals

My rating scale: 0 to 5. 0 means not ever to be repeated EVER, 5 means best ever!

My first time attending Panorama semi-finals in the North Stand.

Anyways here goes.
 Fete/Event details:

• Event: Panorama semi-finals
• Promoter: Pantrinbago Inc.
• Fete/Event Type: Pan competition, semi-final leg, Savannah Party
• Date: February 20th 2011
• Time: 9am till the last band play!
• Venue: Queen's Park Savannah

The flyers: No official flyer, but there were many 'crew' flyers, here's a sample:

I was in North Stands. As mentioned, this was the first year that I've paid to go pan semis... My sis organised me with tickets and hooked me up with a crew. Trinidad Events' pan semis lime was my back-up in case things didn't come thru with my sis. I got there just about 1:30pm, had a little bit of hiccups with transport...but I made it :-)

• First things first: where to park? Did not drive ...roads were blocked off all around d Savannah...People were able to park around the Savannah and inside as well. Not sure what the price was if any, but things looked pretty organised. Rating: n/a
• Entrance: Big signs were posted here and there close to the entrances...BUT some signs directing folks to where things were would have been nice. E.g i entered the Savannah just north of TGI, so I knew I had a bit of a walk westwards and then north before I'd get to the North Stand entrance...but what about the foreigners, how were they to find their way about. Rating: 2.5 could do better
• Layout: I can only speak of the North Stand layout but for this Pantrinbago deserves some credit. I LOVED the layout. Stands, imposing North stands high above the grounds, positioned nicely directly opposite the Grand Stands, close to the stage. Then directly behind the stands was an area for the BIG crews like Bmobile, Red Ants, Suppligen, Caesar's Army etc etc yuh get my drift. Bmobile had a stage setup in d middle where different performers did their do from time to time...I saw Kes, and heard that others were there as well. Bmobile's stage had the Pandigm electric pan folks setup and they provided entertainment. There was also a mechanical bull for those brave enough, or those that had had enough alcohol to not give a crap, to try to hold on. In front Suppligen's tent there was a mini stage as well, Iwer performed there. Bathrooms at both ends of the 'greens'. Soo many tents to visit and crews scattered all over. LOVED LOVED the layout! Rating: 4.5 (0.5 points lost due to the height of the stands...that was a LOT of stairs to be traversing)
• Performances: Pan selections played by your favourite band, rhythm sections, live performances, music blasting from speakers all over ...oh gosh i'm surprised I can still hear at all! Rating: 4
• Food: The spread was never-ending.. crews had pelau, roti and curry, alloo pies, finger foods, wings, friend chicken, there was doubles, geera, snacks from Holiday Foods and others and of course KFC ... oh gosh ah getting hungry! Rating: 5
• Drinks: What wasn't available?! Carib had their Pilsner and Stag on tap, other crews had all kind of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks from johnny walker to rum, chasers like crazy, Tequila, even saw Champagne flowing! Rating - 4.5 
• The event itself: this felt like a party, competition, meeting up old friends, former co-workers, meeting new 'friends'..all rolled into one big picnic/lime/party. This was epicness on a whole other level, loved it! Rating: 4

Fete/event rating: 4.5!

If this is how pan semis continues then I will soooooo be there next year and the year after and the year after!

So what's next? Carnival has continued to develop nicely.

p/s:- I have a couple reviews to post from other events... hope to post those soon.

Review 2011 - YEAH!

My first fete of the 2011 Carnival Season
My rating scale: 0 to 5. 0 means not ever to be repeated EVER! 5 means best ever!

Anyways here goes. Fete details:

• Fete: YEAH/Amnesia Evolved.
• Promoter: Island People
• Fete Type: All-Inclusive (inclusive and hyper-inclusive options)
• Date: January 22nd 2011
• Time: 7pm to 2am
• Venue: Mobs2 redesigned

The flyers:

Bought the 'inclusive' tickets at 450, no hyper-inclusive for me...ah going with budget-friendly where possible this season. Got down to that hole called Chaguaramas peninsula around 8ish, no real traffic to get there. Rounded the final bend approaching Mobs2 and lights, lights everywhere! And lots and lots of cars. People took that 7pm start time literally apparently. 

• First things first: where to park? On the road heading to MOBS2? In the car-park near that yacht place? The decision was made for me when the 'parking attendants' announced "$50 to park babes...we go be here all night...make sure yuh car nice and safe!". Pay $50 to 'sprangers' when it have security patrolling all up and down the road? Oh hells, no!! We drove up to Anchorage, turned back and parked just off the road a little ways up from the venue. Rating: 3
• Entrance: nicely signed entrances for inclusive vs. hyper-inclusive. Walked up the little bridge thing, and felt like I was on a cat-walk. Models sporting IPs costumes lined the entrance like living statues...that Lunar Cycle Individual costume looks real good up close, and the blue of Nebular Hypnosis is gorgeous!! Oh and a photographer taking pics as you walk along the bridge just added to the catwalk feel. Got a bmobile mug and rag on entry. Rating: 4
• Layout: inclusive to the left and along the slope, hyper-inclusive straight ahead and on the slightly elevated portion to the right of the venue. Both sections allowed patrons to get up close to the stage if so desired. There was a gigantic screen for those who stayed up in the back. Rating: 3
• Performances: 
• Dil-e-Nadan was up first. They.are.never.ever.ever.to.perform.in.a.fete.EVER!!! It's not that they can't perform...they can. But it's flicking Carnival! I doh want to hear Black Eye Peas, I doh want to hear Lady Gaga, no dub, no rock...no! Unless is a lil sample of a song that yuh throw in to flavour yuh soca performance...your entire performance should be soca!!! Rating: 1
• The 'slap chop' guy came on after them. Didn't see his performance, cause I'd gotten fed up of Dil-e-nadan. He didn't stay long though. Heard there were some models on stage as well...did not bother with that. I was busy trying out the shots and lubricating my palate with Hennessy, Baileys, Jagger shots OH MY!...yum, yum! Rating: n/a
• Denise 'Saucy Wow' was up next in all here glory. yep, she still got it! People were focused on that stage for her entire performance. Rating: 4
• Next up, KES the band! They were fabulous...Kes says he going up for Groovy Soca Monarch, and yuh know what? He could easily win it...He had the crowd eating out of his hands. Nadia Batson came on about half-way through the performance. Tallpree came on as well, did not really appreciate his performance 'cause he sounded a tad garbled, I could not make out a word that he was singing. Rating: 4.5
• Shal, Screws: wildness...they can hype a crowd all by themselves. And with a crowd that's already hyped they held their own. Looking forward to seeing more of them as the season progresses. Rating: 3
• Machel HD: the man has returned. I could not care less bout the rest of them, but to be fair let's go through them. Patrice - she has improved. She is a lot more comfortable on stage, and confident. The outfits WOW!!! Lace tights/stocking with nothing below them...uhmmm wow is all I can say! (I heard other opinions on her choice of dress and nope I will not post that at all!) Zan and Nappy: not bad, kinda blended together a bit, but decent. Then the man himself....HE.HAS.RETURNED! He came out with an attitiude, the HD attitude and energy that was felt and blew the crowd away. He did his old songs, he did some of more recent stuff...he performed 'illegal' and 'bend ova'...his dancers dread! Yuh need to see the dancers do 'bend ova', 'illegal' and 'hard wuk' in person, no words can describe that. If yuh plan on trying that I suggest pilates and yoga classes... stretch those hamstrings, make sure you work on your flexibility eh! Rating: 4
• Food: uhm inclsuvie options were corn soup, doubles. Then jerk stuff that had to be purchased. Rating: 2
• Drinks: Inclusive options were: Baileys, Hynotiq, Hennessy, Jagermeister in both shot form and Jager bombs, Tequila (sans lime or salt...ick!), cocktails. At the bar was rum, scotch (B&W), beers, and lots of soft options. Rating - 2.5

Fete rating: 3

So what's next? Not sure yet...but I'm gonna try to rate all that I do end up attending.

Carnival 2011 has begun with a bang!

TRIBE prices - a look back

People seem shocked at the prices of TRIBE's costumes.
I am not!
My most recent post stated that, given a 20% increase that magically seems to be applied to things year after year, costume prices could be in the range of TT$4350.
If the prices on Saucy's post are the final prices then I am quite happy to be proven wrong. Dancing with glee actually...'cause it means I'll actually have change from the TT$4000 that I thought I would have to fork out!

A regular backline costume, without options, for the past three years have cost me as follows:

• 2008: approx. TT$3,000
• 2009: approx. TT$3,200
• 2010: approx. TT$3,700

Sooo the TT$3800 average for the 2011 backline is quite ok for me.

Have my downpayment ready and waiting.

Will not mention the Frontline costume prices AT ALL!!! They speak for themselves.

A Spice Saga

A fellow blogger had some drama with her Spice costume collection this year.
I admire her restraint in not cussing Spice management and d entire set of them up in Hilton on each of the occasions that she went up there. With other folks, Spice's management and a good portion of their family tree would have felt the lash of a well-phrased, sweet cuss!

Read the entire saga here: Part 1 - Costume Collection, Part 2 - Really Spice? and Part 3 - Her Money (Ha Ha)

My opinion is that the damage done to Spice's reputation by this one experience by a blogger, and compounded by the various bad reviews sent in to Sauce's blog: Review 1, Review 2, Review 3, Review 4, Review 6 and Review 7 needs to be addressed. A business, like all things of this earth, is not infallible. Mistakes will be made. But how those mistakes are dealt with, is what often makes or breaks a business (Vista anyone?). Damage control via a functioning PR Department is often a requirement for a reason.

Spice: you are now under the glare of some very very bright lights. How will you address these allegations and come good in 2011?

TRIBE 'Secret of Silk' price review

Ok ok, I'm late commenting on these prices.

Read Sauce's price list before going any further aight.

My forecasted average backline price was $3700, as stated in the previous post.

And checking average price I was actually higher than the average price...By my calculations Tribe's BL price (basic options, nothing added, small headpiece) comes in at $3635. Not bad, not bad at all. Well with d FL prices, I was waaaaaaaaaay waaaaaaaaaaay off, with only FL three sections (Osage, Lapis Lazuli and Zari) priced under $5000. NB:- a couple sections do not have a FL option...what going on with that?!

I do know that many people are absolutely agasht at the prices and some stating that they not playing etc, BUT putting all things in context I really think those prices could have been MUCH higher. I'm not stating that they're not high, they are doh get me wrong, but considering that TRIBE kept prices more or less unchanged for 2 years straight then it just makes business sense that they would have increased their prices somewhat to compensate for what would have amounted to a year of less than normal profits.

• Sooo, will I register or not? Well I defintely am/will whatever (if pre-registration works, why not use it eh!)

• Will I have company? At least two friends will be registering, not sure if in the same section...but that's irrelevant!

Now to make sure that my a$$ is in that gym as often as possible between now and February 2010.

I plan to pay off that costume by year end ...doh want that going over into 2010.

TRIBE 2010 - Secret of the Silk

Aight so TRIBE's 2010 launch has come and gone, and I am underwhelmed by the costumes.

Mind you, if ah playing it'll most likely be with TRIBE (as in like 90% positive), but seriously I was not AWED by the costumes.

The entrance: Nicely decorated, as it always is for a TRIBE launch...lots of themed cushions, pots, pillows, swathes of cloth. All very Oriental and Silk-themed. What's with the Digicel-thai dancers? Like the fans, wish I had one.

The layout: hmmm, a change from the norm, and that stage is SOOOO high! How people gonna take pics? Sooo many bars, nice :-)

The presentation: Like the idea of a little background, done by video(?), not sure 'cause from my position at the side of the stage I could not see :-( Costumes were paraded by models who did an ok job of showcasing the costume, they posed for pics, walked to both sides of the stage and posed in groups as well as individually. My only issue with the presentation: please please please someone tell these folks that they need to SLOW DOWN on that stage. Us folks in the audience are trying to take in the costume, but when yuh in a rush like that we almost get whiplash from having to spin in different directions trying to get pics.

The costumes: What can I say that hasn't already been said? check Sauce's review and Carnival jumbie's review. Don't really have much to add to those reviews, they pretty much said it all.

Do I regret attending the launch even though the pics were leaked? Nope, needed to see those costumes in motion in order to really appreciate them...especially since the lighting is not the best in some of those pics.

My favs in the lineup (backlines of course): Osage (hands down my absolute favourite), Mystery of Loulan (something about the colour combination), Xi Ling Shi (recylced Cotinga beads et al!!) , Tyrian Purple aaaand Mulberry is growing on me. Carmeuse is aight, but I wouldn't wear it.

My picks if I played FL or Individual: Mystery of Loulan (I would camp out in order to be able to register to play as the Super/Premium version!!), Xi Ling Shi (the cape of feathers, the dip-dyed cloth trailing to the ground, yep sooo would play in this), Osage (all those gorgeous feathers!) and surprise surprise Habotai (d corset version though)

So that's my opinion on Tribe's 2010 Presentation 'Secret of Silk'.

Since I've already heard that BL downpayment is $1500, I patiently await full costume prices...and hope that I am able to register in one of the sections that I picked.

p/s:- The pic is from http://www.trinidadcarnivaldiary.com/.

Carnival 2009 - review

My review of everything Carnival 2009-related that I can recall.

Fetes

1. Amnesia - as per my review it was great. Not fantabulous as in previous years but memorable. IP has to go back to the drawing-board with regards to the food distribution, but other than that it has always been a great fete. Rating 4 out of 5.
   
2. WITCO ONE fete - what can I say about ONE fete that hasn't already been said. This was a FANTABULOUS, glorious fete! Can you tell that I had a blast? I love this fete. tickets were a lil difficult to obtain (thank you, thank you Q and S) but other than that this is a fete that I think will remain a fixture on my fete list...at least unless the price puts it completely out of my budget! Rating 4.5 out of 5 (it loses the half point 'casue the bathroom area could have been better maintained!)
   
3. MovieTowne's Fiesta Plaza show - this was surprisingly good. We went the night Ventures performed. They are a band that seems to be suited to this type of thing. They did covers of lots and lots of current and past soca and calypsoes. Hits from Kitchener, Sparrow, etc, etc. They also did lots of non-Carnival related songs...all in all a pretty decent performance. and it was free to boot :-)
   
4. Army - this is a fete that needs to be experienced to understood. Yuh either in General, or in V.VIP rubbing shoulders with the Defence Force top brass and other dignitaries OR yuh in the limbo of whatever they chose to call the in-between section (this year it was VIP). Marked difference in behaviour in the various areas...in general, people were removed bodily if even a lil scuffle broke out. People in VIP had to pay for drinks and food on top of the cost of the ticket...in V.VIP no tickets were purchased AND no money had to be spent for nothing! I think I went to this fete with like $20 in mih pocket. The performances are also usually decent at this fete...marked exception being KMC (dude u need to learn to perform!!!). My in depth review. Rating 3.5 out of 5
   
5. AC 7 - not a fete people. This is a concert...a looooooooong concert! Lots of performances, lots and lots of lags in between. If yuh not willing to be on yuh feet for the duration head to the stands. Rating 3.5 out of 5
   
6. TriniPosse - the cooler fete to end all cooler fetes. If yuh used to go Pier 1 cooler fete on Carnival Friday nite before it became a teenie-bopper thing (yes ah showing mih age dammit!!!) and like yuhself..this is d fete for you. Tickets ranged in price from $240 d early-bird price, to $500 from d usual scalpers. Walk with yuh own drinks, as much or as little as yuh want, yuh crew (at least 2 fellas if yuh cooler gonna b packed), eats, cups, a plastic bag (to keep ur area clean at least) and yuh set. Just make sure d coller gets there before 10:30 else it not getting it. Rating 4 out of 5. It loses points this year 'cause of part of HD's performance... HD come better dan dat nah, yuh cyah b berating d police (no matter yuh personal opinion) for doing their job.
   

Mas Experience - TRIBE

1. Costume Collection - easy. Get to Cascadia around 1:30pm in a slight drizzle. From the various moves between waiting room 1, holding area 2, balance payment area to costume collection area I was amazed at the efficiency. We were done by 2:15pm...and this included a return by me to collect d forgotten collar! Impressive!
2. Monday Experience - always great. No costume to bother yuh head about, just pure inhibited fun. We were on d road from about 12:30pm (TRIBE was crossing d Savannah 'stage') till about 7:30pm when TRIBE got back to Stanmore Ave. We parked on Sweet Briar Rd, which made it really easy to get into and out of Port-of-Spain...hopefully I can do this again next year.
3. Tuesday Experience - Woke up around 5-ish. Bathed, dressed, put on sun-block, then had my mom do my make-up. She did a good job 'cause even at the end of the day my makeup was still there! Thanks mom muahhh :-) Anyways we got into Port-of-Spain around 8-ish, walked to Sweet Briar Rd again to meet up with a friend, then met the shuttle @ Stanmore. We were taken to where the band was on Charlotte St and the rains came!! Cold rain, before ah even jump a lil bit is not fun at all. Got d first of many Johnny and coconut water and we roamed. And roamed., and roamed. The only time I can safely say I was with my section was when we were crossing the 'stages'. Chipped, danced, took pics with various people (will send u your pics Sauce), and had a time heading to d savannah. The we crossed that non-stage...felt great. Met up with even more people, very glad that I put wrist-straps on my skirt 'cause there were minor mishaps with some with those skirts. Then it was on to the rest-stop. That rest stop is now TOO small for the band. there was major spill-over into streets around the square. And the rain...Jumbie mentioned it in her review and I tend to agree, TRIBE should think of using one of those massive tents the expos use and have those big a$$ fans all-over pumping in cool breeze. Believe me, masqueraders will be soooo grateful you'll have their loyalty for that lil effort alone! We didn't even bother with seeking shelter during the downpour andmy headpiece looked awful aftter the rain (it's recovered nicely now though). When the rain finally subsided and the band started moving on around 2-ish, we decided to look for other bands...other than Harts and Elements, where d hell was everybody else? IP I learned was on Park/Charlotte Sts, and had been there for sometime. Kaotic where were u? Spice? Pulse 8? Dream Team? We rejoined the band when they turned west onto Tragarete Rd just before d oval and continued the party down Pole Carew, east along Ariapita, north along Edward until TRIBE's trucks turned back onto Stanmore. Stayed with the trucks till mom etc found us, then headed home. Got home around 9-ish..and could not sleep. Thank God I was home Ash Wednesday.

SummaryI had a great time for Carnival 2009. Did not attend as many fetes as I usually do (4!!! I usually hit like 10 or something!) but still had a blast at those that I did attend. Army was d only slightly social one, and that cuase we were in V.VIP. I've learned that there will be limited feting with certain people, 'cause I do not like to be made to feel like a 3rd wheel especially if I did not want to be there in the first place. I can have a blast with only one or two people with me, and partying with an entire crew at Carnival time can be limited to cooler fetes (too much drama trying to synchronise more than 5 people for one fete..geez!)

So will I be on the road next year? That remains to be seen... if it happens it will almost defintely not be with IP (ah not going back there...twice bitten, a million times shy). TRIBE? hmmmnnn...if the band remains at this size then nope! Spice.../ Kaotic.../someone else. Who knows? We'll see what happens.

Looking forward to Carnival 2010.

2009 Valentine weekend recap

Whew ..what a weekend I had.
Started with Army fete on Friday night into Saturday morning, ended with rain, LOTS and LOTS of rain. Collected my costume and went AC7 as well.

Let's start at the beginning:

Army Fete: d safest fete in d world!
We got there around 10.30ish, entered via the entrance opposite TGIF around d savannah. Parked and then proceeded north and then east across the STAGE!! Yes people dat stage is there...it's not nearly as big as the previous ones, but who gives a SH!T..I just hope it dere come Carnival Monday and Tuesday eh...
This is either my third or fourth year going this. VIP or V.VIP, doesn't matter...it's a comp, so I not fussy once I didn't have to pay for the ticket. Oh an' as long as its not in general...dat crowd lil too big and boisterous for me.
An elevated platform viewing area...unobstructed view of the stage. Bar stools and chairs set up to allow for dining under the stars.
Corn coup, wings, bar-b-q, macaroni salad, bar-b-q pork, and other dishes that I didn't sample. Tents setup for if yuh wanted to sit under shelter (very very useful cause it started drizzling into the night). Lots and lots of drinks, I sipped on Alize all night :-)
Ok moving on from mih belly... d performances, can't recall the order of all eh so I'll just mention d ones that stood out for any reason. Iwer mash up as usual, Supa Jigga needs to stop wearing tights, some trini-dancehall artisite (didn't get his name), they all came on with KMC who in my opinion still needs to learn how to do a proper LIVE performance. He sounds sooo much better on CD or on d radio.
Destra: was clothed for a change and looked good. Decent act, but for her 'Obsessive Winers' song Saucy wasn't there...why even bother performing it. Allison Hinds did her part well, but let's see here: Destra backside vs. Allison backside or Saucy's backside moving skills...come come Destra, yuh not even in dat race!! Destra and her band did aight...1st time I saw her perform live for the season so not bad at all. NB:- Saucy did come on by herself a lil later on.
Faye Ann, Bunji, Benjai, Scarface all came on with Asylum. 3suns also came on, and almost took over d act from Bunji et al. An honorary thing was given to Supa Blue, and I give him credit for attempting to perform a lil somethin' with Faye Ann...but to jump to the other part of a stage..after it had drizzle. Not well though out at all. Den to even suggest dat Faye Ann join yuh?! All in all good performance..it went on a lil too long though.
There were random acts thrown in like Crazy (?why?), Hunter and a couple others.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

AC7
What can I say about AC7 that hasn't already been said by other reviewers? It's a Machel concert when it all boils down to the nitty gritty. It started with Karma (missed most of that performance though), went on to have Ventures (who you should see perform alone..they're quite decent) with Benjai and Scarface (those two again!), up next was Shurwayne and Y.O.U. then d healine Machel Montano HD. It was all in all TOO LONG! I got bored waiting for Shurwayne to perform, then got bored again 'cause his performance just kept going on...den during HD's performance I kept thinking geez when is it gonna end.
For a show/concert dat I was not soo interested in attending in d first place, it was aight. not fabulous, not bad. And as for all d drama with MM and SW...I would have had a tiff with SW as well...just not in public as HD did.
Notice I made no mention of either food or drinks: nuff said!
Rating: 3 out of 5

Costume Collection: TRIBE - African Lovebird
Still had a balance to pay off, so we did our best to get there early. We made it by 1:30pm..not bad, not bad. Waited for a few mins under d tent in d car park, then was called in to the waiting area. Called to go pay, then collection of costume. Almost forgot about d collar for mih costume..had to go back to get it. We were out of there by about 2:15pm or so.

Jamboree
Doh laugh...dat's where I was supposed to be on Sunday evening (Ended up going movies instead LOL). Of course by now you know dat it was first psotponed to 2009-02-16, then a further update was sent out. It's been post-poned to Carnival Saturday 2009-02-21. Same time, same place. Nope I won't be there... Sorry!


What's in store for this week...God alone knows. Did my hair yesterday, it took sooooooooo long! But I likes it :-)

ONE fete - the aftermath

I went WITCO's ONE fete on Saturday night.
This is only my second time going this fete so I'm not a die-hard loyalist, but I'd heard about it for years from friends. The plan was to reach for between 5:30pm and 6pm...ensure adequate time for browsing all the food options, sample what was on offer and doh forget find a decent parking space. All I have to say is that d plan did NOT come off. We never left home till like 6.25 or so, which meant we never reached the Oval till just before 7pm. (this time it was my fault so ah can't make too much noise about it).
Designated parking was supposed to be in King George the 5th park...i stress on the supposed, cause very very few brave souls parked in there. It was a muddy, swampy looking mess when we got there. We made a block around the Oval and parked on one of the side-streets just south of the Oval...and there were security guards on patrol. Quite a reassuring sight.

Entrance: The ticket had a lil note on it stating that you should fill out the information on the back. The big white tent at the entrance had signs reminding that if yuh doh fill out d information on the back of yuh ticket you would not be premitted to enter. The du Maurier ladies at the gate repeated the same thing...so why did trinis think that they would be able to get in without filling in the information on d back of dey ticket??? If all d info was already filled in then entry was a breeze, if yuh didn't, wellll yuh had a wait for the one or two pens that were floating around. They made no joke about that information! After that there were the du Maurier girls in their red tube dresses greeting patrons. Not sure if they were there to distribute tokens or what, but by the time we reached they were only greeting people "Welcome to ONE fete...hope you enjoy yourself"

Food: I'll change from the last time and mention food now. Options were many: Indian, Chinese, Arabian, West Indian, Spanish, Off the grill (yummmmm!!), Suckling Pig, Arabian (another one), desserts and the list goes on. The smells were great. No I did not partake of samples from all of those booths. One or two though, do deserve special mention.

• Off the Grill: I love ribs, I love barbeque, so barbeque ribs? I loved this booth!!
• Then there was the geera pork available @ the Indian deliccacies booth.
• Bake and Shark: I don't think this tent actually had a name but I dubbed it that cause that's what was on offer. Felt like I was @ Maracas with all the toppings available. Bake and shark was great, mango chutney, chadon beni (sp?), tamarind sauce as toppings...I need nothing else!

Drinks: OMG!! The assortment was mind-boggling. Weren't dedicated booths as in Amneisa but most everything was available. Bar services was by Angostura bar so of course the Angostura Cocktail bar was there. As a many time attendee of Triniscene's Cocktails I did not bother to try any of the cocktails available, but from the crowd that was around that bar it was a hit! I reaquainted myself with Uncle Johnny and his companion coconut water and had a nice buzz going for the night.

Performances: Even though we reached the time we did, we apparently did not miss any performances. Not necessarily in order and as I recall them:

• First on stage was the Synergy soca star contenstant Chinee. Since his tune is the only one I hear outside of the show I presume that he is the most popular. Entertaining performance...one that should be seen.
• Next up was KES with Nadia Batson. A solid performance all round, with Eclectik performing sort of as an intermission so that Kes could do a quick wardrobe change and allow for a change in pace. Just so yuh know there is a local verson to "Rum and roti".
• The Red Man group. Yes yuh read that right...direct from Las Vegas the group that's been performing with Le Cirque du Soleil. Steupsssss! And they came on just before the headlining acts ...ALL the headlining acts. Steupssssssssss again! Could have done without this. Suffice to say their act was not well received, people used the time for bathroom braks, drink runs, to locate teir crew etc etc
• Hunter: the guy of "yuh could bring it in a bottle" fame, and now of "Jep sting" fame. Dis guy can entertain. He came on stage by himself and mash up d place.
• The Asylum Family: Bunji, Fay Ann, Benjai, Scarface et al. Last weekend their performance was overshadowed by the placement and they seemed slightly tired. This weekend though wow! Only downer to their performance Bunji did NOT perform his road-march contender (my personal pick) 'Clear D Road'. Faye Ann was great, pregnant and all :-) Bunji had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hands!
• Machel and HD: Machel (in a silver/white Armani Exchange T-shirt and pants combo), Farmer Nappy (in a bright yellow something!), Zan (in a red and yellow get-up), Patrice Roberts and Benjai. Yes folks Benjai will be performing with both the Asylum Family AND Machel HD. A lil duet was done with Machel and Benjai, after which Machel said "All d media people asking mih questions...yuh see dis doh ask mih bout this!". It's Machel HD, so the energy was amazing! I think that 'Rave' has serious mash up road potential, cause it causes mayhem when it's performed! Liking the effect of the glow sticks and nitrogen fog during that performance...cooling effect if nothing else. The backup dancers deserve mention cause they perform some pretty amazing feats...and there are a couple 'thickies' in the mix :-)
• Rachel Price: she was d MC...I am not a fan. I heard that she'd lost weight, and yes she did. She's almost half her original size, BUT it's not all firm! nuff said.

After seeing Kes' performacne from just about half way between the stage and the bars, I was coerced, dragged whateveh up in front the stage. So my experience of Machel, Bunji etc was from right up under d stage!! When the performances were done I was soaked from the skin out...this is the way to experience a fete. It counts as a workout if it's done like that LOL! But I need to get flat, closed toe-shoes though.

So anyways, even though I lost both sets of people I was supposed to be liming with, I had a blast at ONE fete. The only down to this night, other than that Red Man group, was the puddles of water, and occasional mud patches near the bathrooms from the earlier rain.

All in all rating 4.5 out of 5.

Amnesia: 4 out of 5

So what's the next fete?

• 2009-01-31: Wicked in white (50% poossibility)
• 2009-02-13: Army (70% poossibility...BUT no comps then this drops to 0%)
• 2009-02-15: Jamboree (80% possibility)
• 2009-02-21: Tini Possee (50% possibility)

It has begun!

First off...Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Aight on to the business at hand: I went Amnesia yesterday. After Island People cancelling amnesia in 2008, when I heard that this was back on for 2009 I planned to be there. I think I only missed the first year or two of this fete. It has always been good. And this year was no exception.
We reached about 7ish, yes yes ah know lil late...but say what we reach! We heard from a friend who was already there that the food distribution was a lil different, but that the drinks were spectacular. Sooo with that as our warning we aprked and entered.
Entrance: The 'Arrive Alive' people were there to greet you, asking who was the driver cause they'll be doing random breathalyser tests when the party dun. Didn't drive so I walked on by. Decor was not as spectacular as previous years. Pretty lights. Lots of promotional items at the entrance, dancing characters in masks an' ting. Decent, decent.

Drinks: wow! Lots and lots of bars. Margarita station, Baileys station, Jose Cuervo station, wine station...etc, etc Then there were the other bars for other drinks like the Hypnotiq, Johnny, non-alcoholic stuff, water of course and the list goes on. I was introduced to a drink (new to me) Smirnoff, Crnberry and Sprite...try it.

Food: WTF was IP thinking?! Ok I understand that is 2009, economy on the downturn etc, etc. But yuh charge people $495 if they bought their tickts early, God alone knows what yuh charged those who bought tickets late or bought from scalpers. At that price I expect lots of options. Food was served on trays by some 'servers' who seemed to think they were in some sort of 50m dash! by the time yuh notice that someone bringing out a tray, they zoom on by you and yuh left with just d wafting scent of something delicious passing by! Not cool, not cool. So trinis, being trinis positioned themselves close to where the servers were emerging and mobbed the 'servers' as they were coming out. Drama. Not impressed at all.

Performances: Ah said we reached about 7ish, which meant that we missed the first performance Kes. Means I'll have to catch them perform at some other fete. But we did see Machel HD and The Asylum family. All I have to say about Machel HD is WOW!!!! That man is amazing on stage...the energy, the vibe, each year is something different and this year well you have to experience it. Asylum family is always a hit. Faye Ann looks great as an expectant mum and for all you detractors "She is PREGNANT...NOT SICK!!"

So all in all Amnesia was a great first fete to bring on Carnival 2009.

Looking forward to the next one.

Carnival 2009 - New Bands on the block

There are a few new bands coming out for Carnival 2009.

• Spice - with more information here
  
• Kaotic - more information here and pics here.
  
• Elements
  

Of the three, Spice sounds most promising, and their costumes definitely look hot, especially loving the bra design on the 'brown sugar' costume. :-)

Definitely looking forward to band launching season which began July 4th 2008.

As usual for more Carnival news, reviews and pics check out Sauce's blog.

FYI: New Band on the scene for Carnival 2009

Yep: it's true.

One of the new bands to be on the roads for Carnival 2009 has launched. Their name "Elements"
It seems though that it's just been a quick, hey-this-is-me type intro, and nothing substantial.
As stated, I wish them luck, and really do hope that they do turn out to be a viable alternative and that it's not all hype, and 'smoke-and-mirrors'.

"Revelations" - by Saucy

"Elements Launch" - by Carnival Jumbie