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.

2012 Registered...and more

Got that official receipt email the other day..I am registered to play in TRIBE 2012. Section will be revealed at a later date though.

These are my fav TRIBE costumes

TRIBE - Cyprus (Fl)

TRIBE - Ibiza (Bl)

TRIBE - Sun City (Bl without collar)

TRIBE - Vegas (Bl, collar is standard)

As usual, I am not playing with a 'crew'...too many people, too many variables, too much, too muuuch. The 'crew' is in YUMA. There are my fav YUMA costumes...

YUMA - Call of Duty (Fl with Collar)

YUMA - Angry Birds (Fl)

YUMA - Tyris (Fl)

YUMA - God of War (Premium Fl)

YUMA - Luxor (Bl)

TRIBE costume pics are from TRIBE's FB album, whilst YUMA's pics are from Triniscene and T&T Carnival Costume Photos. 

On to Island People...we all know that IP launched and presented some serious wtf costumes. Then they did a redesign/revamp. The result has been some of the sexiest costumes I've seen in a while. Here are some that I like.

IP - Ki (Fl)

IP - Sun Re (Bl),
Throw in a fab headpiece and this would be gorgeous!

IP - Element (Bl with collar)

IP - Xenon (Fl)

IP - Azula (Fl with Backpack)

IP's pics are from their FB album

Hands down my absolute favorite costume this year between TRIBE, YUMA  and IP is Azula's Frontline WITH the backpack.

Hmmmm...notice a trend?

Next time I'll post my favs from another three bands.

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

IP, YUMA...oh my

Island People's 'Heroes' on August 12th
...and YUMA's 'Press Play' on August 13th.

One I had planned to attend, the other a spontaneous attend thing... very different experiences, VERY very different costume concepts and translation into design.
Both had great launch presentations, talking the show itself eh not necessarily costumes.

Review of both to come soon.

Distribution Schedules are OUT!!!

By now many of you would have received THAT email. Yuh know the email, the email that makes hearts leap...'cause even after yuh went thru the stress/bliss/trauma/begging/pleading/ease of registering to play in THAT section..it's when you check your inbox and that email is there, the one with the date to collect yuh costume....that's when the butterflies take flight, heart rate speeds up, and the adrenaline kicks in. Well that happened for me ok...even though I paid off mih costume already, that email is what brought it all home....gonna collect mih costume in the next few days...sigh

I am scheduled to collect my costume on Saturday February 26th 2011...yippeee!!!
Here's a compilation of the ones that I've seen so far:

  

Lovely...can't wait to collect!

Happenings for T&T's 2011 Carnival

Much has happened since my last post.

• A couple other bands have launched: D' Krewe, Legacy and others. (Check Saucy's blog for more links.)
• BLISS has finally indicated that they're fully sold out
• There apparently are male costumes STILL available in YUMA 
• IP is selling out... slowly but steadily. BTW Lunar Cycle - Male Captain option is sold out ok! (...yes ah waiting to see which body  is rocking that costume!!)

IP - Lunar Cycle (Male Captain)

• Oasis has at least one sold out option (Gilia Frontline)
• ..and Harts being Harts has quite a bit of sections sold out, or options sold out, including this number that was sooooo NOT my personal fave 

Harts - Goldstone

• Then came news of a stage  - backflips and happy dances all over the place! ....looking forward to parading across that stage again :-)
• and then to top it off a proposed "People's Band". I've commented on Sauce's post about this proposed free-for-all, but for the benefit of all I'll post my comment here "...uhmm just bring yuh costume and come...." First off I would say not a bad concept. However as some others mentioned before, who's dealing with the logistics of this? Who's the DJ? (Ah hope some form of tendering process is involved and is not somebody tanty, cousin, friend!) How would you know who in this band or not? ('cause if i was a band leader I would want to know so I could NOT be behind this band!...yuh could imagine chaos when dis band hit d stage...ah getting flashbacks of Poison and the 'sit-in'!!!)Sooo, I await the details of this 'Peoples Band'

Many things have happened...and I guess more will unfold as we get closer to T&T Carnival 2011.

Stay tuned...d bacchanal now start!

YUMA 2011 - Zodeak

I did not originally plan to go this launch...but I did.
Glad that I did. Went as a regular patron, not as a Carnival blogger like Sauce, Afro Chic and Carnival Jumbie.
...Ohhh and must not forget 'Scene!
Their reviews and pics are must views. Stop over at their blogs for in depth reviews and pics, pics and more pics.

Anyways, my take on YUMA is as follows:
I LOVE most of the frontlines, they look gorgeous. If I lived in the gym from now till Carnival 2011, and had a gracious sponsor and did the FL thing, then yep: I would absolutely, positively play in one of at least two..no three...of those eye-catching fantabulous costumes! BUT ..I have neither a sponsor (gracious or otherwise), nor do I usually play FL...not my thing.
The backlines that grabbed my attention were

Sagitarius

Aquarius

Pisces

and 

Taurus

Notice that my sign, Capricorn, has not been mentioned...it will NOT be mentioned again in relation to YUMA. There is the other thing of: I will have no company if I went YUMA...not one of my mas-playing friends has mentioned or even hinted that they would consider playing YUMA....sigh


Next up: IP on August 20th 2010