I Love Soca- Dec 21st

So yes, the soca continues in December in Jamaica with the I Love Soca fete on Wednesday December 21st. I think this event has picked up and already has a following. I am confident that the music will be very recent since this crew is always in tune with the new soca. I will not be there but I fully endorse this one...

Soca Vs Dancehall

Soca in December in Jamaica is slowly becoming popular, so I decided to check out the Soca Vs Dancehall fete at Morgan's Harbour on December 3rd. The fete is new to the Ja soca scene but attracted the usual soca crowd.

On arrival, the venue was empty and the music lame. Again, I will stress that Sparkles Disco and Omar C are weak soca DJs. So the music was pretty lame with poor track choices. When I saw DJ Smoke from Renaissance, I was really happy because he is way better than those two. The venue filled up a bit and the music picked up. Smoke had the crowd's attention with latest soca and hip hop. By the end, you could hear persons shouting "soca! soca!", which made me smile :)...there had been a clear winner.

I love the venue although it is a bit out of the way. I also appreciated that although it was a drinks inclusive affair, there was the option to purchase higher end drinks.

I can see a future for this party if the promoters step up their marketing and probably get some prime sponsors behind them....

Anya's Take me to the Runway

Well Anya Ayoung Chee really took us to therunway with this design for Tribe's 2012 presentation. Boy, what a piece of nekkidness but it sexy for so. The design doesn't really stand out as original, but I like the colours. It also has a pocahontas feel with the materials and design of the headpiece. But my fave part of this costume is the cloth which really gives it the "Anya" touch. The word is that this is a VVIP section in Tribe, which is not surprising. Do not get ahead of yourselves believing that because you like the costume, you may get in the section....I don't think so. And well done to Tribe for getting creating further hierarchies in a band that is at the top of the hierarchy. So all those masqueraders who felt like they crossed a barrier to get into Tribe, you ain't reach yet; if you get into this section...let me know

Costume 2012- Check!

This has to be the latest I've registered for a costume since 2002, but I'm glad that I'm finally with costume. I've said this many times on the blog, but I don't want to rush into purchasing a costume without thinking it through carefully. But that's not a luxury for everyone, as so many people rush into registration with a fear that they may not secure a costume. I've realized that I should not condemn anyone who registers for a costume in July because this is how the game is played. And if you don't like it, you play in a band outside of the game. But the downside is that these bands do not appeal to your friends and no one wants to be in band with people they don;t know. I mean everyone we know is in Tribe, Bliss or YUMA right?

Anywho, so I just visited the K2K Alliance's website, selected my sizes and added the costume to the shopping bag; checked out, entered my credit card info and that was it. I then received my confirmation for payment two days later through email. Did I mention that I got the costume that I wanted, Dead Sea III Frontline? No fuss no muss. The frontline cost TT$5160 or US$860 with a US$400 deposit. I must also add that any questions I had were promptly and pleasantly addressed by the designers.

However, the website only allows you to pay for one costume at a time since you could only add one item to the shopping bag, and I have not seen an option to pay the balance online. I am also awaiting the decision on Monday wear. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for something because I'm not into stressing about an outfit for Monday. Let's just be honest, costumes are no longer meant to wear on both days so I want some black cloth, a tshirt or something...

So basically I'm excited to see what the costume will look like on the road and maybe I'll meet some new friends. And don't be afraid to sell your YUMA costume if you are having second thoughts because you will have no problem finding a buyer.....

A little Late for the Foreplay

I know this review for Frenchmen's Foreplay is way way too late, but I'm gonna address it anyway. It could be that I haven't been to this party in years but the party sell off...
My only major complaint is that I didn't like the venue at Llandovery Farms in Ocho Rios. Let's just say that it was really a farm and smelled like one. The party had all the frills such as massages, make up, carnival costumes, coffee stations, but for me, it's all about the food, drinks, parking and toilets. I have to note that after paying JA$6500, I expected that there will be food even at 8:00pm, so I was kinda hungry. The line at the toilets wasn't funny. Promoters need to learn that that once you have plenty women in a drinks inclusive party, they are going to want to pee very often so have more toilets!

Otherwise the music was great (except at the end), the drinks were flowing with short lines at the bar and the party had nuff vibes. This is a definite recommend if you want to party with the whole of uptown Kingston and their aspirants. On a final note, I'll just just quote one of my Trini friends- "Why is there a party 2 and a half hours away from Kingston with only people from Kingston?"....

***you are supposed to see the fireworks in this pic which was really cool; you know trinis like a fireworks

Almost there with K2K....

K2K's website is finally up! Btw, I have to mention that I received 2 emails from K2K indicating that the website will be up yesterday. They had also responded to several questions I had about the costumes. I must say that the responses were timely.

Like with any new band, there is the need to please as the band has no track record so we expect the customer service to be on point. My concern is always with cover up options even with K2K's seemingly more conservative costumes. To my surprise they are willing to work with me if I need more cover up around the mid section.

Until the website launched I was convinced that I would register for Yellow Sea but after seeing Dead Sea III (featured pic) on the website, I am now confused. I love the yellow because it's the brightest colour in the collection and although Dead Sea III is black, I love the design with the ruffles and the one shoulder corset.

The difference between BL and FL is really the "wavers' or backpiece. So even if you decide to opt for the more affordable BL, the costume is still adequate and you don't seem short changed. In addition, masqueraders will find that the prices are basically in the same range as the bikini and beads bands (TT$3600-$5700), although you are getting more costume. However, the yellow sea male option basically consists of a pants, turban and scarf for the average TT$2500, but there are FL options for males which offer a lot more. I am also not hearing anything about Monday wear which would be the icing on the cake for me!

decisions ...decisions...

Frenchmen's Foreplay

Okay, so I didn't realize that the Bleu parties on Heroes Weekend will be held in Lucea. Being from a small island, if it takes more than an hour to get somewhere, it is far and it takes a whole heap of hours to get to Lucea. So seeing Kes the Band on Heroes weekend is totally out for me *sad face*. But I still love you.

Anywho, so I will be at the Frenchmen's foreplay instead. The tickets are US$85, which is a lot less than I thought it would be. Even though I will not be wining and jamming to Kees, I will make the best of the weekend. If you are going, try to book your hotel room asap because it's been difficult for me to get something within my budget. The RIU is booked out (no surprise there) as it seems the entire Kingston population will staying there so consider other options. I can't wait....