Your Guide to Carnival in Jamaica 2012

I'm not in Jamaica right now so my posts about their Carnival have been limited. However, I will be back at the end of the month with much to talk about. So if you are new to the carnival, here's my take on the major events:

Mas Camp Fridays- Stadium North
These weekly parties aim to get the crowd hyped for Carnival and sometimes feature a live performance from a popular band or artistes. I'm not a regular at Mas Camp because the DJs shy away from the latest tunes, but I'm there once a good band is featured.
Cost-
JA$1000 without performers (presold)
JA$1500 with peformers (presold)

Island Mas'Soca Village- Village Blues Bar
Kudos to Island Mas for introducing something new to the Carnival scene. Their weekly Saturday fetes are reasonably priced and the soca selection is much more contemporary.
Cost- JA$500

French Lyme- Barbican Beach
March 21st/28th, April 4
This fete is hosted by Frenchmen and the Ambassadors and promises only 2012 soca. This should be good.
FREE

Soca Vs Dancehall- Devon House
March 24th
I'm sold on this fete probably just on the drink selection. I really hope that music is also good and focus is placed on soca and not on the dancehall since this is the carnival season.
Cost-
JA$2000 (females)
JA$3000 (males)

Sundown Cooler Fete- Constant Spring Golf Club Pool
March 31st
This fete is advertised as being in association with Scorch (from T&T), so it must be good right? There will also be music by Shotmaster J from T&T's RedFm, so the selection should be on point. For cooler fetes, I just need three things- my bottle of johnnie, coconut water and a cup!
Cost- JA$1500

The Cooler fete- Drax Hall
April 6th
I love the concept of a cooler fete so I think this fete will be a great addition to the line up. The fete has advertised Iwer George, Kees and Xcaliber. However, I heard that Kees was not booked for the event so I don't know if we should expect too much. But this issue with Kees should be addressed.
Cost-
JA$500 (early bird)
JA$1500 (pre sold)
UPDATE: Kes the Band will not be at this fete, but Iwer George and Swappi. However, they are still advertising DJ Private Ryan, who tweeted that he will NOT be there...hmmmm

Beach Jouvert- James Bond Beach
April 7th
Thank God, Machel Montano will be there especially after that disaster last year with Destra. But this is usually a great party, great vibes, lots of drinks and plenty paint. You may want to consider going with a bus or stay overnight at a hotel. Check out Soca Republic's for their bus package and Jamaica Grande for their special Bacchanal Jamaica rate.
Cost- JA$4000 (presold)

Soca by the Sandbar- Lime Cay
April 11th
This is a cool day fete at the beach if you are lucky enough to miss work that day. It's a free event but you'll need to pay for transport to get there.

I Love Soca "Soca Bliss"-The Palms
April 11
This is another Island Mas event featuring Dei Musicale from T&T (yay!), and it's drinks inclusive.
Cost-JA$2500

Frenchmen's Blocko- Jack's Hill
April 12
Honestly, I've never been to this fete but it has received good reviews from its regulars.
Cost- TBA

Bacchanal Jouvert- Stadium North
April 13
I've never been a fan of this Jouvert and I really don't know why. This year Destra and her band will be there...and we know exactly how that will go
Cost- JA$2000 (pre sold)

Sunrise Breakfast Party - Constant Spring Golf Club
I don't have all of the details for the breakfast party but I know that J-Lava from Dei Musicale will be playing. But I am very interested to see if the breakfast party concept will take off in Jamaica.
Cost- JA$2000 (females)
JA$2500 (males)

Island Mas' Water Party- New Kingston Gold Academy
April 14
If you like wildness, then this is the party for you. Water, alcohol and girls in skimpy clothes tend to bring out the worse (or best), but I look forward to the pics. Also, look out for a performance from JW and Blaze....
Cost-
JA$1000 (pre sold)

Frenchmen's Bazodee- Cherry Gardens
April 14
If you've been following my posts, you would have concluded that this is my favourite fete of the season. Like the Blocko, you have to reserve the tickets. I'm not sure what's the cost this year, but this is usually an expensive venture because it's all inclusive.
Cost- JA$6500

Road March
April 15
Ofcourse you need your costume, plenty vibes and plenty action...

Best of Soca 2012

It's really sad that in Trinidad and Tobago, there's a concept such as "soca switch". If this is the home of soca, why is there a need to "switch"? But if the people who could change this, do not care to change it, then soca will remain the genre that could...But for people like me, soca is 365, whether I'm in T&T or in Jamaica.

But this post is about my fave songs for 2012, so let's move on. Even though 2011 saw the best that soca has to offer, 2012 wasn't too shabby. It must be noted that 2012 was the year of the groovy with very few power songs to talk about. I was even secretly hoping that a groovy would have won road march. Ultimately there's something definitely wrong with the power tunes and it seems like that formula needs revisiting.

I am Soca- Patrice Roberts and Kerwin Du Bois

This is my absolutely my fave song of the year! I felt like if I were a writer, I would have written this song. Loving soca is all about being soca...

Bacchanalist- Kerwin Du Bois

Let's just say that Kerwin was like the salt of soca this year- in every ting! writer, producer, singer, and pleasing to the eye. This song is definitely my 2012 anthem as it embodies how I feel about Carnival and the whole idea of revelry. The first line of the song is also unforgettable- "Hello and greetings, first time we meeting, ah hope yuh not leaving, just stay a lil bit...". In fact, all of the songs on that Antilles riddim are great- Erphaan's In your Eyes, Nadia's Shiver and Machel's Vibes Cyar done...

In your Eyes- Erphaan Alves

I LOVE this song! This is what a groovy song is supposed to sound like- feel good catchy lyrics with amazing vocals. Erphaan has been doing his thing from school's soca monarch and has come a long way as a writer and singer. Soca has to watch out for this young man...

The People's Champion- Benjai

This tune maadddd! I used to think that Benjai was cheesy. I mean who still has gold teeth? and what about that blurry tattoo on his neck? But after an unforgettable song like Trini, it would have been difficult to follow it up with another hit. But it seems that not winning competitions is an inspiration for many tunes...so I can't wait to see what hit he'll come up with after taking 3rd place at the soca monarch groovy...

Bubble on a DJ- Swappi

Swappi is one of this artistes you don't want to like. Sometimes I feel sorry for him because he was not born in Jamaica, but so it go (you are not Kartel). But this tune is a reall bruk out tune. It really makes women feel that they can wine on anything, and men wish that they were DJs...

Stress Away- Kes the Band

You know I must have my boy on this list. So he didn't do too well at the soca monarch but Stress Away (not the remix with Snoop) is a great composition with a creative video. Why can't I be carelessly walking down the street and led to a secret tea party with Kees? Yes, I'm serious. But the line I love in the song is -"For all di suckers dem, ah bring cockset!"

Miss Behave- Faye Ann Lyons

For the rest of the year, this song will be known as "the people's road march". I'm not going into the archaic criteria for choosing the road march winner, but for some reason, the DJs decided that this song will not be played while bands crossed the stage. I'm gonna behave this year and move on...

Come to Meh (part 2)- Iwer George

I know this post is about my fave songs of 2012, but I have to mention this piece of nonsense composed by Iwer. He's lucky that he came second at the soca monarch because if it was up to me, he would have been placed last without apology. How you could sing verse 2 of your song from last year and expect to win? Nah man Iwer, this is not diesel, you can't get off so easily...

Any song by Machel Montano

I will say this many times- there's no one who could match the skill, consistency, originality and professionalism of Machel. Even if you don't like his personality (and I don't know why you would, unless you know him), you cannot dispute that he is way ahead of all of the current artistes in the game. Bottle of Rum, Mr Fete, In charge, Vibes Cyar Done, Represent, On the Avenue, Revelers, Make yuh Rock and PYF reflect Mr HD's versatility and ability to turn out hit after hit in one year. For all his critics in the industry, stop hating and try to learn how it's done.....

Trini Carnival Wrap Up

Although I only played one day of mas, I have to include a review of my carnival essentials:

Stockings

After a reader of the blog suggested the Peavy tights, I decided to purchase a pair from Carnival Kicks. I wasn't too sure about the shades, but I think that the Pecan shade in the Peavy is equivalent to the Salmon in the Micles. I paid US$12.99 which is a lot for tights, but Farrah from CK promised that it would be worth it since the denier was higher making it "run resistant". When I got home on Tuesday, there was absolutely no runs in the tights, and can even be worn again. A definite thumbs up for Peavey!

Boots

I am hoping that this was a bad batch of Carnival Kicks' jump up metallics because the boots were ruined while trying them on. Most of the metallic of the pewter boots flaked off before I even wore them, and by the time I got them on, there was nothing on the back. I know someone who got the gold and experienced the same problem. However, the problem only seems to be with the metallic, and the suede ones are fine.

Makeup

I am glad that I decided to stick with Makeda from Shades of Sugar because this was her best work yet. I finally got there early for once! I now see why masqueraders do their makeup early-it's less hassle and you get enough time to meet up with your band. As I said before, this was my fave costume ever and the make up completed the look. I also used the "No Sweat", which is designed to wear under costume make up and wigs. I really like the product, and it works better than the milk of magnesia. I will be using it again for sure.

Sling Bag

I already featured my Bacchanal Divaz bag in a previous post. The bag went well with the costume and held all of my essentials with lots of extra space.

I will now be prepping for Carnival in Ja, so stay tuned for updates and reviews....

The K2K Review

K2K asked that masqueraders provide feedback about their experience with the band. I'm using their headings as a guide for my review. I'm also sending this post to them.

Registration Process

I found online registration to be very easy and any questions I had about the costume was immediately addressed. I then got a quick confirmation for payment and registration. However, I felt that the user should have been able to select more than one costume in the shopping bag, but I guess this was to prevent mass purchasing.

Website

I loved the professional pics on the website, which gave a good idea of what the costume looked like. Viewers saw the various options for each section with all of the important registration information. I like when a website is simple and easy to maneuver.

Mas Camp Experience

I first visited the mas camp on Feb 3 and was blown away by the prototypes. At this point I was, extremely excited especially when Mummy Norman allowed me to be to try on the wings for Dead Sea. However, the many questions that I had about the Monday wear and accessories were not really addressed, but I wasn't bothered since it was a bit early.

The following Friday I returned to try on the corset and for the hubby to try his pants. The adjustments for the corset and pants were noted, which is not typical for bands who expect you to deal with adjustments on your own. The hubby did order a size 38 pants even though he is size 36. After years of not getting an actual size 36 that was not too small, he decided to order the bigger size. But in this case, it was way too big. A few days later, the adjustments made the pants too small, and another adjustment was promised.

Costume Collection

I must admit I felt that K2K announced costume collection too late, and the collection on the Thursday and Friday before Carnival was also too late. But once I got there, it was a very easy and a smooth process. As late as this was, we were told that we had to return on Sunday to collect the Monday wear as they were not ready. I also did not get my head piece. I think any masquerader would agree that it would have been better to collect all pieces on one day.

As a small band, the venue for costume collection worked, but when the band grows next year, a new venue will have to be considered because parking in a residential area could be a problem.

Monday Costume

The costume for Monday was FAB! I am so over wearing a tshirt and hot shorts on Monday. Sadly, I did not play Monday but on TV, they looked great. Everyone looked uniformed, and it was a welcomed break from Monday tshirts. The dress could have been worn several different ways and guidelines for draping it were included in the very cute organza bag. K2K's attention to these little details is what I enjoyed the most. I really hope they keep this Monday concept and don't leave it up to the masqueraders.

Tuesday Costume

The hubby eventually got his pants to fit but opted not to wear it since he did not like the feel of the material. But you know men, they don't make a big deal about these things, so he just wore a black cargo pants that he bought and settled with that.

On the other hand, I took my costume more seriously. I'm glad that I wore a cami under the corset because the material was itchy. But everything fit really well, and it was not heavy or cumbersome. I did not feel hot in the black or with so many pieces of costume. And most important at the end of the day, the costume was in tact as if I could have worn it again.

Even though frontline masqueraders were told that we would receive our wings on Tuesday, Dead Sea got no wings until much later in the day. On arrival, I asked one of the team members about my wings and was told that "it was on its way"....2 hours later, it was still on its way.

Bar Service/Meals

Although there were 2 bars, it didn't seem like this crowd was big on the hard liquor. I also had to opt for soft drinks since I was heavily medicated. The lucozade, water and coconut water were flowing until we lost the bar at the entrance to the savannah. No one could have known that the wait would have been that long and tiresome, but this is when we really needed our drinks and food. It would be a good idea to have carts or a roving bar and food service at this point especially if we know that we would not get to the lunch stop on time.

I really hope K2K can do Id bands next year because I saw lots of masqueraders from Ronnie and Caro being served drinks from our bar.

Road Experience

On Tuesday, the band left their starting point at Lord Harris Square too late at almost lunch time. If the trucks left their departure point at 6:00am, they would have gotten to the square very easily. It is sad that the band took most of the day to get from the Square to the Savannah which is less than a mile. If we left earlier, we would have gotten to the Savannah earlier and avoided that tiresome wait. The NCBA also has to take some of the blame in this instance. There needs to be a system to accommodate the large number of bands crossing the stage because this nonsense cannot continue.

Security

Now this was a big problem....where was the security???? The number of security guards was inadequate. This is an important aspect of band management and the safety of masqueraders must be a priority. This has to be addressed next year.

Music

The DJs were good. My only complaint is that I wanted to hear more of the road march contenders on the road, and not just on the stage.

Wee wee Truck and Spa Truck

Shockingly, I didn't use the wee wee truck or the spa truck (even more shocking), so I can't really comment on them. But please keep the spa truck!

Overall, I expected a lot more from K2K. The excellent promotion of the band in the beginning made it seem like everything was in order. They had all the elements of a great band, but failed in many areas.  Carnival is more than just about costumes but the experience on the road.  I've been with 2 bands in their first year, so I know there must be hiccups but there were too many in K2K. Masqueraders are not interested in hearing about problems with suppliers, tailors or seamstresses; we just want what was promised in a timely manner. On the road, we expect easy access to drinks, a meal at a reasonable time in the day, clean toilets, a rest truck and adequate security. In fact, this is what we believe we are paying for along with the costume.

What you can't beat K2K with, is their costumes. This was the best costume I've ever worn which made me actually feel like I "played mas". The costumes were original, lacked the generic bikini and beads factor but was still  contemporary. This is their strength; they just need some experienced personnel to fill in the blanks for road management. Would I play with them again??? Yes!

Welcome to the House of Bacchanal

Pan Semis

After not being to Pan Semis in 10 years, I was really clueless about the Greens. I am ashamed to say that I had no idea that the Greens and Pan do not go hand in hand. But I have to admit that the lime in the Greens is like no other especially if you moving with Caesar's Army who offered a package that included a tshirt, lunch, snacks and drinks. The Caesar's Army posse had lots of vibes, but I still wanted to hear more Pan. There was a small set up near the stage for persons who wanted the Pan exerience, but it was not an ideal viewing or listening position. If I ever get the opportunity again, I will definitely opt for the North stand.

Kes the Band at Normandie

Well if you have been following this blog, you will know that I LOVE Kees so there was no reason for me not to attend this show. I even got my Dad to purchase the tics before I got to Trinidad! The parking was easy and I got a good viewing spot once I was inside. On a side note, Normandie needs to reduce the number of chairs which just took up wining space. I mean who really wants to sit during a performance from Kees???

As usual, Kees gave a bess performance with some guest perforances from David Rudder, Shal, TC, JW and Blaze, Michelle X and Lord Nelson. I really enjoyed this show which was on time, well choreographed and just confirms why I love Kees. It was also a plus that Normandie always has reasonably priced drinks and yummy local dishes. The show was over by 11:00pm but the DJ played until about midnight. This show was another plus to arriving in Trinidad early.

Mai Tai

I was skeptical at first about Caesar's Army's Mai Tai on Sunday since there were no advertised performers and there was an animal print dress code. But then they released that Bunji and Benjai would be there. The female tickets were TT$300, which included drinks. It was a long drive to the venue, but once you got to the designated parking, there was a shuttle service to the venue. I must commend the ample security in the parking area and even at the venue. The premium drinks were flowing and there was little wait at the bar. Even though the fete was promoted as a drinks inclusive, we were treated to corn soup, douples and geera chicken. Well done Caesar's Army!

Machel Monday

I was looking forward to Machel Monday more than any other event since I've never attended this show. The biggest lesson learnt here is either get there very early or get someone to drop you because parking is a bitch. Showtime was advertised as 8:00pm, so we were there about 7:15pm which was very late. It took me almost 2 hours to find a spot close enough to the stadium until I eventually got a park in Movie Town for TT$40, which apparently is the new rate for parking. I would like to think that this TT$40 goes to Movietown management and not that security guard; yes I would fool myself with that one.

After missing Kes the Band *sad face*, I was finally inside the Platinum section which should have been called "General 2" because there was nothing special about this section- no drinks, food or vantage point included in the TT$500, just people and more people. The bars were over crowded and there extremely long lines for food. Let's just say that Machel made his money off us fools in Platinum.

Overall Machel gave his best proving why he is the greatest soca artiste in the world. Most of the guest performers were pretty good. I was actually surprised that I like Pitbull's performance. I wanted to hear more from the Iz from the Caymans. Benjai, yes I love you too-keep it up. Kerwin, you are the BOSS- Bacchanlist is my theme song! And Beenie man, you shoulda stay home...

Bacchanal Wednesday

After my Trini Posse experience last year, I said that Johnny Soong will not catch me with his nonsense again so I got a General admission ticket for TT$300 for Bacchanal Wednesday. Somebody please tell me when did they start charging to park on the beach opposite the Hangar in Chaguaramas???? And yes, the secuiry guards who apparently own or leasing the space charged the standard TT$40.

Once inside, I was happy that I was in General. I got a good spot near the stage and had a good view. Destra and her band was up first which can best be described as a lackluster performance. Remember that she was booed severely at this same fete 2 years ago, so I would think she would have done better. But the Bacchanal Wednesday crowd is tough and showed very little appreciation for Destra even when she drew for her old songs. Not even her Power soca contender, "Link up", did anything for this crowd. At one point, the crowd started chanting "Kerwin, Kerwin!".....no comment.

Kes the Band was better and got a better response, but the man who mash up the party was Swappi. I'm trying really hard to not like Swappi, since he just seems like he's pissed he wasn't born in Jamaica. But the bucket is the new must have item for Carnival....I left before Machel got to the fete.

What I did not like about this fete was the cost of the drinks. I mean, TT$50 for a Johnnie Walker and coconut water and the bartenders not even fulling the cup! That was a major fail. To top it off, you could only buy the drink chits in $100 batches. So the math is simply 4 drinks= TT$200. Bigger FAIL!

Blue Range

This was my first time at Blue Range which I would recommend as a good choice for carnival Friday. The ticket was only TT$250 and coolers had to be in by midnight. The parking was easy and there was a shuttle service to and from your car. This was a well organized event with great vibes. We even saw Bunji and Faye Ann, who gave their usual good performance. Chutney Soca Monarch, KI, also did his "Single Forever". I left about 3:30am so I'm not sure if there were more performances, but Blue range is a definite do again....

Sunny Side Up

Even though I had my tic, I had to miss this one *sad face*. Unfortunately, I became really ill on Saturday and had to even go to the doctor. Big up the Health Centre in Chaguanas where the workers wanted to go home and dealt with patients really quickly....And the sadder news is that I did not play mas today even though I had my gorg Monday wear and accessories. This was the doctor's order, but Tuesday will see me for sure even if it's not for the whole day!

Bacchanal Jamaica 2012- No Shock

Well yes, Bacchanal Jamaica is using the theme "Future Shock" for 2012. I'm guessing this refers to the shock I did not feel when I saw the costume pics; make note that there are no prototypes available at the mas camp.

The No Shock factor lies in the fact that there's no wow factor with the costumes which are recycled designs and colors; no shock at the website was not launched on the promised date; no shock that the registration process is slow; no shock that it's a cash deposit since there are no point of sale machines; no shock that there is only ONE booklet at the mas camp with poor quality pics for potential masqueraders to view, and no shock that Frenchmen does not have the best costume, But wait, there is one shock- the prices which have significantly increased....

The prices range from US$189- US$246. The bright side is that you can pay less if you take the crown option and not the headpiece. Wow, is that supposed to be a shock? we are so lucky (my attempt at sarcasm).

No shock, but I'm registered in Frenchmen's Supernova (in the pic) without the headpiece, which is US$226. Supernova is not my fave costume but it's either you want to be in Frenchmen or you want a pretty costume. No shock, but Frenchmen is almost sold out. 2 out of the three sections are sold out at the mascamp, but you may be able to get them online if the website ever launches. The remaining section is an awful red which even Digicel had to reject...I guess the ugly factor on that costume could be a Shock.

But not all the costumes lack the shock factor. I really like Smirnoff's Avatar (not the headpiece) and Observer's Encleadus. They are very contemporary and lack that "samaroo's look" (no offfense to Samaroo's). I also hear that Smirnoff"s Avatar is going fast. You can view the costumes on their Fb page.

• So if you are going down to register, don't wait to decide- please know your section before hand.



• Know your sizes- bra, bottom piece and hip (where you wear the belt).



• The downpayment is JA$7000 in cash only.



• If you are registering your friends, have their address, telephone, and email as well.



• The registration is at the new mas camp at Stadium north from 10am-3pm.



• Registration for the tshirt sections is not open.

T&T Carnival Picks

Most persons arrive for T&T during the week before Carnival Monday and Tuesday. There are so many options which seem to be growing and could become confusing. So far, these are the decisions I've made:

All Inclusive fete

For US$300, I am dying to know what the Ultimate Lime fete (at the Hyatt) will be offering. The reviews from last year were great and for the price, this has to be the best fete ever.

Regular fete

Honestly, you can't beat UWI Splash as a regular fete. You get the same venue and almost all the performers as Bacchanal Wednesday and Trini Posse, just at a lower price.

Carnival Friday pickI'm seriously thinking of doing Break Biche since I've heard good reviews and I'm all for day fetes. It's only TT$400 drinks inclusive, but has the same performers as Sunny Side Up.

Breakfast fete

In my opinion, Vale Breakfast is old news. My pick is Sunny Side Up (tics are available in Ja), but I'm also feeling UP. (I find that the promoters could have been more creative with the name.) But UP has Machel Montano as its headline act so they will pull a good crowd.

J'ouvert band

I am recommending Caesar's Army AM Bush on Saturday morning as an alternative to traditional J'ouvert. Since all j'ouvert bands have to go to POS, the uptown j'ouvert crowd may not like that scene so if you want to try something different, consider AM Bush.

Airline

Now doh start meh on Redjet and dey bull. These people cancelled my flight on Feb 5 and I didn't get an email or a phone call- nutten. No apology- nutten. I am not amused especially since the new date they gave me is later than I want to leave. The lesson is if your dates are not flexible stick with Caribbean Airlines.

Carnival Band

Everybody else will recommend Tribe, Bliss or YUMA, which is fine depending on what you expect from a band. I love the new band scene and since I do not hold any band loyalty, I'm giving K2K a chance this year. Someone described K2K's costumes as Tribe meets MacFarlane which is an ideal description so I'm excited to see the end product. I'm also excited about their Monday wear and make up packages.

Boots

My Carnival kicks boots were extremely comfortable and much cheaper than the piccadilly boots. I am also not feeling the decorating of the boots. It's probably just me, but I'm over the gems and feathers on boots- it's just over done. Carnival kicks will be delivering in T&T and you can also purchase the boots from a dsitributor in St James (868-622-7151).

Stockings

Cant go wrong with the good old Micles stockings. I would like to try the Peavey brand but I'm not sure about my shade. Peavey promises that these tights have a high denier so they are less resistant to runs. We'll see right...

Makeup

I'm not sure if I'm going to opt for K2K's makeup. If not, I'll stick to Makeda from Shades of Sugar. She's done my makeup for 3 years and I'm always satisfied.

I'm officially excited for Carnival! See you there!