Jamaica Carnival 2015: Where All Dem Fetes Come from Daadddyyy???

Jamaica Carnival fete list for the next 2 weeks:

Jamaica Carnival really begins this week with more events to choose from and to budget for...but I can say that it is finally a Carnival season here in the land of reggae and dancehall.  For many of us, it is a welcomed change to the years of just Mas Camp Fridays, Beach Jouvert, and Bacchanal Jouvert.  I am happy to see that so many promoters are introducing new concepts and challenging the old school Bacchanal Jamaica model.  Yet, this comes with a hefty price tag.

Have some of these promoters lost their minds??? I know that Jamaica Carnival belongs to the middle and upper income groups and there is this unbelievable need to keep certain groups out (don't debate me on this), but jeezus, ease up on the ticket prices!!! These promoters will keep trying to exclude people until they are successful in keeping everyone out making it truly exclusive with not one patron in attendance (if only).

And promoters, please don't try to justify these prices with the "but it's cheaper than fetes in Trinidad" nonsense. Trinidad and Tobago has a stronger economy and stable foreign exchange.  In essence, the Trinbagonian middle income group has more to spend. I'm not saying that fetes shouldn't make a profit but damn, how can you double the price in the space of one year? But I guess this works because people are still going, especially the kind who needs to make an appearance for the various Facebook pages and has little or no interest in Carnival.  Let's call them the feters en blanc....

All is not lost, there are some affordable options that are still trying to keep us regular folk in.  For instance, the weekly fetes such as Tabanca Tuesdays, French Lyme, and Karnival Countdown are great for their no or low cost.  They don't go too late and you can get to work on time the following day.  You also get to enjoy the same DJs as the bigger more expensive fetes.

My personal favorite is the I Love Soca cooler fete which I have been to every year since its inception.  It has managed to keep the price low with good DJs and guest performers.  But then again, why should I pay any more to bring my own drinks, cups, ice etc ?

Another best bet for your money is Dusk that is drinks inclusive for $3500 (approx. JMD$116=US$1).  But my top pick has to be Glow, another drinks inclusive, but only for $1500! And the best part is that ladies dressed in white get in at a 2 for 1 price before 11pm.  At this price I am questioning why would a cooler fete charge $3000 *side eyes Sundown*...

In terms of the all inclusives, I can't believe that Frenchmen is actually the best choice.  Yes, they have increased their price but they have not reached the $9000 that one fete is asking (I see you Marbana).

For breakfast fetes, there is Frenchmen Rise Up for $6500, Canboulay for $5000, Sunrise for $8000 or $9000...and Vale Breakfast for $3500 ( no drinks)...you decide....

Now for the Jouvert fetes....I am confused that Cocoa Jouvert was $4500 (same price as last year), but Ambush is $8000 ($7000 if you got the early bird).  Although Bacchanal's Jouvert is the cheapest at $2000 with performances by Destra and Kerwin Du Bois, I am still not a fan of their events....

Who am I to complain?...this is just the ranting of someone trying to stay afloat in a struggling Jamaican economic situation but still trying to enjoy its best time of the year....while I can.

Easter Weekend Jamaica style

Beach J'ouvert
Saturday March 30, 2013
James Bond Beach, St Mary
JA$4500

This was officially my 10th Beach J'ouvert and I really thought it would be epic; instead, I was left disappointed and sober. It could be that I had already made up my mind that any show with Shur-lame Winchester as the headline act for Ja$4500 would be a yawn fest and a rip off. I knew that Shurwayne would have been bad but I didn't know he would have been that horrible. His performance was lackluster and messy. And to make it worse, who was that guy in the yellow jeggings walking up and down the stage with an ipad? In addition to sunshine pants, the dancers were weak, and the band was out of of synch a lot of the times.  Shurwayne needs to get a stage director or choreographer along with a musical director to tighten up his act. Don't get me wrong; Shurwayne has one of the best voices in soca especially for groovy, but he was a much better performer when he was with Traffik. You may have noticed that since he left Traffik in 2008, his popularity has declined even with good songs. In some cases, it may be better for an artiste to stay with an established and experienced band than venture on their own. I mean not everyone can be a Machel or Kees....
 

But what baffles me even more is why would Bacchanal Jamaica hire Shurwayne as their headline act? Clearly the organizers are out of touch with what's happening in the soca  world because Shurwayne and You would be close to the bottom of the soca band hierarchy. The most obvious reason to me is that his price was right. I also heard that they wanted Machel but he had not been sentenced yet so they weren't sure if he would have been available, so in addition to Shurwayne, they took the HD what left-Patrice and Nappy...

I'm not sure what arrangement Bacchanal Jamaica had with James Bond beach but parking spaces were limited. Unlike last year, parking was not accommodated on the open field. Rather, it was on the entrance road and on the main road which were insufficient.  The police officers then instructed us to park at the police station and take the shuttle to the venue. This would have been great if we knew where this police station was.  Eventually we had to squeeze into a small lot where everyone had to block each other for the going rate of ja$500.

Once we got inside, I wanted to start my drinking. For the whopping ja$4500 entrance cost, the drinks were generic and below the shelf.  The best option at that point was Smirnoff, if you drank that.  I'm not sure what was served in the VIP, but I suspect it wasn't much better. And while we are on VIP, what a waste of money. There was no need for a VIP at Beach J'ouvert, but I guess Bacchanal just needed to squeeze out every dollar they can from patrons.

I'm just going to say that Bambino can't play soca to save his life. He claimed that he went to Trinidad Carnival, but did he go to a fete, bar or listen to the radio, walk down the street or something? Bambino is the worse soca dj in Jamaica. He speaks too much and his soca playlist consists of 7 songs. Dj Smoke played a little better, but overall the dj music lacked variety and was poorly mixed.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you would know that I usually have nothing but praises for Beach J'ouvert which was one of my fave events not just in Jamaica, but generally. I've fallen out of love with this fete which has gotten more expensive and weak in quality. Unless Machel is at the next Beach J'ouvert,  I am almost sure that I won't be there next year...

Dusk
Monday April 1,2013
Beverly Hills, Kingston
JA$1500+ a bottle

I came back to Kingston on Easter Monday and almost did not attend Dusk.  But I had liked the idea of a poolside bottle party and wanted to check it out.  Dusk is a new fete for the Jamaican Carnival season and will definitely be on my list next year.
 

It was cool that we could have walked with our own expensive liquor and not give it to the bar.  The only complaint here was that it was difficult to get sufficient ice and chasers when you held on to your own alcohol.  But eventually we convinced the bartender that his night would have been much easier if he just gave us give us bottles of ginger ale and cranberry juice instead of those tiny cups.

The other attraction to the fete was the the doubles. Now if you know a real Trinbagonian, you are aware that doubles are our sustenance, and if you are a Trinbagonian in Jamaica, doubles is like gold. So with my yellow belly in hand, the first thing I did was seek out my curried gold. It was so funny that the first Trini I saw pointed me in the direction of the doubles. I was surprised that this wasn't the Mrs Khan doubles, but one made by a Jamaican. I must give her props for presentation and trying to keep it legit by offering pepper, cucumber chutney, and shadow/chandon beni sauce. But sadly, it ended there. Even Trinis know that making doubles is no easy task, so i rate this chick for effort but hands down it was the worse attempt at doubles i have ever tasted. I mean a doubles is really bad when the pepper cannot even mask the taste. Even though she got the texture right, the barra was bland.  One of the biggest mistakes people make with doubles channa (chick peas) is that they curry it the same way they would do it for roti; no, it is not the same and it‘s worse when you use the wrong curry. Any way, let me stop because this post is about the fete and not the doubles...

The best part of Dusk for me was the music which was provided by Dei Musicale from T&T and Richie Ras from Jamaica. The playlist was current and extensive. Trust me, this was no Mas Camp vibe and i don't even remember if Palance was played.  The congo line around the pool was also a major highlight and showed how nice the vibe was.

Pic stolenfrom Trini Jungle Juice

The Dusk promoters are definitely on to something here. The bottle party concept, intimacy, good music and a fuss free event made this one of my favorite fetes of the Jamaica carnival season. It was also a great way to end the weekend and help me forget about that mess that was Beach J'ouvert....