After planning out the fete schedule for Trinidad, it did not go as planned. I was able to go to Beach House but didn't get the tickets for Soca Monarch or Sunnyside. I wasn't disappointed that I did not go to Soca Monarch since everybody and their tantie went and there was a much better view from my living room. With Sunny Side Up, I plan to follow their directives next year and reserve the tickets in adavnce. So I eventually attended Beach House, Girl Power and Trini Posse.
Every year, I swear I will never go to Girl Power again, but after failing to get tickets for Soca Monarch and Blue Range, I gave in and went to Girl Power (VIP) on Carnival Friday. Surprisingly, it wasn't bad at all. I got there in time to see Kes the Band who gave a great performance. Strangely, I found that he performed better at Girl Power than at the Soca Monarch. Big up to the lady in the crutches who got a sweet wine from the groovy monarch. I didn't see any other performers even though I left the fete at 5:30am which is my problem with Girl Power- everyone is at Soca Monarch. Besides the performance, the food was tasty but there were limited options. For TT$700, I expect more than bake and shark, doubles, corn soup, desserts and baked chicken with wedges. Also, the wait at the bar was way too long for a VIP. Probably they needed to have another bar in the VIP area or more bartenders. Overall, I had a great time but should have paid for a regular ticket and not VIP.
Trini Posse fete on Saturday was also a last minute decision and like UWI Splash, I am skeptical of going to any fete in Chaguarmas because of the traffic. But I know that most people were going to Insomnia, so the traffic would be much later. We got there about midnight and for the second time, I just missed Imij and Co. I love to see Imij perform so that was a disappointment for me. I chose VIP again, but since this was my first time at this fete, I didn't know that Trini Posse's VIP did not include any food or drinks but just a space that was close to the stage; not even a better view of the stage. Fine, there was no food or drinks but the drinks were damn expensive! And the only options for food were lamb gyro or sushi...fail....sushi is not something I would buy from anyone especially at a fete and they could have had more options for the gyros than just lamb (This is what matters when you don't eat before you leave the home). I did eventually secure a good viewing spot on the elevated area next to Darren Ganga! So this was a real VIP...lol
I saw Kes the Band again, with Nadia who got her 5 minutes of performance time but I guess it's all about Kees this year. Kees gave a great perforamce but Machel was the highlight of my night. Lip synching, cocky, buy votes, brown nosing the PM or just being $2 million richer, say what you want but I doh care wha all yuh say... Machel could mash up a fete! It was hit after hit with Zan, Patrice, Nappy and Lil Rick putting in their 2 cents. And the dancers boy...Kees' dancers are girls who just like to dance but the HD dancers are beasts! Big up girls like Brithany Dookie...who make reall girls feel like dem is gogo too. Machel made this fete for me but the lack of food options in the VIP, and the overpriced drinks were major downfalls.
Now on to Beach House which was actually the first fete that I attended on the Thursday. I'm not sure what kind of exclusive fete is Beach House because they failed to exclude anyone..I mean how many tickets were sold? I heard people complain that they couldn't get tickets but it didn't seem to me as if they ever stopped selling tickets? I'm going to skip through the 2 hrs it took me to get from my home to the fete which is usually a 20 minute drive to the parking area which was probably the source of the traffic. With such a big fete, you'll think there will be security guards managing the parking to ensure that there's a good use of the available space. So you know it's put on your club lock, keep your fingers crossed and hope that your car will be there at the end of the fete kind of situation because I didn't see any guards in sight until I was near the venue . Make note that it took us 20 minutes from the parking areas to the entrance and another 15 minutes to actually get in.
Again, when you don't eat before a fete, the food at the fete becomes your first priority. At first I thought they contracted Subway because it's only at Subway I've seen these kinds of lines. Imagine a 30 minute wait for doubles or appetizers! So I reall glad when I got to the top of the line and then to my surprise I was told, to "wait eh" so that the attendant could share some of the shrimp for herself...wth! thus the 5 shrimp in my plate. After the food fiasco, the fete was still a good lime, especially since I met up with a lot of people I had not seen in ages. The drinks were flowing easily without any long wait. I expected this fete to be a smaller more intimate fete with food and drinks galore but for what it is sold to be, Beach House 2011 did not live up to its reputation and wasn't worth the US$125 nor all the drama to get the tickets. It seemed to me that the organizers had no problem taking people's money and knowing fully well that they had not catered for such a crowd because they know that while some like me may grumble...the same fight down for tickets will take place next year...but not me again...fool me once....
