Hey Saucy
I know that Rene already beat me to the Spice review but I was hoping I could share my experience with your readers:
Spice was nice!!!
I decided to play with Spice because the costumes were very pretty and I wanted an alternative from the typical IP and Tribe. I must say that Spice did very well for their first year and even though they advertised as a large band and ended up as a medium band, the experience was one of the best I’ve had.
Costume
I played in Scotch Bonnet and was very pleased with the costume. There was a mix up with my registration and I did not get the size ordered for the scotch bonnet boy shorts which I planned to wear on Monday. I was disappointed when they could only find a pair from Cardamon (purple) in my size. But on Monday, the purple looked really nice with my red sequined top along with my pretty bag from Bags by Mimi.
The costume looked very much like the prototype and was a brilliant shade of red. I opted for the corset which is a much better alternative to the tankini as it gives a very slimming effect. I was even surprised how much detailing we got on the corset. The only problem was that the really tiny sequins kept falling off the costume and I left a trail of sequins in my house, in the car and at the salon where I did my make up. Also, the back pack for the frontline was really fabulous and extremely comfortable. But I wonder where were the other Scotch Bonnet FLiners since I only saw one other besides myself (Mimi looked fab by the way!). I did not waterproof my feathers and was surprised how well the feathers came back once dried. But my stocking caught the running of the feathers; I will definitely be waterproofing my feathers next year!
On the road
Spice was not bluffing when they asked everyone to meet early on Monday at10:00am and Tuesday at 6:30am. On Monday I was able to catch the band at QRC where they were finishing up lunch. Once on the road, the vibes was nice but I was surprised at the small number of masqueraders. A lot of persons especially in Paprika wore their costume top with shorts. Others chose regular tops or tees and a boy shorts that matched the colour of their section.
On Tuesday after getting my fab make up by Makeda at Shades of Sugar, I met the band late AGAIN and missed the savannah stage L. The numbers had increased by Tuesday but I would estimate that it was a little under 1000. I had no problem with this…I would rather be in a medium band than fight up in a large band. Everyone looked great in their costume and after taking 20 minutes to put on my corset, I was extremely satisfied (real pressure that morning with all dem hooks). It was the best costume I’ve worn in years. The colors for each costume really stood out and corresponded with the theme for each section. Despite what was said initially about the band, there was a wide variety of women, but it was a dominantly young band, not teeny bopper-young, but there wasn’t much of a mature crowd. People were obviously having a good time but some sections had more excitement than others. Paprika, Sea Salt, Brown Sugar, Scotch Bonnet and Cardamon had the most vibes especially when crossing the stage. One of our section leaders, Jason has to be commended for really trying to hype up our section which was difficult especially when the DJ failed to do so.
Food and Drink
The lunch options were wide: International, Creole, Barbeque and Vegetarian. On Monday I opted for the Creole which included fried rice, garlic chicken, chunky veg and toss salad which was very tasty. On the Tuesday, I opted for the International which included a Caribbean chicken (baked), vegetable rice, creamy potatoes and toss salad (which tasted the same as the Creole; but I ain’t no expert). However, there could have been more table and chairs or blankets to sit on. There were three drinks trucks and drinks were flowing and the bartenders were efficient. However, you had to be over 6 feet to reach the bar! It’s a good thing the hubby was tall. And kudos to the bartender for being great lip readers! Also, at no point on the both days was I told that a particular drink was finished (But no more coconut water on Tuesday unless you were taking it with alcohol); so drinks were flowing.
Misc
The rope team worked hard for most of the time but started disappearing slowly from about 6:00pm; I guess they were tired too (but that’s yuh job). I like the idea of a small band as it did not attract much stormers (plus we never had any big celebrities except for the big man on the scene, Carlos John!). I am glad to say that there weren’t much incidents of the Random Guy Syndrome (RGS) and you were free to wine by yourself, with your girls, yuh man, or the RG, but it was all up to you. The extraction team was a good idea. I even witnessed them asking two girls from Harts to leave the band. Imagine people from Harts were storming Spice! Harts better lookout….I sense band migration in 2010. I found that the rope crew was respectful and didn’t try to wine on you or check you. One spectator on the Avenue even exclaimed: “Like dis band have more security than masqueraders!”
The wee wee truck was clean for the most part and stocked with all the necessities…even the Listerine!.. But around 5:00pm on Tuesday, it ran out of water but no scene, there was a lot of bottle water…that is if you could reach the bar….
My Peeves
The music for the most part was good as people were evidently having a good time from start to finish but there’s a definite thumbs down to Merry Perry. I know that he and Rocky go way back but this sound had no idea on how to play for a road march. He played very few songs and the mixes were awful. He took no time to hype up the crowd at the judging points or even to ask the crowd what they wanted to hear. I think the other DJ was Omega ( correct me if I’m wrong) who played much better; doh mind he leave scotch bonnet and cardamom behind at Victoria Square and we had to act like Spanish and cross the stage there with no music! So more attention needs to be paid to the DJs and advise them on how to handle the crossing of the stage and somebody please slip Merry Perry a soca CD…
I would definitely like to collect my costume earlier; Carnival Saturday was too late but I must say that although it was late, I did get all of my costume pieces and the adjustments were done in a timely manner.
Next Year????
Big respect to Anya….boy that is a band leader!!!! She took a personal interest in everyone from registration to collection, to on de road. Even the hubby had to exclaim that he didn’t know that I knew the bandleader personally! On both days she made sure that everything was in place and she looked Fab at the same time while enjoying herself…and she introduced the band at each judging point…talk about multi tasking. Also, her dad and Nicholas had everything under control…those guys worked very hard. So next year I’m going back for sure…I really hope that the band doesn’t get much bigger and Spice recognizes that sticking to a medium size will work in their favor…look at what happen to Tribe and IP…it’s just more manageable.
Since August until Carnival, I was fed up of the same conversation:
-Who you playing with?
-Spice
-Spice? Who’s that?
-A new band
-Oh you mean a break away from Tribe?
-No, it’s just a new band
-*confused look on face*
So everyone learn it…SPICE on de road for 2010!!!!
Regards,
Cute Dougla
I know that Rene already beat me to the Spice review but I was hoping I could share my experience with your readers:
Spice was nice!!!
I decided to play with Spice because the costumes were very pretty and I wanted an alternative from the typical IP and Tribe. I must say that Spice did very well for their first year and even though they advertised as a large band and ended up as a medium band, the experience was one of the best I’ve had.
Costume
I played in Scotch Bonnet and was very pleased with the costume. There was a mix up with my registration and I did not get the size ordered for the scotch bonnet boy shorts which I planned to wear on Monday. I was disappointed when they could only find a pair from Cardamon (purple) in my size. But on Monday, the purple looked really nice with my red sequined top along with my pretty bag from Bags by Mimi.
The costume looked very much like the prototype and was a brilliant shade of red. I opted for the corset which is a much better alternative to the tankini as it gives a very slimming effect. I was even surprised how much detailing we got on the corset. The only problem was that the really tiny sequins kept falling off the costume and I left a trail of sequins in my house, in the car and at the salon where I did my make up. Also, the back pack for the frontline was really fabulous and extremely comfortable. But I wonder where were the other Scotch Bonnet FLiners since I only saw one other besides myself (Mimi looked fab by the way!). I did not waterproof my feathers and was surprised how well the feathers came back once dried. But my stocking caught the running of the feathers; I will definitely be waterproofing my feathers next year!
On the road
Spice was not bluffing when they asked everyone to meet early on Monday at10:00am and Tuesday at 6:30am. On Monday I was able to catch the band at QRC where they were finishing up lunch. Once on the road, the vibes was nice but I was surprised at the small number of masqueraders. A lot of persons especially in Paprika wore their costume top with shorts. Others chose regular tops or tees and a boy shorts that matched the colour of their section.
On Tuesday after getting my fab make up by Makeda at Shades of Sugar, I met the band late AGAIN and missed the savannah stage L. The numbers had increased by Tuesday but I would estimate that it was a little under 1000. I had no problem with this…I would rather be in a medium band than fight up in a large band. Everyone looked great in their costume and after taking 20 minutes to put on my corset, I was extremely satisfied (real pressure that morning with all dem hooks). It was the best costume I’ve worn in years. The colors for each costume really stood out and corresponded with the theme for each section. Despite what was said initially about the band, there was a wide variety of women, but it was a dominantly young band, not teeny bopper-young, but there wasn’t much of a mature crowd. People were obviously having a good time but some sections had more excitement than others. Paprika, Sea Salt, Brown Sugar, Scotch Bonnet and Cardamon had the most vibes especially when crossing the stage. One of our section leaders, Jason has to be commended for really trying to hype up our section which was difficult especially when the DJ failed to do so.
Food and Drink
The lunch options were wide: International, Creole, Barbeque and Vegetarian. On Monday I opted for the Creole which included fried rice, garlic chicken, chunky veg and toss salad which was very tasty. On the Tuesday, I opted for the International which included a Caribbean chicken (baked), vegetable rice, creamy potatoes and toss salad (which tasted the same as the Creole; but I ain’t no expert). However, there could have been more table and chairs or blankets to sit on. There were three drinks trucks and drinks were flowing and the bartenders were efficient. However, you had to be over 6 feet to reach the bar! It’s a good thing the hubby was tall. And kudos to the bartender for being great lip readers! Also, at no point on the both days was I told that a particular drink was finished (But no more coconut water on Tuesday unless you were taking it with alcohol); so drinks were flowing.
Misc
The rope team worked hard for most of the time but started disappearing slowly from about 6:00pm; I guess they were tired too (but that’s yuh job). I like the idea of a small band as it did not attract much stormers (plus we never had any big celebrities except for the big man on the scene, Carlos John!). I am glad to say that there weren’t much incidents of the Random Guy Syndrome (RGS) and you were free to wine by yourself, with your girls, yuh man, or the RG, but it was all up to you. The extraction team was a good idea. I even witnessed them asking two girls from Harts to leave the band. Imagine people from Harts were storming Spice! Harts better lookout….I sense band migration in 2010. I found that the rope crew was respectful and didn’t try to wine on you or check you. One spectator on the Avenue even exclaimed: “Like dis band have more security than masqueraders!”
The wee wee truck was clean for the most part and stocked with all the necessities…even the Listerine!.. But around 5:00pm on Tuesday, it ran out of water but no scene, there was a lot of bottle water…that is if you could reach the bar….
My Peeves
The music for the most part was good as people were evidently having a good time from start to finish but there’s a definite thumbs down to Merry Perry. I know that he and Rocky go way back but this sound had no idea on how to play for a road march. He played very few songs and the mixes were awful. He took no time to hype up the crowd at the judging points or even to ask the crowd what they wanted to hear. I think the other DJ was Omega ( correct me if I’m wrong) who played much better; doh mind he leave scotch bonnet and cardamom behind at Victoria Square and we had to act like Spanish and cross the stage there with no music! So more attention needs to be paid to the DJs and advise them on how to handle the crossing of the stage and somebody please slip Merry Perry a soca CD…
I would definitely like to collect my costume earlier; Carnival Saturday was too late but I must say that although it was late, I did get all of my costume pieces and the adjustments were done in a timely manner.
Next Year????
Big respect to Anya….boy that is a band leader!!!! She took a personal interest in everyone from registration to collection, to on de road. Even the hubby had to exclaim that he didn’t know that I knew the bandleader personally! On both days she made sure that everything was in place and she looked Fab at the same time while enjoying herself…and she introduced the band at each judging point…talk about multi tasking. Also, her dad and Nicholas had everything under control…those guys worked very hard. So next year I’m going back for sure…I really hope that the band doesn’t get much bigger and Spice recognizes that sticking to a medium size will work in their favor…look at what happen to Tribe and IP…it’s just more manageable.
Since August until Carnival, I was fed up of the same conversation:
-Who you playing with?
-Spice
-Spice? Who’s that?
-A new band
-Oh you mean a break away from Tribe?
-No, it’s just a new band
-*confused look on face*
So everyone learn it…SPICE on de road for 2010!!!!
Regards,
Cute Dougla
7 comments:
Hey....no Elements review Saucy?
Nice review. Will def check them out in 2k10
couldn't agree with d last part more!!!!...i swear now every1 knows who spice is...
who say spice 2k10!!!i dere!!
Yeah Dogla...
But I kinda like how Merry Perry Mixed... But I Agree with you on everything else. Spice really made it the best day of my life
Spice might be takin all ah I P business away. Then again, I P givin away dey business! LOL
carnival baby, every year we say the same thing and IP sells out! steups...lol
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