Pulse 8 2011 Review

Hi Saucy,

I would like to give a review of Pulse 8. Let me preface this review by saying that this is my first year playing mas. I played with three of my friends, and we are all overseas masqueraders. Other than information received from T&T family and friends, and your blog, we had no idea what to expect.

REGISTRATION

Registration was a breeze. We registered online and were able to get into our section, Rosella Risqué. Three of us played front line, and one backline. The only part that we didn’t like was having to pay using Western Union. The fees and the conversion rates were not ideal. Lucky thing that we stayed at a bed and breakfast, and the owner was kind enough to pay on our behalf and we gave her the money through PayPal. That was great. The band should add PayPal in the future.

COLLECTION

Our collection was a nightmare. Two of us went on Carnival Friday to take care of the entire group. Of course, payment was easy. However, when we went to pay, we were not told that our costumes were incomplete, which is the only reason why we paid in full. Had we have known, it would have been a much different story. However, we paid and went outside to pick up our costumes. They were all wrong. First of all, we all were to have monokinis, and none of us did. Then, they did not have our headpieces or backpacks. We were told to come back in an hour and everything would be ready. After reading this blog, I knew better. We kept calling in to get a status, not ready. We even went back Saturday afternoon, still not ready. We got our headpieces and monokinis late Saturday and they were BEAUTIFUL. We were hot that the frontline headpieces were not significantly larger than the backline other than the height with the ostrich feathers, but they were still fabulous. Great, on to the backpacks that were not ready. On Sunday, after getting the run around, I called to give them a piece of my mind. Even after yelling, the section leader was calm and understanding of our disappointment and frustration, and assured we would get them “in time”. Monday morning, about an hour after the band was to meet, the owner showed up with our backpacks. They were not finished, and at this point, we had it. They did offer to either refund the entire amount of the costume and we not play, or they would refund the backpack amount and we still play. I wanted to refund everything. However, my better half advised that we had come all this way and invested in boots and makeup, jewels, etc. and we should experience Mas. So, we went ahead and took the costumes as is, and doctored them up Monday night. I must say, the entire time, even though we were upset and irate, the management team and owners were wonderful. They were calm and apologetic, and wanted to come to a resolution. After hearing of other’s costume nightmares, ours pales in comparison. However, all bands need to get it together. We pay a lot to play, and at the end of the day, export or whatever, they need to ensure that masqueraders get what they pay for.

MONDAY

So, the two of us who were the most calm sucked it up and played on Monday. We were able to text the owner to get the location of the band, and they were just about to cross the stage. We found them easily, and fell in line. Everyone in the band was so nice. We met a lot of people, and there was a good mix of people. Crossing the stage was orderly and we really enjoyed it. We jumped, danced, and everyone showed us how to really do it up for Carnival Tuesday. It was a lot of fun, and definitely a work out. After crossing, our drink trucks met up with us immediately, and we were able to freshen up with water/liquor. We then chipped through the streets, moving the entire way. The only time we got held up was at the two judging points, but we didn’t wait more than 30 minutes or so. Lunch and snacks were really good, and it was easy to maneuver between the drink trucks and the bathrooms. Monday was a great day.

TUESDAY

Again, we met up with the band late, and made it just in time to the Savannah to cross the stage. Again, we easily found the band (we missed meeting them at the designated location) by texting the section leader. As soon as we got there, we began to take pics with other members in our section and others. I think that was one of the best parts of the experience. The people really made it for us. Everyone was there to have a great time. It was less about getting all the glory on the stage or being better than others. Just good fun. We were the second or third band to cross the stage, and again, it was orderly. People respected one another, and when one section was off and security came in, they did not try to rush the stage again. Front line was allowed to go on first, and backline followed behind quickly. We took tons of pictures and had the best time on the stage. Afterwards, we were happily exhausted. Again, the drink trucks met up with us quickly and we were on our way. The rest of the day was a blur of fun, dancing, meeting new people, picture taking, etc. Food was less of a concern for us as we just needed some carbs and energy. We didn’t expect much. The drinks were wonderful, easily accessible, and the bar staff was great. Fast, nice, and on point. I also LOVED having the bathroom truck. Finally, I got a blister on my leg from the zipper on my boot, and we had a first aid van. They fixed me all up and I was on my merry way. We really felt like our section leaders went out of their way to ensure that we had fun. They checked on us periodically and made sure we had drinks and were having a great time. Finally, I have to shout out Security. They were THE BEST. I saw them kick out many who did not have wristbands immediately. LOL. They even kicked my husband out at one point after he got past the ropes (he didn’t know any better). They did a great job managing the ropes, letting people in and out. We felt very safe and security really had our safely as their first priority.

All in all, I have every intention of coming back to T&T for Carnival 2K12, and have the same intention to play with Pulse 8 again. My husband was thoroughly jealous that he didn’t play – he chipped along side of the band on Tuesday (outside the ropes). He will be playing in 2K12 too! LOL. Through the costume issues, the customer service was excellent, people were great, we didn’t get lost in the big band, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I know others really love the big bands. I think it’s a personal preference, as I couldn’t imagine playing with a larger band.

Side note: Saucy, your blog is WONDERFUL. Especially for a newbie overseas masquerader, I knew what to expect and this really made my experience. THANK YOU!!

Pulse 8 Out Of The Woods The Review

The idea of a "free" band launch, in the form of a pub crawl was a novel one that Pulse 8 pulled off well on Friday night, complete with big truck and costumed models as they bar hopped along Ariapita Avenue. Prior to this the Media were shown the costumes at the band's new mas camp on the corner of Luis Street and Ariapita Avenue, in spite of cramped viewing area I was able to get an upclose look at all the costumes and I have to say that Pulse 8 knows their market well and these costumes cater to them. Nothing spectacularly "out of the box", for the most part cute wearable costumes with that Pulse 8 hallmark.

Rosella Risque - Or should I say Brazilian Macaw version 2.0. This costume was designed by Sandra Hordatt with Richard Dookhdeen and they have basically  repeated one of their best  collaborative designs with this one. Maybe if they had used another colour combination it would not scream Brazilian Macaw (TRIBE 2009) every time you look at it, however in spite of that it is one of the strongest costumes in the band.

Wild Ting - I have to admit I think this costume has a lot going on and can be seen as a bit busy, I personally would not have used the seed beaded fringe on the bra. However I love that the waist band looks like something teenager Pebbles would wear on the Flinstones and it is actually quite sexy without using the typical beads.

Bois Bande - The pants are the favourite part of this costume for me because I think it would appeal to the ladies who may want more coverage but still get the tease of a hint of leg so it is not that covered up. The bra is under decorated, but it is a nice shade of yellow.

 Naughty Nymph, Misty Morning and Bamboo Patch -  I put these three costumes together because I have the same opinion on them all, simple and cute costume just about sums it up. You know the costumes that look nice, but are nothing extra special. I do like the shape of the bra on Naughty Nymph as it looks like a short corset and the shade of blue for Misty Morning is quite nice, though I am not too sure if I like the metal circles falling from the belt. Of the three my favourite is Bamboo Patch because I like the lime green and bronze colour combination (the model sold this costume).

Poison Berry - There is just something about the  shape and design of the gold part of the headpiece that does not appeal to me, otherwise another safe, albeit generic, costume that adds a skirt which takes it up a notch to interesting.

Flambeaux - This costume alternates between my least favourite of all the costumes and then I look at it again and it is not so bad. I do not like the petals used to decorate the belt and bra, I think that is the one element that I dislike the most. I like the fabric tendrils and even the backpack as this is one of the few frontline costumes in the band.  And while the colour combination is nice and has worked in other sections before with all that is going on with the costume it borders on a tad but cosquel for me. As is the case with some of the other costumes however, I think just a bit more could have been done to the costume to make it look spectacular. As much as I like the fabric tendrils they look rather skimpy and scant, more could have been used on the backpack for instance and the backpack surely needs more feathers. Minor details that for me might have solidly made this one a "like" for me.

As for the men, on the night we were shown males in Bois Bande and Misty Morning and one male who was there expressed it very succinctly when he said it looks as if they design the female costumes then decide that they should stick a male in there; generic and boring as has been the case with most of the male costumes this far. Again I have to say the best male costume of the lot is Rosella Risque , followed by Wild Ting (shown in the brochure). Rosella Risque male costume and more photos can be seen at their fan page Rosella Risque as they appear to be a private section with separate marketing (we got independent flyers at the Media launch for that section).

Pulse 8 Out Of The Woods Video

Review to come soon:

Pulse 8 Pub Crawl !

Some more details on Pulse 8's Band Launch which takes the form of a pub crawl along Ariapita Avenue tomorrow evening have emerged. I am especially looking forward to seeing costumes from Pulse 8 as not only do they restart the Band Launches in earnest, after an unusually quiet lull in September, I also heard that there was a costume collaboration by Richard Dookhdeen and Sandra Hordatt (colourful bird) to look out for! 

Take time out on Friday 1st October 2010 to celebrate Pulse8’s fifth anniversary.

It’s also symbolic that our Carnival 2011 presentation is “Out of the Woods”.

Our launch starts at Pulse8 new band house, Corner Alfredo Street & Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, where the media will preview our “live” mannequins in full carnival regalia.

Then it’s Pulse8 on de move along the Avenue!

Follow the truck with the costumed girls as we do de bar crawl to your favourite liming spots along the Avenue.

This is how we will roll………

Date:           Friday 01 October 2010

7:15 pm – 8:30 pm                Media Presentation  

Cor. Alfredo Street & Ariapita Avenue

8:30 pm- 10:00 pm                  Pub Crawl – Pulse8 on the Move on the Avenue -

Costumed Girls stop at the favourite liming spots on d’Avenue

10:00 pm                        Back to the Band House- 

Cor. Alfredo &  Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook