Break Biche; to miss attendance at school/work, deliberately and without legitimate excuse.
Greetings peeps, Kermit here again.
The crew and I are walking toward Club Tsunami in Chaguaramus to Break Biche, an all-inclusive event on Carnival Friday from 2pm-8pm hosted by the Sunny Side Up Crew. If you recall, my first fete for the season was Voodoo which was also hosted by the SSU Crew and it was very good despite it being a brand new fete. This was the second year for Break Biche and I was expecting great things and I am happy to report that this fete exceeded even my lofty expectations.
We got there around 4 pm and sauntered into the fete with nary a line at the gate. This was slightly surprising since security at Voodoo was so tight (with all the S.T.U.D.s and everything) I expected something similar today but I guess this was a more genteel clientele and that kind of “flying squad” protection would not be necessary. We entered through the familiar Battery entrance, picked up our blue cups and bounced up the DC massive seated around a table looking all relaxed and well fed. After documenting their state of non-inebriation (i.e. the “before” pics) we made our customary circle to scope out the scenes. As you walked in, the food was set up immediately on your left. Continuing into the party, you pass several tables (around which one can recline and look relaxed and well fed) and then you reach the main area; the bar is to your right and on your left, with its back to the sea, is the stage. It was not a huge stage but it was just the right size for this fete. Past this main area I saw my Absolut girls and the bartenders extraordinaire of the Absolut bar.
HAPPY HAPPY! JOY JOY!
I immediately reacquainted myself with the lovely ladies and obtained a delicious and refreshing beverage. This was starting out nicely. The folks that were here looked like they were having a nice time sipping their drinks and enjoying the beautiful sun and seaside vibe. There was a cool breeze coming off the ocean, DJ Cin was spinning hot tunes and everything was real beautiful and serene. I was reminded briefly of the A.W.O.L. fete just before it got out of hand but I thought to myself that surely these people will not be getting on with that kind of behavior. Surely, I thought, this exclusive and intimate event could not possibly turn out like that. Boy was I wrong! It all began with Karma.
Karma, the first of the two bands that would be performing that night, took the stage and began jamming some serious chutney soca which immediately brought the masses to life. You have to understand peeps, by now, it is late afternoon and most of the patrons have been consuming the delicious (and nutritious) alcoholic beverages for several hours. They have also been chatting and mingling and being generally quite social and well behaved for a Carnival Friday fete. All they needed was a catalyst to start the reaction and get the fete bubbling and Karma was just the ticket. The crowd gathered stage side and began to loosen up their waists. Karma regaled us with a lively chutney set then launched into the rest of the mainstream hits which had the crowd eagerly responding to their energy. I had never heard of this band until today but I heartily enjoyed their performance and spirit plus after seeing virtually the same bands performing the same tunes at the fetes, it was refreshing to see a newcomer (at least to me).
After Karma’s exhilarating performance, the natives were now fully awake and restless. No longer could they simply mix and mingle as their blood had been heated and it called for action. The DJ carpe’d the diem by changing gears and upping the tempo of the music and again the crowd eagerly responded. It is now early evening and we could see Roy Cape setting up and that could mean only one thing: it would soon be time to get TUSTY! To keep pace with the DJ’s selections, we needed to make sure we were hydrated therefore we redoubled our efforts at the bar. By the time Blaxx and Trini Jacobs were ready to go, so were we. The sun had set, we were tight like a crapaud bamsee and all the Carnival Fridayness that we had suppressed all day was on the verge of breaking free; all we needed was a spark when.....
I DON’T KNOW ‘BOUT YOU BUT I COME OUT RIGHT NOW TO GET ON BAD BAD BAD BAD, BAD BAD BAD BAD
and BOOM, de jamishness exploded and it was chaos in de place. I can’t even begin to describe the actions and antics of the crowd and the pictures I took couldn’t begin to capture the moment. For the next half an hour, being at Break Biche was like being in the middle of a riot while wining; all you could see was a seething, heaving crowd with a foot fling up here, a hand passing there and steady wining everywhere! Trini Jacobs sing and de people went mad. Blaxx joined she and they went madder that that! A drunk big belly man pranced across de stage and nobody batted an eye or missed a beat. After a while, people had to slow down to take a breath and look around to see who they had been wining on (and in some instances introduce themselves) so the band segued into the section of the program called “Let’s Invite Random People in the Audience to Sing Tusty”.
As I had seen at several fetes earlier in the week, this activity has the potential to provide some real kicks since the people that go on stage to take part invariably are 1. Quite inebriated, 2. Seriously overestimate their vocal abilities, 3. Forget the words (and in any case can’t sing them as fast as Blaxx), and 4. Are REALLY quite inebriated. Of the courageous people that took part, three stood out in my mind which is not to say that the rest were not worthy of comment. Oh no, I caught plenty kicks from every performer but these three were head and shoulders above the rest.
The first fellow had a kinda insane look about him but he was memorable because he would launch into the chorus and halfway through he would stop singing AND TELL THE BAND “LOW LOW LOW”. He was up there in a wife-beaters wheeling de people an dem professional band! The first time he did it, they did as he said more so out of surprise than anything. Still, we all got a good laugh out of it and they passed the mic to the next Trinidad Idol. True to form, he was definitely inebriated but we weren’t sure if he forgot the words or if he was just speaking a different language. No one could understand what de hell he was saying until he got to the BAD BAD BAD BAD part then the band kicked in and the crowd went wild. Hilarious! The final impromptu performer was the most memorable because her rendition was clearly the most passionate of the night. Yes peeps, I said HER rendition. All this time, the band was calling for any fellas to come up and sing and this young lady decided that she had enough of that! She stated her case quite loudly that none of the men really impressed her so far so she wanted to sing and besides, women are tusty too and in some cases even more tusty than men! It was as though Moses himself parted the crowd as a lane instantly opened up to allow this young lady access to the stage and while her singing voice was not as…ahem...musical as some, her “wining while singing” skills more than made up for any tonal deficit. After that display, Trini Jacobs, not to be outdone on her own stage, resumed the show with a wining demonstration of her own which one stage side couple embraced whole heartedly and took to another level. (The move is called the “Back-to-Front Donkey” for those of us of sufficient years to remember such foolishness.)
After that, all attempts at social behavior were abandoned and it was pure, hard core feteing for the rest of the night. It got to a point where you couldn’t just walk through the crowd anymore, you had to defensively wine your way through or you risked getting hip sprain. If you weren’t moving as one with the crowd, you were getting mashed up by the crowd; it was plain and simple. Sadly though, the fete ended (dammit) and as I drank my Battery-for-the-Road and looked around for some corn soup (which I didn’t find – dammit again) I reflected that this was the one of the BESSS fetes I had been to in a long time. The venue was intimate and just the right size. The people were there to have a good time and they could be as social as they pleased one minute then doing their best to wear out your waist the next. The DJ was excellent and both live bands were on point. The only complaint was that it ended too soon but isn’t that always the case with BESSS fetes. See you there in 2010.
Enjoy the pics, Sunny Side Up is next.
Kermit out.
