Island People 2011

Sneak peek of Island People's theme for 2011:

TRIBE Carnival 2010.. The Good, The Bad and the The Ugly!

Another Carnival has come and gone and I am still waiting for the "ultimate" experience from TRIBE. While I had a great time on Carnival Monday, as usual, I am left with a sense of de ja vu on my Tuesday experience . Lets start with the "good":

THE GOOD

My costume! I absolutely loved my costume, especially the fact that the finished product looked exactly like the prototype and I had no size or fit issues.In fact I had no issues from registration to collection. The designer/section leader of the section went above and beyond to ensure that everyone, especially the frontline were pleased with their costume and I will not hesitate to play in a costume by  this designer/section leader again. I vote this the best costume I have ever played in, it just keeps getting better, costume wise, each year.

Security was on point in TRIBE both Monday and Tuesday. I personally witnessed several persons being escorted out the band for not wearing or having the proper security wrist bands.I think TRIBE security has the hardest job on the road Carnival Monday and Tuesday, hats off  to you all.

The Heineken Club Zero Truck - A lifesaver from the scorching HEAT on both Monday and Tuesday IF you could get in. It was rocking, cool time inside the truck with as much Heineken as you could stomach.

I was impressed by the FRONTLINE for Zari, Charmeuse and Xi Ling Shi on the road. These costumes looked beautiful in person! Unfortunately I did not get to see many Individual costumes in person (I did see a few female Osage "Individuals" though.. hmmmm) but from the photos Charmeuse and Habotai were stunning!!

THE BAD

Stopping for lunch on both Monday and Tuesday was an exercise in patience. The rest stop had the standard tents and blankets with a special section with padded lounge chairs as well. On Monday I got to the lunch stop early,had lunch and then proceeded to fall asleep during the VERY long wait before we finally hit the road. The problem is the band is simply too big so when the first wave of masqueraders get to the lunch stop and have eaten the second and third wave of masqueraders keep streaming in. On Tuesday I was probably in the last wave of masqueraders, and though I was still able to get lunch , we had a little wait, but not as long as the other masqueraders who got their early and intimated that they were tired waiting!

There are not enough rest rooms at the lunch stop for the sheer number of masqueraders in TRIBE. It baffles me that there are not at least four rest room stations set up around the park for both male and female. As usual the rest room area for the ladies was stocked with all the necessary items for masqueraders to freshen up but as a TRIBE veteran I am no longer impressed by all these extras and would prefer extra toilets instead!

The male costumes looked like CRAP with the exception of Silk of Rajasthan. After looking at some of the gorgeous ladies the men looked almost comical in those insipid headpieces, shorts that were too tight and whatever little bit of trimming thrown their way. Really if the men are going to be given basically board shorts why are they paying close to $3000.00TT? 

Being the last section, what a trip! On Monday I did not stay with my section in position number LAST; we were mixed in with the other sections somewhere in the middle. Great experience could not complain. On Tuesday I stayed with my section until we got to the Savannah. For the most part the experience in the back was not bad at all, we crawled to the Savannah with music and drinks and it was fine. When we got to the Savannah however is when all hell broke loose. 

The masqueraders were very exuberant, rearing up to cross stage and security tried to pluck some of the stragglers from the section, including those in other sections, and did an ok job of it. The front line ladies were allowed to go in front by the guys in the section who were chanting "Loulan! Loulan!" and those who got to the front managed to cross in one group however those stuck behind just crossed in the mob. There was no demarcation really in how we crossed the judging point, no assistance security wise for the section leader to get this organised even though my friend in Mulberry, two sections ahead said that staff were on hand to allow their frontline  to cross first. I guess the staff got fed up by the time they got to our section.

The other issue was that our truck went speeding ahead, I barely heard the music as we crossed the "stage" and I was to the FRONT of the section, the rest of the section crossed to the music truck of the band behind. I think it was an absolute disservice to put the last section with the MOST POPULAR DJ TRUCK! That was NOT a bonus it just encouraged everyone to want to be in the back, and while it was fine in the morning, crossing at the Savannah was just a melee. Suffice to say I was not at the back with my section after that. 

THE UGLY

I am not even going to elaborate on the issues other people had with their Individual and Frontline costumes having to fight for space, I am not going to mention the fact that some Individuals were jostled by the President's security and were at first not even allowed to go ahead of the parade to display their costumes that cost thousand upon thousands of dollars nor will I mention that some of these masqueraders only collected their backpacks just before crossing stage. However I will say that many of the issues they experienced were caused by one major factor; TRIBE IS TOO DAMN BIG! 

What happened to listening to your masqueraders when each year we have been calling for a smaller band and each subsequent year it keeps growing? Seriously, I was at both the front of the band and the back and it was just a mob of people.. a MOB. I felt like I was in Poison, circa 2004! And as I had a dreadful time WAITING In 2004 for the band to inch up Charlotte Street, I felt the same sense of Deja Vu yesterday!  TRIBE is the new Poison! And we all see how Poison ended up!

Imagine getting to the band before 7:30AM only to cross the Savannah SEVEN hours later! We crawled, under the most intense heat ever, to the Savannah so slowly a turtle would have moved faster! Not to mention the drinks truck left us and we had to inch to the Savannah dying of thirst because it took SO long. Why were we stuck in one spot for so long when we did not even go to downtown?! This was hands down my worst Carnival Tuesday experience on the road in years. The afternoon portion was somewhat tolerable but again, the band was just SO big that even coming up Ariapita Avenue was a squeeze between the ropes, spectators and security. You literally had to find a nook or space behind a truck to come up for air! 

I can see if this was your first experience with TRIBE, as it was in Poison, you may have had a good time. But being a veteran TRIBE masquerader I am left jaded and looking for that "ultimate" experience that was the hallmark of TRIBE in the years gone by. Like Poison the band has outgrown many of the masqueraders who were a part of the initial core group and I am afraid that in a few years, unless something happens to curb the numbers, the band will implode due to the fact that it cannot grow any bigger without masqueraders having to pay the price. After spending so much money on costumes and for the "experience" having to jostle and fight for space on the road it stopped being fun and was too much for me to bear this year. Only time will tell if I even consider playing mas for Carnival 2011, much less with TRIBE, after Carnival 2010 I am most ardently considering a break! That is unless something  entices me for another Carnival.. another year... 

So, how was YOUR Carnival experience? Give me the good, the band and the ugly!

Carnival Tuesday Photos

Monday Mas!

TRIBE, still as massive as ever, have a great time on the road today, be safe and extra careful. Here are a FEW pics from on the road yesterday....

Carnival Coverage Live

If you are looking for LIVE Carnival  2010 coverage please check C News which is the offical Carnival station. You can pay per view at C News website or view for FREE here:

http://www.tvchannelsfree.com/watch/6228/C-News---Trinidad.html

And also visit the National Carnival Commission for scheduled stream of Carnival Events HERE.

TRIBE Size Issue Resolved For One Eri Masquerader

I was at first most upset with the sizing of my bra... ok, I was pissed as hell... my 34dd's were spilling out from all sides.

I called Tribe to complain, and they told me to come by Cascadia so they can switch (without any attitude) and I was actually surprised that it was so easy.

None of the bra samples that they had fit properly, so they opted to send me to their seamstress to measure me to get my bra made.

I am really pleased with the level of service they displayed, to me and the other masqueraders who needed adjustments, while I was there. They were VERY accommodating. They called me to let me know when the bra was ready. Perfect fit, and the design on very pretty, and did not seem rushed in any way.

Island People Mas Delivery - Review

I am an international masquerade playing in Island People Taal section. Basically we decided to have our costumes delivered. We sorted out our delivery before we arrived into the country by telephoning the Mas Camp and booking a slot over the internet.

We flew in on the 9th February so we decided to have our costumes delivered on the 11th between 8-12 in the morning. To cut a long story short we wait till gone 12:30 for our costume, when they didn’t arrive we called the Mas Camp. The Island People representative was very helpful she explained that there had been some confusion with our delivery date, they thought we arriving on the 11th so our costumes were going to get delivered on the 12th.

The IP representative then took my contact details and she told me that she would call the delivery service and try and get our costumes delivered right away. Ten minutes later the IP representative called me back to say our costumes would be delivered within 30 minutes, which It was. I was shocked. When our costumes arrive they looked better in real life and guess what Saucy, nothing was missing from the boxes and we had all the correct sizes we order.

So I hope IP are this organised on the road so the fun carries on. However my friend has a Caspian Sea Frontline costume and she is not happy, beside the costume collection being

absolute madness by having all the international masquerades collecting on Saturday and Sunday why????, we wait hours for her costume the actually costumes back piece looks nothing like the prototype, she really vex.

Three happy IP masquerade’s and one vex Spice masquerade so far it all could change on the road

First Look at Taal Frontline

Prototype

Finished Product

First Look At Kindred Spirit

Prototype

Finished Product

First Look At Kalpana Frontline

Hi Saucy,

Yes I'm late. But better then never.

First my experience in collecting my costume.

Went to Sonia Mack's Camp. WHERE I registered was not the same place to go collect my costume.

Arrived at Diego Martin camp. Went to back of building and received my chits and band.

To the front... I was given my costume. However when the young lady was going over my pieces, I noticed that the extra bra I ordered was NOT what I was shown at the registration.
( The style was my deciding factor) instead of the triangle bikini bra I was now given the usual bra issued and told that's what it has.

THEN, I noticed, I had no Pasties..

So when I asked about them, I was told that my receipt did not show I wanted Pasties. HOWEVER, the costume box Blatantly showed the costume pieces, with Pasties included.

So they sent someone to find them. Then the illustrious Mz. Mack comes out, with a pair of pasties... One of them having no adhesive cover.

So I asked what am I to do with that!

Long and short, Mz. Mack advised that I buy pasties and use them and stick the designed ones over it.

*sigh* This is my last IP year. I love my costume, but come on man IP, after all this time... Still... Treating ppl like second rate / beggar customers after I forked out $4125 for my costume? Epic Fail.

Everything else was in order though.

Have a safe carnival all.

Prototype

Finished Product

First Look at Black Indian

Prototype

Finished Product

Headpiece

Plait

Jacket

Trousers

Apron

Shoe Covers and Bag

First Look At Thailand

Prototype

Finished Product

Corset Option

One Of These Things Is Not Exactly Like The Other

You may have noticed that up until now I have refrained from commenting on any of the costume photos sent in by blog readers, however in this instance I cannot NOT comment as they affect my friends  who have some obvious costume complaints and are not satisfied with the final product. As these are my friends I am compelled to say something especially given that they are also not happy with the bullshit served to them with a smile!

First up, Wings of Isis frontline:

Prototype

Finished Product

While I cannot argue that the finished headpiece does not look nicely decorated it is glaringly obvious that the 25 or so  18 inch  Ostrich plumes from the prototype are missing on the headpiece my friend collected. 

The reason my friend was given for the stripped down headpiece was that the plumes were removed after the headpiece was tested for "weight".This change in design was done without informing the masqueraders in the section and adding insult to injury the masquerader was NOT given a cape (which comes with costume) because they had to do "extra" work on her special corset (which she had made on her own and delivered to be decorated).

Prototype

Corset with the "extra" work that 

eliminated the need for a cape

Are you kidding me Spice? So, removing the plumes was not enough to JUSTIFY giving this woman a cape? For the life of me I cannot see what was done "extra" on the corset seeing that the monokini is FULLY decorated and the corset is not. That bullshit excuse would be akin to TRIBE telling me no leg pieces because I have a bigger bra than an A cup and it took more gems to decorate! 

My other friend is extremely unhappy with her Caspian Sea backpack :

Prototype

Finished Product

click for large view of closeup

As you can see the feathers on the backpack my friend was given are NOT the colour on the prototype; the periwinkle blue feathers have been replaced and not only that, the feathers they have been replaced with are DIRTY (see closeup image)! And while Spice's excuse to her was that the feathers represent the colour of the sea and the prototype on the website has been "touched up" I have photos taken at Spice's Media Launch with the said same prototype and the colours do NOT look touched up to me:

So this leaves my friend in Wings of Isis looking for a cape to PURCHASE or MAKE two days before Carnival Tuesday after spending close to $1000.00US on a costume that is missing feathers! And, my friend in Caspian Sea left with the choice of either spending MORE money in addition to the $933.00US she has spent on the costume, to fix it to her liking OR not playing mas at all! 

Now tell me, do you think, in any realm of the imagination that this is fair to the masqueraders? Bandleaders, first rule of business the customer is ALWAYS right and instead of the excuses these two ladies could have been given some sort of recompense and alternatives to leaving costume collection unhappy, after all they PAY FOR DAT!

Soca Monarch Results

Groovy Soca Monarch

4th Patrice Roberts

3rd Rikki Jai

2nd Faye Ann Lyons

1st Sherwyn Winchester

Power Soca Monarch

4th Tallpree

3rd Shal Marshall&Screws

2nd Faye and Lyons

1st J.W. & Blaze

First Look At Wings of Isis

Prototype

Finished Product