Summer Carnival season 2010 is here!

Ye, ye, last year we announced this in May but we are just busting this year! We even more hype than usual!

And the bands aren't holding back either - two bands from traditional August carnivals - Antigua's Myst and Barbados' Berger Boyz, have already launched, all in April... so why should we hold back!

In the words of Queen Fay-Ann ... let's go!

The Vincies and Lucians already have things well underway for their July carnivals which are July 5th & 6th and July 19th & 20th this year.

In SVG, Ahdrenalin is going hard with their presentation 'Western Mayhem- the Decline of Western Civilisation'. Check some of our faves.






[caption id="attachment_2273" align="aligncenter" width="270" caption="Material Girl (Photo credit: Ahdrenalin.com)"][/caption]






[caption id="attachment_2274" align="aligncenter" width="270" caption="Wings of Hope"][/caption]







[caption id="attachment_2275" align="aligncenter" width="270" caption="Exotic Delusion"][/caption]

Interestingly enough, even though the eagle-eyed Saucy over at Trinidad Carnival Diary has picked up at least one remix from Trini band D'Krewe, with Ahdrenalin's Nights of Debauchery being a dead ringer for D'Krewe's Sorceror, that costume was not even near our favourite so I guess it just goes to show...

Check out some more of our faves from St. Lucia Carnival's Just for Fun and their reimagining  of the Great Loves of the Past under the cut.






[caption id="attachment_2276" align="aligncenter" width="258" caption="Dr. Zhivago"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2278" align="aligncenter" width="253" caption="Bonnie & Clyde"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2277" align="aligncenter" width="252" caption="Paris and Helena"][/caption]

Up North, London's Notting Hill Carnival bands are also launching and Bacchanal Mas was one of the first out the gates. Their presentation this year is called Traditions and we're loving it, even though it too has its detractors on TCD. Someone said slyly that they should call it Traditions of Tribe - an obvious reference to Tribe's 2007 'Old Time Something'  which we featured and praised here on Islandista some years ago.

Here are two sections we especially loved - Pierrot Grenade (LOVE the headpiece interpretation!) and (blue?) Devils.






[caption id="attachment_2279" align="aligncenter" width="284" caption="Devils Frontline"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="294" caption="Pierrot Grenade headpiece"][/caption]

And here is how they translated in person at the band's launch a fortnight ago in London-town.






[caption id="attachment_2282" align="aligncenter" width="294" caption="Devils Frontline"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2283" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Pierrot Grenade"][/caption]

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Summer Carnival season 2010 is here!

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More costume bands from NYC to Bim

Week by week, Barbados' Crop-Over festival is heating up with more bands launching.

Small and mid-size bands such as Wednesday 2000, Jump and Ooutraje have all launched recently.

Our initial reaction to Wednesday 2000 was ... mehhhh. A lot of the costumes just were not cutting it, like these two selections below.




What's going on here? Did they spend all the money on the (admittedly nice) headpiece and just decide to forget about getting a waistpiece or decent leg bands or some appliques or someting to take de shame off the gold lame sports bra?




This costume also did not really do it for us. We get that it's supposed to be a colour splash hence all the different colours in the headpiece and in the appliques on the bra but it looks like federation. I actually prefer the guy's outfit. At least they bothered to get a waistband for this one though.

Some of the other costumes however were less mehhh. They did not make us swoon with excitement but they were wearable.







Now lest you think that we here at islandista are just philistines who adhere strictly to the 'bikini and beads' philosophy, that is not entirely true... not entirely! For instance, we are fans of the work done by small band Ooutraje which manages to span the gap between artistry and sexiness.

Their 2009 presentation, In the Beginning, is no different. The costumes are for the most part sexy and wearable yet they also actually (shock!) depict a theme - the beginnings of Barbados.

[caption id="attachment_1075" align="aligncenter" width="257" caption="Africans"][/caption]

While there are some elements that would give us pause in our quest for ultra-sexiness on the road, such as the jar/water vessel as the headpiece and the chains, we can see and appreciate where they are going with this and why. At least they are committed to the theme. I wonder if the face painting will be included too? That would make for a great stage presentation!




 



[caption id="attachment_1076" align="aligncenter" width="257" caption="Arawaks"][/caption]

 



We also really liked their Arawaks costume and this is actually less out there than the Africans costume. I also really, really like the costumes they have for the fellas. Too often a lot of the bands just give them a boxer shorts and some leg and arm bands and leave it at that. For the amount they have to pay, they deserve the full works too!


 



[caption id="attachment_1077" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Jump Promotions 2009 presentation 'Sweet for Days'."][/caption]

 



Jump has also launched (costumes above) and their prices are some of the best out for Crop-Over, especially considering that a lot of their costumes are quite decent and you still get the same perks as other bands - food, drinks, wee-wee truck etc.

Further afield, Ramajay mas launched their presentation for the 2009 Labour Day carnival in New York City.  The interesting thing I found about a lot of their costumes was that while they were not strong on some of the things we expect on our costumes like intricate and fully beaded waistbands in some instances or dramatic feathered headpieces in others, they had all these fascinating other details like spectacular backpacks (Rain and Green Jasper) or billowing wing-like arm pieces/capes (D'Amazons, directly below).  Check it.




 



[caption id="attachment_1078" align="aligncenter" width="257" caption="D'Amazons by Carnival Divaz"][/caption]

 



[caption id="attachment_1080" align="aligncenter" width="315" caption="Rain by Team BG"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1079" align="aligncenter" width="257" caption="Green Jasper by Fatal Angels"][/caption]

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Carnival Costume Review I - Island People

Ok, ok you might say the point is moot since all but one section (Sonia Mack's Paradisius) is sold out but I beg to differ. If you know the right strings to pull or the right sites to check, you can still get your costumes this close to Carnival.

To be honest, I am not overwhelmed by IP's presentation this year. The costumes are beautiful yes, but there is no real wow factor. For example, Carnival Tribe's 2007 presentation 'Old Time Someting' had that wow factor as I have discussed previously. Their 2009 presentation, Birds of a Feather is fantastic too - beautiful but actually depicting something. Full disclosure - Ihave a weakness/bias for costumes with lots of feathers  and big wing-like arm-pieces, which is probably why I love Tribe's presentation this year.

So now that you know that, it should come as no surprise that my favourite costume from IP's presentation is the hot-pink Touch costume.

[caption id="attachment_509" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Photo credit: islandpeoplemas.com"][/caption]

 

Featherrrrrrrrrrs! Purrrrty! I LAV it! I'm also pretty partial to their Midnight Bloom section.

[caption id="attachment_510" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Photo credit: islandpeoplemas.com"][/caption]

One costume that I am NOT impressed by is Afrodisiac. US$550 for this?! There is not enough all-inclusive food and drink to make me pay that much for such an ordinary-looking costume. There was so much more that could have been done with this theme.



The thing at the top leads to a teeny little burst of feathers. Mehhh. Dey even skimping on de beads. Booo!

On the other hand, we love the costume Dream. Yes, they have a big, feathered head-piece but the feathers are done in a way that is so ethereal and wispy that it really does seem dream-like.




That is it for now - obviously that is just a sample of IP's costumes and you can check out the rest at their site www.islandpeoplemas.com. Look out for more Carnival costume reviews in the coming weeks.

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Carnival coming!

Islandistas, it is that time of year again - as I logged on to the Trinidad Express site this morning I was feeling it! Their front page pic let you know that Carnival is definitely in the air. Of course, our fellow islandistas over at Trinidad Carnival Diary been feeling de Carnival feeling from when and they have lots of useful tips and advice over there where they breathe Carnival.

[caption id="attachment_497" align="aligncenter" width="321" caption="Photo credit: Curtis Chase for the Trinidad Express"][/caption]

Here at Islandista, we LOVE, love, LOVE Trinidad Carnival. Love it!

Unfortunately, we're in the middle of a recession so the likelihood of us making it down to TnT is slim to none - especially with the rampant eye-jooking going on by regional airlines these days. A few years back when we went to play mas, a ticket to TnT, even at Carnival time, was around US$150. When we went last summer, that same ticket was US$300-plus. In other words, more than TWICE as much!

These airline prices really crimping the islandista lifestyle - how can you island-hop, play mas from island to island, attend music festivals and holiday weekend events and watch cricket like a true islandista when LIAT and Bwee (ye ye Caribbean Airlines whatever) charging no less than US$250 for a plane ride that lasts as long as a maxi-taxi ride to town? Stupssseee...

Meanwhile, de eye-jookers are gloating that bookings are strong for them for Carnival. In an interview with the Express, CA CEO Phillip Saunders said:

"We have very strong bookings for Carnival, some flights are even fully booked. It shows whatever the economic situation is, people remain committed to traveling in the Carnival period."

Damn them. Still, do what you got to do islandistas. If I could squeeze out the vacation, I would squeeze out the money for Carnival too. Even in the midst of these hard times, yuh got to play mas - in fact, especially now.

Anyhow, we digress. CARNIVAL IS COMING! And we here at Islandista are determined to get into the vibe of it so any of you who are going to Carnival or living in Trinidad already have to make sure and help us.

The official launch of Carnival was Friday night and there were four big fetes  over the weekend to start the Carnival festivities -  the  St Francois All-Inclusive Fete,  the Soca in Moka All-Inclusive at Trinity College, the Blazing Soca Fire Fete put on by the Fire Services Association and the Amnesia New Inclusive.

In the coming weeks, we will be reviewing some of the Carnival band costumes, the music coming out of Carnival (which we found disappointing last year - hoping for better this year) and of course, reporting any suss and drama coming out Carnival!

Speaking of suss, we forgot to mention this one when we heard it. Apparently a big soca diva got a huge pay cheque for her New Year's Eve performance - the equivalent of ten grand per song! Unfortunately she only got to sing three songs at the swank NYE event at Barbados'  poshest 'platinum coast' resort before the dissatisfaction of the stoosh crowd forced management to ask her to roll out. tsk...

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Artistry vs. sexy - the mas dilemma

Beautiful ... but artistic?


(photo credit: Baje International)

It is getting close to the summer Carnival season in the Caribbean and its diaspora. In the next few months, St. Vincent, St.Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, Grenada, Toronto, London and New York will all hold carnivals (whew!)

Which brings the modern reveller to the eternal dilemma - do they choose artistry - the band leaders that will actually try to depict a theme and take time over creating costumes that will represent that theme?

Or do they choose sexiness - the band leaders of the most popular, thousands-strong bands who will glam up their bikinis with the most gorgeous and expensive beads, appliques and feathers but whose dedication to a theme extends only as far as to come up with some kind of name to go with the different sections that are defined almost solely by their colour.

To be honest, I cannot remember the theme that was depicted in the last several carnivals I jumped in - not in Barbados, nor in Trinidad. I remember the colours of each costume but not the theme the colours were supposedly depicting.

Take for instance, Barbados' Cable & Wireless Contact - one of the first major bands to launch in that island for the Crop-Over festival. The costumes are gorgeous and the entertainment on the road is going to be fantastic - Machel and Krosfyah. But what do the costumes with vague names like Radiance and Sensuous and Sassy and Virtuous really mean? What is the connection to the particular colour choices and so on?

As someone who appreciates West Indian culture and the specific artistry of the Carnival tradition it's bothering to me that I'm part of the bikinis and beads brigade that may well be stifling the life out of the true mas.

For this reason, some designers like Trinidad's Brian McFarlane have turned away from the bikinis and beads trend in recent years and gone in for more dramatic depictions like his 2005 Carnival presentation 'The Washing' (pictured below).



But ... the thing about costumes that are artistic is that they are often... well, a lot of cloth. Who wants to be covered up on Carnival/Crop-Over/Caribana/Labour Day? It's about freeing up and 'playing yuhself' as  Trinis would like to say.

When I see McFarlane's costumes on the road when I was playing mas in Trinidad I am awestruck - this I thought, was true 'high mas'. But in the boiling humidity, I was glad to be just be observing such costumes, not wearing them. Besides, my bikinis and beads were sexy!

I keep thinking there must be some happy medium. There must be out there costumes that satisfy my artistic conscience and my desire to be sexy and have minimal cloth to carry around on the road.

There are some bands that I find have done so in recent years, though none yet in my homeland unfortunately - it seems to be a straight toss-up between true artistry and sexiness here. You get either or, but not both.

However, one band I find has been pretty good with this has been Trinidad's Carnival Tribe. Their 2007 presentation 'Ole Time Someting Come Back Again' was great in my estimation. The outfits were sexy yet they had a true voice and you could see what they were depicting. Yet it was not over the top or cheesy with the depictions of old time mas characters like the Red Indian, Pierrot Grenade, Fancy Sailor and the  Midnight Robber.

Take a look.






I thought it was a pretty heartening sign. I was kind of disappointed when the next year they went back to gorgeous costumes that didn't really mean anything or attempt to depict anything. Like this one from their 2008 presentation Myths and Magic, which was called Mystique.



Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking modern day bandleaders for what they do ... or at least, I'm trying not to knock them too hard. It would be hypocritical of me because I do jump in their bands every year and I know it's just business. I have spoken with them and they get it - many of them came up in the carnival tradition, used to be active members of bands where they would actually help make their own costumes, enjyoing the camraderie and the smell of hot glue in the mas camps. But they are also businessmen and women and Carnival is a huge business nowadays.

I just wish that more bandleaders would find that happy medium that Tribe found in 07. I think it can be done. What says you islandistas?

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