I missed Khepri Kulture’s launch cuz I old and pop down but somehow I managed to stay awake long enough to attend Erup’s Launch at George Washington House.

Parking

When I arrived there weren’t many patrons so parking was easy. As usual with this particular venue, people park along the Garrison Savannah whilst trying their best not to impede the customers of the business women and men who work there.

Venue

George Washington House is a hit or miss venue for me. It’s nice if you don’t have a large number of people because it gets hot very quickly.  The stage took up most of the space in the venue but that was a good thing, I think because we were able to see the details of the costumes easily from the crowd.

Drinks

Wunna tired of me and gin yet?

^^ Rhetorical question

The bar was pretty decent especially the Stoli cocktail bar which gave you gummy worms in your drink.The bartenders were awesome and even modified my cocktail to accommodate my allergies.

Vibes

Man, look, de ting was dead and I don’t even feel like it was for lack of trying.

Big Red-

*TURN AROUND FOR BIG REDDDDDD TOUCHHH YUH TOESS FUHHH BIG REDDDD*

I real sorry but my love for that dibby classic knows no bounds and I will stop anywhere I am to sing and dance to it.

But I digress.

Big Red and the other DJs were awesome and played some really good sets but the crowd just wasn’t into it. Level with me man. Elections got wunna? De economy got wunna? Wunna get horn?

But also I won a bottle of champagne because I knew the theme of last year’s band. I pulled up the blog on my phone and found the name. Y’all should probably bookmark this site if you want to win tings too.

Presentation of costumes

The theme this year was “Hidden Treasures”.

I want Erup to give a master class on theme portrayal because they always execute.This year they scaled back on the drama and theatrics of last year and said “huh! tekk dese  costumes. Like dem and guh home.”

The female costumes were beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I think they really took a step back from their male costume designs this year which is a big disappointment for me tbh.

I have two strong favourites (butmy pics sucked more than usual so I’m linking to their Instagram for you.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhqAgNwl3Kx/?taken-by=eruptheband

White Diamonds had me gagging!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhp9V7ylnz1/?taken-by=eruptheband

HEL-LO Ametrine!!

You can keep up to date on their Instagram page here.

Models

To quote fellow blogger Luke Lascaris ” What I learned tonight is that a bad bitch turns 18 every day”. Lemme tell you the way I cackled. Lmao

He’s right though. There were so many fresh faces at the launch. They danced, they strutted and brought an energy to the stage. I thought it was smart to put the darker models in costumes that made their skin pop and it made the costume come alive.

* Do Dixie is affiliated with no band or business for Crop Over. I do run Juck Down, a 12- week women only training program designed to make women Crop Over sexy and do dixie on the road during the season (and yes this is a completely shameless plug)*

Erup is a newbie to the Crop Over game but definitely not a band to be slighted.

Parking

The parking wasn’t organised and patrons slotted in where they could as close to the venue as they could get. There wasn’t any additional security lighting.

Venue

The Barbados Museum is always a nice venue for a party, with its picturesque buildings and intimate feel, however, the stage took up most of the available space and it was quite hot for patrons after a while.

Drinks

Y’all dem ain’t had no gin but I used to this now and drank some good rum and Cokes instead. The bar was a little slow but the bartenders were pleasant so I didn’t mind too much.

Vibes

There was plenty of vibes at the launch. From the line to enter the venue patrons were bouncing to the music and clearly just ready to have a good time. When I arrived, Scott Le Rock and Mali Fresh were playing and several patrons were wukkin up and just generally moving to the music.

After the presentation of the costumes Stiffy (hey boo if you’re reading this… I LAV YOUUUUUU).

*ahem*

Stiffy performed and hyped the crowd up even further.

Presentation of costumes

Erup’s theme is Beyond Borders. I expected your typical countries of India, China…you know… all the go-to exotic countries but nah! They brought some interesting portrayals of festivals in Nepal, Morroco and Ghana.

Bay *clap* beeeee *clap* did they commit to their theme.

Each section was introduced by a dance which included moves and elements from each culture they were portraying. It really felt like they did their research and put thought into developing the theme.

 

 

Erup’s costumes were Fan-tas-tic! FANTASTIC you hear me. There were no run of the mill costumes! There was definitely thought put into the design of the male costumes, which is definitely a breath of fresh air for me. All of the costumes had a unique element and I can’t say that I have an overwhelming favourite.

 

 

 

 

If I did have a favourite it would be the section designed by Akin of Stronjeh International.

 

 

 

This launch was so well produced. Kudos to the production coordinators, Shari Pollard-Payne and Justin Poleon (I want to come back as him in my next incarnation. He is everything. Lawd). Their dance choreography, choice of diversely shaped dancers was refreshing. It was truly a beautiful display of Bajan talent.

 

You can keep up to date on their website here.

Models

If I wanted models for a band launch I would hire every last one of Erup’s models. They all did the job of showcasing the costume and still bringing a vibe to each section. It’s obvious they were well trained. The models were so good that my friends and I asked each other if they had to attend a wukkup and vibe audition to be in the launch.

There was a wide variety of skin tones and body shapes and sizes, which is so refreshing because honestly, it becomes frustrating to have to guess how a costume would look on your colour or shape.

Erup’s second year showing was fabulous and I had a fantastic time. If they are able to replicate the launch for the road they will easily take their place as one of the Kadooment Day titans.

*Disclaimer (cuz people love to run dem mout): Do Dixie is affiliated with no band or business for Crop Over. I do run Juck Down, a 12- week women only training program designed to make women Crop Over sexy and do dixie on the road during the season (and yes this is a completely shameless plug)*