Tag: dodixie

Baje International Launch 2017: This Is The Life

6 Comments

Baje are veterans in the Bajan costume game and as always their launch is highly anticipated by Crop Over lovers.

Parking

The parking was haphazard and people were parking as close as they could get to the venue. Unlike last year, I didn’t notice any extra security lighting or parking attendants.

Venue

George Washington House, I’m sure, is a great place to have a small intimate function, maybe a wedding reception, but, not for a venue with this many people.

Drinks

Looka! I dunno if they had gin but free rum punch was handed out at the door. I drank vodka most of the night because I was hoeing out myself for drinks. Not really, but the drinks were on the weak side but from what I saw there was a wide variety on hand.

Vibes

IMG_6982

 

Presentation of costumes

The theme of the band is This Is Life. I had no clue what the theme was prior to the launch so I didn’t have any expectations for the costumes.

A little birdie whispered to me that the costume presentation would start at 10:30, but we know that’s 11 or 11:30 Bajan time. True to form, the costumes came out at 11.

Y’all *audible sigh* I just felt underwhelmed.

Please don’t get me wrong most of the costumes were pretty…but they were just that… pretty…not the standout type that would make you start doing complex math to move your account from overdraft to purchase a costume.

The only section which stood out was the Firebird Section.

IMG_6851

Firebird Individual designed by Jin Forde and modelled by Leah Marville.  Giving us rich Middle Eastern trophy wife realness.

The male costumes, as with most bands, were the same remix of board shorts and nods to head and chest pieces. I didn’t think the male opening number could get any cheesier than last year but somehow they managed with a military boot camp style chant. Then they showcased the costumes to dancehall.

I still have not made the connection between the costumes and the theme.

You can see all of the costumes here.

Models

Again, gorgeous people with mostly little to no vibe.

There were, however a few bright sparks!

Megghan Michael is a stunner and brought an uptempo vibe to the stage.

Screen Shot 2017-04-30 at 8.15.58 PM

Raven modelled by fierce ass Megghan Michael.

The other bright spark was Gerston Blenman. Again, vibes grandfadda.

IMG_0172

At the end of the day, Baje costumes will look pretty on the road and I’m sure revellers will have a wonderful time but the launch just left me wanting more because I know they are capable of more.

*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)*

Zulu International Band Launch : Wanderlust

Leave a comment

Hello?…inside?

Inside?

*uses Foghorn Leghorn voice*

INSIDE!!

Yes. I’m back. With slightly more manners than last year but I’m back. I’ve finally gotten over the Carnival flu I picked up in Trinidad this year and nursing a serious tabanca. When I tell you this tabanca bad I am not even kidding. There were a couple of days I was considering just giving up everything and using Gofundme to take me to the next carnival (but I have shame sometimes so no).

Despite the tabanca, I was shocked when I heard bands would be launching in March and fete tickets being sold already for the last week of Crop Over. Bajan promoters not making sport this year. They’re like “Yeah I see the economy in shambles so I giving y’all two extra months to get your coin together for Crop”. I’m not mad at them at all.

Zulu International tout themselves as the “fun band” so I was curious to see if the launch would live up to the slogan.

 

Parking

We parked on what we discovered to be the outskirts of the venue, mainly because there was no one to direct patrons to the more than adequate parking closer to the venue. No big thing though because as long as I’m not robbed I really don’t mind walking a bit to the fete.

Venue

Belleview Plantation. This was my first time at this location and I really like it. It was spacious and there was a cool breeze the entire night.

IMG_3453

 

Drinks

No gin.

Qu’est-ce que le fuck? I mean why? Why do y’all continue to oppress me like this? You don’t have gin but you have Passoa, like it’s 1998, and Ponche Kuba.

Yes, you read that right. Ponche Kuba was on sale by the bottle. I didn’t see any great-aunts in attendance so who was that Ponche Kuba for? I guess that’s what your sponsors gave you but… bruh no.

A friend and I ended up buying a bottle of vodka (regretting this currently)  because the bar was only selling by the bottle and the other friend drank Guinness.

Vibes

The vibe was ok. I mean just ok. You could tell the DJs were working hard to hype the crowd. It’s too far outside of Crop Over for a full hype fete.

Costumes

Zulu’s theme this year is Wanderlust. I went to the launch expecting to see the usual suspects for a wanderlust theme, China, India and Africa. I was kind of surprised at the depictions presented because they kept it mostly regional and didn’t do an African theme despite being named after an African ethnic group.

Each section, except the last, was preceded by a dance or martial art from the country being depicted.

IMG_0502

Barbados (Queen of the Band)

IMG_2500

Coachella Frontline

IMG_9048

Holi Frontline

IMG_9897

Chinese New Year Backline

IMG_5870

Jab Jab Frontline

IMG_9497

Rio Frontline Option B (Female Only Section)

IMG_0694

Passa Passa Backline

 

The overall production of the show was well done and the costumes are definitely a cut above last year but I didn’t see anything that made me gasp and immediately want to sign up. I’ll be going to the band house to look at them more closely, though. Most of the costumes were designed by Trinidadian duo Richard and Anthony who are fresh off the heels off Trinidad Carnival and a bacchanal with their section in Fantasy Carnival (maybe I’ll write about that in the near future).

You can view all of the costumes on Zulu’s Facebook page

 

 

Models

This is where I give Zulu full ratings. They models represented a wide spectrum of complexions, a variety of sizes and were mostly homegrown beauties.

The models sold the costumes and I find this to be sadly lacking at band launches. The Zulu models as soon as they touched the stage brought vibes and danced and carried on like it was Kadooment Day already.  When “Do It Fuh Daddy” comes on a model gives you a full juck down to the song then, yes, your models have sold your “fun band” slogan.

 

*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)*

 

Awaken Ultra Premium

2 Comments

I know that this review took like a week to come but, to be honest my job got in the way and then this past week’s tragic events internationally brought my spirits right down. I’m really looking forward to letting loose this Crop Over feeling some joy. It’s part of the reason I love this time of year so much. There’s an opportunity for everyone in the country to come together, feel good and temporarily find a reprieve from all the ills of the world.

That being said…I bring you this review in the name of Kadooment Jesus.

Praise Her.

I’ve been hearing about Awaken constantly from last year. Normally, I don’t do breakfast fetes because I’m a massive grump in the morning and I don’t relish the thought of an angry mob of party patrons demanding the promoters kick me out of the party. However, I took the advice of  one of my personal training clients and purchased a ticket.

Parking

I woke up around 4:30 to pouring rain and literally cursed the fact that I don’t drive a truck or SUV. There’s nothing more annoying that trying to get a small car out of a muddy area. I briefly reconsidered going back to bed and not going at all but I’d made plans with a friend to carpool. The parking didn’t turn out to be bad at all and patrons didn’t double park.

Venue

Kendal Sporting.

I’ve always found Kendal to be beautiful as a location and it didn’t disappoint. It’s very green and the clubhouse is lovely. You’d be hard pressed to make a mess of this venue. The entire layout of the fete was great and the raised dance floor in front of the stage encouraged patrons to do dixie.

Drinks

No gin! Again.

I’m really starting to think that wunna don’t want me at wunna fetes but I gine do like my Auntie Ena says and not take things personally. Therefore, as a founding member and leader of Team Bad Decisions, I chose to drink champagne, which was fantastic. According to my other friends who were there the cocktails and other spirits were good as well. For the most part, the bartenders were friendly and attentive except this  bartender chick at the champagne bar, who tried to school me on how to pronounce Moet et Chandon and then ignored my group every time we went to the bar.

Here you go boo.

 

Food

I like my belly. A lot. If I attend an all-inclusive like Awaken I expect the food quality to be superb. I was not disappointed at all! Bar Cutters and Caribbean Villa Chefs by Dane Saddler provided a wide array of traditional Bajan and  continental breakfast foods that had patrons waiting patiently in long lines, especially at the roasted breadfruit station, which was done by Strong Foods.

I love when parties showcase local talents and fare. I’m so tired of attending parties where doubles, corn soup and bake and shark are offered exclusively.

Vibes

From my previous posts,you can tell I have nothing but the utmost respect for Grynner. He is legendary. However, the legend seems tired and his performance was lackluster. Lots of people stood around, talked and drank during his performance.


Don Trent. Meh. The boy can sing but he didn’t bring much hype to the fete at all.

DJ Puffy came on and sent the crowd wild by playing the first bashment soca I heard since I arrived around 5:30 at the party.

The party got even more hype when the newly crowned Bashment Soca King Stiffy came on and sang almost all of his discography.

Stiffy!!

Despite the fact that the police threatened to shut down the fete an hour prior to the scheduled finish they didn’t and patrons carried on partying in the blazing hot sun.


On leaving the venue, the door staff gifted patrons with branded souvenir bottles of rum punch. I thought that was a nice touch.


Well done to the guys at Brewster’s Road Crew. The party was great. I’ll definitely be attending next year.

 

*Due to some stuff I’ve been hearing and direct questions I’d just like to say I am affiliated with no band or business for Crop Over. I’m just a complete Crop Over lover who runs  Juck Down: The Crop Over Bootcamp, which helps people to improve their fitness to do dixie on the road during the season (and yes that is a complete and shameless plug)*

 

Krave Band Launch Bim Edition

Leave a comment

Last week I discovered that Krave would be doing a Barbados launch of their band after having launched 3 weeks ago in New York. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I didn’t attend that band launch because I have not yet won (positive thinking every time) the lottery to fly around attending band launches.  I called up a friend and we met some people there and attended the launch.

 

Parking

The parking was adequate but the launch was in Bridgetown so I’m unsure if to give Krave kudos for this.

Venue

Daquairi Beach Bar. Sand, more sand and breeze. I mean you can’t go wrong with a beach location.

Drinks

No gin! Lol.

Seriously, the drinks were good. The bartenders were quite attentive and let you taste the drinks before you paid to see if you liked the drink; but maybe that’s because there weren’t many people there.

Vibes

My face most of the night

The music was really good until the DJ decided to switch genres and play a mix of dancehall and hip hop. Despite the music being good there were no vibes at all. People were standing around waiting to see the costumes I suppose. I was dancing because…well…I had some Johnny Walker Black in me but even that didn’t help after a while because the wait for the costumes was so damn long.

Presentation of costumes

At 1:06 am the costumes came out.

Well …the Foreday morning costumes for Klymaxx came out. I’m from the school of thought that Foreday morning launches and costumes are unnecessary. I mean, it was cute Monday wear but it didn’t move me.

Next came the Krave costumes. This was the only high point of the night (outside of the Johnny Walker Black) for me. Krave’s theme this year is Burlesque and the costumes certainly reflected that. Krave is known for its’ extravagant costumes and they did not miss the mark at all. Even the male costumes were on point with one section bringing that wow factor for the guys.

Tracy Boyce ( designer of the band) wearing Encore’s individual costume

 

Russian Roulette.

Striptease Individual Costume

Exposé Individual costume

 Kudos to Tracy Boyce yuh costumes do de dawg ma’am!

Models

This launch did not feature the usual non-Bajan Krave vixens. What I saw was a stunning mix of local and foreign beauties. The models really sold that costume and the vibe (that was lacking from the entire launch).

 

This review was initially one sentence because I was annoyed by the wait and the lackluster vibe in the fete; but in life yuh gotta be nice and ting.

*Due to some stuff I’ve been hearing and direct questions I’d just like to say I am affiliated with no band or business for Crop Over. I’m just a complete Crop Over lover who runs  Juck Down: The Crop Over Bootcamp, which helps people to improve their fitness to do dixie on the road during the season (and yes that is a complete and shameless plug)*

Baje International Band Launch 2016

3 Comments

I’ve been participating in Crop Over since I was 3 years old in some form or fashion. My second time participating in Grand Kadooment, at age 16, was with Baje International in 1999. Marcia Chandler designed the costumes and I jumped in the Rasta colours section ( I refuse to show a pic of how tragic I was at age 16). I took $165 out of the grand $250 a week I made as an intern at an insurance company and my friend Tammi and I signed up for Baje. On the morning, my granny found out I was wearing a bikini and not a whole piece and nearly had a conniption. In the end,I was allowed to go on the road since it was my money spent and not anyone else’s. I had one of the best Kadooments of my life that day.

If you’ve reached this far you’re probably like “Sooo she gine ever review the blinking launch?” I said this to say that I always have high expectations of Baje. In the past 17 years, I’ve only not jumped with them twice and every time except the last I had a blast. That being said let’s dive into the review.

Parking

The parking was definitely a high point of the launch. There was plenty of security, the area was well lit and there wasn’t any double parking or anything of the sort.

Venue

It was ok. I mean meh. I can’t say that I hated it or that I loved it.

Drinks

They had gin! So on the strength of that alone I wish I could tell you that all was well on the drinks front; but alas, the drinks were weak.  Or maybe I have more rum bibber in me than I previously thought.

Vibes


Lord, there were no vibes. The DJs tried their best. The music was good but some extra element was missing from the event. I think I will go ahead and blame this one on the crowd. People were just dead. Clearly interested in seeing the costumes and going home. There was a lot of people talking with one another but no dancing or partying going on.

Presentation of costumes

The theme of the band is “Neo: A New Day”. I was actually really excited about this theme. In the days leading up to the launch, I was picturing metallics, leather-like materials and  some kind of futuristic theme.

The emcees for the night Salt and Nikita came on stage around 11 (the launch started at 7…) and tried to hype up the crowd for the costumes. The crowd apparently was having none of that.

Salt left the stage and Nikita displayed her excellent  vocals with some dancers in the background.

Ok.

Then came some ballerina chicks who ended up brucking out and the first costume came on stage. There were violinists and a fire dancer.

Look man, at this point I felt a little deflated. Now, I’m sure that could be due to my interpretation of the theme, but nonetheless, I felt deflated. The costumes were pretty costumes but they were just that, pretty. There wasn’t a wow factor and there was no cohesiveness between the sections presented and the theme.

However, one section caught my eye and if I decide to jump with Baje then definitely I’d try my hardest for the Limerz Cruise section.

This section would pop on anyone

As is standard for Baje the costumes were very well made and the craftsmanship was on point. They will hold up well on the road and can be kept for souvenirs after the fact ( I still have Baje costumes from 2009 that are intact…and I does get on stink on the road).

 

 

 

 

There wasn’t much offering for the men. Standard boardshorts with sparkly bits. The male section was disappointing, not because of the models but whoever came up with that god awful boy band choreography. I feel like I was at a bad rap concert circa 1999.

Yes, the male costumes were choreographed to rap music. Sorry, this is Crop Over. Soca please.

Bleh.

You can see all of  the costumes here.

Models

There was definitely more color diversity this year and all of the models, both male and female, were gorgeous. However, everyone modelled the costumes like they were on a high fashion runway. I know this has become standard for Crop Over launches but I like when the models bring that extra vibe that makes you feel like “Yeah I could see myself wukkin up and going on the road with this band”.

I didn’t get that at all last night.

All in all the Baje launch was like good sex, but not fantastic sex, the type where you expected more, didn’t receive it; but still don’t feel like you completely wasted your time and energy.

 

 

*Due to some stuff I’ve been hearing and direct questions I’d just like to say I am affiliated with no band or business for Crop Over. I’m just a complete Crop Over lover who runs  Juck Down: The Crop Over Bootcamp, which helps people to improve their fitness to do dixie on the road during the season (and yes that is a complete and shameless plug)*