Ronnie and Caro - The Aftermath

Date: Saturday 28th August 2010

Place: St. John's Hall

Cost: $100

Ronnie and Caro held their band launch last night at St. John's Hall in Port of Spain. The media launch was scheduled to begin at 11:00pm. I got there with my brother just after 10:00pm and we made our way inside to the media/VIP area. (note to self: always walk with your invite to avoid any delays at the gate).

The media/VIP had access to drinks and snacks which included meatballs, puffs, accra, celery sticks, baby carrots and cucumber.

At about 11:00pm I noticed one of the Ronnie and Caro 'regulars' carrying Peter Ray Blood to a blocked off area backstage. I realised that this must be the media launch area and followed.

I received a booklet at the door and was immediately blown away by the green costume on the cover modeled by Caro herself. As most of you know I am not a fan of green costumes for the most part, but this one was wow.

The individual costumes were displayed and I was already liking Tsunami and Go Green.

After the media launch I made my way back to the media/VIP area where I met up with Carnival Jumbie and Trinidad Events. They missed the media viewing of the costumes so we again made our way backstage to take some pics.

Shortly after we made our way stage side and awaited the start of the show.

At 12:15am the launch began with an introduction by Ronnie, as well as a dance routine.

Then the costumes came out. Each section displayed a blackline, frontline, individual and male costume with the exception of Survival of the Mexican Aztec Dancers.

First up was Guardian Angels

This white and gold section is very cute, and I think might appeal more to a younger masquerader. I really like the beading on the bras and belt. The male costume is one of the better ones and the male model had a time on stage wining dong low lo much to the delight of the crowd.

Fire on th Hills

This orange and gold section has a simple backline and a great frontline. not liking the upper arm pieces on the backline that much though. The individual model didn't seem to know what to so with herself...one minute she jumping hyper, then posing for 5 seconds and then jumping again. LOL.

Huge backpack on this individual but it looked like it was easy to maneuver.

Go Green

Imagine. A green costume. That I actually like!

I really like this costume and this is one of my top picks. The men costume is simple enough. The backline, I like the belt shape and bra beading. The frontline is lovely though a little old school with that style of beads used on the arms, but I like the overall effect.

The frontline is fabulous and again another huge backpack that moved well. That model posed all on the ground for the media launch...I think she watches ANTM ;)

Survival of the Mexican Aztec Dancers

Yellow and orange with some pheasants thrown in, this is a guest section out of Toronto.

I like the unusual shape of the headpiece on the frontline and backline costume, people might get some feathers in their face if they in you way but small ting. The backpack for the frontline is cute as well and I like the movement of it. Not a fan of the appliqué and braid used on this costume too much though.

This male costume is one of the better ones and the headpiece ain't bad either. (Anyone know why the backline chick was looking like she was running away from the male model?)

Global Warming

This peachy section was introduced by its male model who came on and gave the audience a performance like no other! Very entertaining, down the the Bolt-esque poses. LOL. (Next time dude please wear a plain black boxers)

Not liking this colour too much, nor the coral shaped headpiece and cape, but again bead work especially on the monokini is really nice. I think the individual in this section might need a bit more something.

Tsunami

Blue blue my world is blueeeee!!

What can I say? It blue. I like blue. The backline sports a cape that I'm not feeling, but I like the frontline and LOVE the individual. This is also one of my top picks. I like the shape of the headpiece which give way to that wave feeling.

Earthquake

This is my least favorite section. I am not a fan of the red, white and blue, and when I look at it I'm thinking 4th of July and not Earthquake. The striped material is just not working for me. I really liked the shoes on the frontline model though. They were fierce!

Smoke Pollution

In my top four, this black, grey and silver costume is really lovely. I dunno what was going on with the backline model who stumbled down the stage and kept holding on to her headpiece, though it was not very big at all. She even took it off and had it in her hand! I like the backpacks and headpieces on the frontline and individual. This male is just meh.

Bird Flu

Fushia and purple and I like it. Not so much the backline with the feathered bra and belt, but I do like the frontline and the unusual shaped backpack. This is another backpack with a lot of movement and boy did the lil model move! She palance all over that stage like it was the big stage up in the Savannah! The individual backpack is similar in shape as well and the bra and belt is blinged out. The shape of the frontline headpiece look like it could be tweaked a bit as it was falling into the model's face.

Male costume, *shrug*

Carnival

Initially when I saw this costume I thought "WHOA! Colour much?" as it is a LOT of colour on one costume...but as the night continued it definitely grew on me. Not a fan of the backline, but the frontline and individual headpieces and backpacks are nice. I do not like the body wear on the costumes, but I definitely get the whole "Carnival is colour vibe".

Once the launch was over, Blackie gave us a performance of his new song for 2011 "Pong Meh", then we heard from a DJ out of New York which wasn't bad at all. The music for the night was cool, soca mixed in with a little dancehall and zero techno.

Overall I would give Ronnie and Caro 4 coque feathers out of 5, for a great launch and some pretty decent costumes, plus from personal experience I know for sure they deliver a GREAT vibe on the road! While there were no "out of the box" designs, the designs for the most part definitely have appeal, with my favorite sections being Go Green, Tsunami, Bird Flu and Smoke Pollution.

For more pics from the launch you can check HERE, and pics from the media launch can be found HERE.