D'Krewe Band Launch 2009 - The Aftermath

Date: Saturday 15th August 2008
Price: Free (I was invited as a guest)

Is there anything a Trini like more than something name FREE? I doh think so. So needless to say I was pretty glad to be invited to D’Krewe’s launch. Ah mean I wanted to go but my money tree recently got pruned, so funds was running low.

Well the Hubby and I left home and got to the launch just after…you know I cannot remember what time we got to the venue…anyhoo…we reached.

Gave my name by the door and proceeded to the inside of St. John’s no fuss. There was a good turnout of people at D’Krewe’s launch but the vibe was very flat. Cause while they had some nice music playing, the majority of people were just standing around. Not even moving they hips lil bit. I started wondering if I missed some announcement that made the crowd get sour.

From watching the ladies in D'Krewe I feel their bikini bottoms does only come in sizes L and up. If you see bamsee in that party! All shapes and sizes. My word.

The hubby and I made our way to the bar, (a rum and coke and a coke on the rocks cost a whooping $37.00!) and then found a spot to wait in the costumes which were coming on in three minutes. Let me just say it was a LONG three minutes.

Well yes, eventually close to midnight we have some action on the stage and we seeing pieces of costumes lining up. Nice.

A minute if silence was requested for a departed colleague of D’Krewe who passed on earlier in the week and then the show began.

Or at least I thought it was going to begin. The err…”MC” for the night, a guy who was aptly named “Voice”, came on stage to welcome us to D’Krewe’s launch and enjoy the show. Umm…yeah…thanks, but we already know where we are and what we waiting on. Unnecessary.

FINALLY we hear the announcer start talking about D’Krewe and their Carnival 2009 presentation “Iere” (or i-erie depending on who was pronouncing it). They first brought on their Monday costumes which are some simple but nice wraps for the ladies and men.

Next up were the dancers which for me almost stole the show from the costumes themselves. They made my pores raise.




Then the costumes came on.
Overall I think the costumes are nice. There are a few hits and a couple of misses.
Like I said previously I did not get/see a booklet so most of the names are from memory.

Golden Sun
The first costume (which I assume was frontline) was very busy.

The full figured model got lots of applause when she came out. I like the headpieces on the costumes and the cloth effect.
This costume/section is just bordering on coskelle though. It toeing the line. But I think it’ll look fabulous on the road in the sun.

Morning Glory
The first peek of this costume had me saying WOW. The colours used are very vibrant and striking. Love the headpiece. Kinda Kiskadeeish.

Spirit of Iere
I think this FL costume may just be a bit too busy, but I love the colour combination and I think it’ll look nice on the road. The male costume is very nice.

Water
Love love this section.
I love the headpiece and I like that it could be sexy but covered.

Fish
Designed by Douglas John. Huh? Is that the same dude who designs and is the band leader for Elements? Hmmm…
It is the year of the monokini people…deal with it and stop talking bout yuh fedup see it…yuh eh fedup see bikinis too?
Nice costume, I like the frontline more than the backline costume. This is not a male costume that I like.

Scarlet Ibis
I was eager to see D’Krewe’s representation of Scarlet Ibis. I mean ANYTHING was better than the poor bird that TRIBE put into extinction.
I think this was a good attempt at the Scarlet Ibis but the costume looked VERY uncomfortable and the model didn’t even take her hands off the backpack. I don’t know if this is frontline, I’m assuming it’s an Individual.

Bird of Paradise Flower
This costume did not impress me at the media launch and it impressed me even less here. The male is too busy as is the backline. And wait, is that a flower on her butt? K

Humming Bird
This seems to be a very popular costume this year however I must say this interpretation missed its mark. The colours are a good blend but they don’t say hummingbird to me. Did not like this male costume.

Waterfalls
I liked the frontline of this costume a lot. I like that it looks light yet was easy to maneuver and it has that WOW factor. Te use of the fabric very reminiscent of Sonia Mack Soleil Brule (circa IP 2000 and something) The backline is simple but effective. Another male costume that did nothing for me.

Butterfly
*sigh*
What is there to say about Butterfly? This costume looks like it belongs in a Kiddies Mas Band and the model came on dancing to suit. And maybe that’s their target market with this one…the youngsters who are now starting offplaying with mummy and daddy for the first time. The male costume *shudder*

Parrot
With the exception of the big eyes and beak and the sad little wing I like the overall effect of this costume.

Iguana
This costume got the crowd stirring when the model came out crawling on the ground. This costume headpiece gives a nice effect to this costume. I did not like the frontline because I could see that tail causing trouble on the road. And dare I say this costume is just a TAD bit too green? Loved the boots on the frontline masquerader. FAB! Not practical for the road, but FAB!

Pitch Lake
LOVED this frontline. It lookslike what it is supposed to represent and the model moved it real nice. I would want to see it up close to get a better look at the bra and bikini though. The backline is very simple. The male costume is best left in La Brea.

Traditional Dancers
This costume did nothing for me. But the men in the crowd enjoyed the chick shaking her thronged bumsee.

[Unknown Brown Section]
I totally missed the name of this section as I was trying to delete some photos to make room on my camera.
And wouldn’t you know it we have on stage a plus sized model. She got lots of appreciative applause from the crowd.
I liked the male “frontline” (I assume) as well as the backline. The female in this section seems outshined by the males.

The People
Oui papa! This section mashup de place with them poses boy!
Anyhoo…again I like the use of the materials in this costume. While I may not personally play in it I think it’ll look nice on the road.

Moon
Yuh know HOW LONG I eh see a standard?
A very simple sexy yet covered costume. Not too sure about the standard but it does add to the overall effect of the costume.

After the presentation of the costumes the hubby and I hung around for a bit and left the launch shortly after 2:30.

Overall I think the presentation was well planned and executed. While some costumes need some work I think it was a good effort overall. They used a nice mix of soca music during their presentation which to me always adds to the vibe. I like to leave a presentation feeling like I should go home and put on a costume and head out to meet my band.
Overall D’Krewe gets 6.5 sequins out of 10.

I have lots more pics but am having lots of trouble uploading them onto photobucket. I'll post the link once they are all uploaded.

D' Krewe Band Launch - The Aftermath

I had the pleasure of attending D'Krewe's Band Launch last night.

I must say this was one of the better presentations that I have been to thus far, the dancers at the start of the presentation were fantastic!

Here are just a few of my pics, I'm currently having some pc problems, so my review will follow.

I did not get a booklet, so the names are from my memory.

*click on pics to make them larger*

Monday Wear



Dancers during the presentation



Golden Sun



Morning Glory



Spirit of Iere




Water




Fish



Scarlet Ibis




Bird of Paradise Flower



Humming Bird





Waterfalls



Butterfly



Parrot


Iguana



Pitch Lake

Traditional Dancers







The People

The Moon



Grand Finale!!

D'Krewe Media Launch - The Aftermath...

Date: Wednesday 30th July 2008
Location: Coliseum II, Long Circular Road


Sorry this review is so late, I was down and out with the flu/sorethroat (I think they calling it the HCU) for a couple days. (Ah know ah doh type with meh throat eh, but I was felling lil weak and ting too okay?)

Hear nah I could get used to this media thing yuh know...I like getting the opportunity to macco...errr...look at the costumes before the masses.

The media launch for D'Krewe was scheduled to take place after work at the Coliseum. For those of you who don't know where that is, it is just Pabloz renamed. And if yuh still clueless just think of Courts furniture store St. James...yuh turn up Long Circular Road and is a couple buildings down and is upstairs of a car place. Right.

So I got to the Coliseum just after 6:00 and was overwhelmed, not by the amount of people there (which was just a few), but by the strong scent of incense engulfing the place. And on top of that hear I was thinking I was late but the place was empty. But yuh know allyuh Trinis and time.

It was an open (free) bar, and you were served beers but had to serve yourself any other mixed drinks. I thought that was weird, but it seemed to be going down okay with the folks who were there.

Around 7:00pm ish, nearly an hour after I arrived, Robert Amar (who it look like own the Coliseum) took the microphone and started talking. Wrong choice. Even though I had earlier seen him reading the copy, he still stumbled a bit too much for my liking. And all he did was read what was already handed out to us when we got there. We come to see costumes man. Where the costumes?!

We were introduced to the committee.


Then the promotional ladies (Like they ran out of yellow jerseys??)


Then we were introduced to Kyle Matas a young designer who designed for Trini Revellers previusly.

And then FINALLY, we had costumes!

The first section to come out was The People.
I liked the simplicity of this section and the natural type of material used in it.


Next up was Water.

Out of all the costumes shown I think this one was my favorite. I liked the look of it and the fact that it was not a typical bikini and beads section. It did stop just short of being FAB! only because I thought it could do with a bit more detail and more blue in the fabric.


Up next was Bird of Paradise Flower
(Not to be confused with Bird of Paradise bird in TRIBE eh)

I found this costume to be just a bit too much and it looked like it would be cumbersome on the road with all those parts sticking out. It does capture the look and felle of an actual Bird of Paradise flower though, with the colours.


Finally, we had the Spirit of Iere
A beautiful costume in browns and golds.
Something about it made me feel like it could be a Miss Universe Nationals Costume. There may be just a bit too much going on in this costume though, with the backpack and the skirt and the headpiece.

That was the end of the costumes and we were treated to some delicious finger food and I was able to get some closeup shots of the costumes.

D'Krewe will be bringing a total of 16 sections including Butterfly, Sun, Morning Glow, Moon, Scarlet Ibis, The Falls, Hummingbird and Iguana.

Yes another Scarlet Ibis and Hummingbird! I doh think anybody could come worse than TRIBE's wounded Ibis though, and I look forward to seeing D'Krewe's version of Hummingbird.
In speaking with the committee member she indicated that D'Krewe has realised their mistakes and have taken steps to correct them to avoid a re-occurrence of Carnival 2008.

Overall I thought it was a nice presentation, and by the end of the evening, the strong scent of incense had disappeared, I give D' Krewe's presentation/media launch a 7beads out of 10 and look forward to seeing their presentation at the full band launch on August 16th.

You can check out more of my pics from the launch and keep up to date with D'Krewe via their Facebook page.