It is with a heavy heart that I write this review because I CANNOT BELIEVE carnival done. Remember how long we took to prepare? We booked our hotels, the 100 day countdown reach, we fight up for soca brainwash tickets and now look, carnival come and done. That said, carnival was euphoric. The music was bess, my costume was amazing and I had a time playing mas with  Tribe. Let’s get into this review.

REGISTRATION

Anyone familiar with Tribe already knows the registration experience depends on who you are and also who you know. For me, it was super easy. I received my invite, paid my downpayment and went on my merry way. For foreigners or those without a Tribe link, getting into this band can be extremely frustrating. However, they have the best web portal for registration while also allowing masqueraders to continue to pay down their costume way before mas day!

COMMUNICATION

Tribe utilized all forms of media to keep connected with their masqueraders. They snapped, they tweeted, they emailed, they went LIVE on IG, they posted on IG, they added to Facebook, wherever they could reach you, they were there.

If you were emailing them about registration and they did not respond, this does not surprise me. Tribe’s whole band is based on a committee member policy.

COSTUME PICKUP

Depending on the day you landed in Trinidad, costume pickup could have been a nightmare. One of my friends was nice enough to pick up my costume for me, and thankfully we were on the Fast Track because we all paid off our costume before our pickup days.

If you were one of the masqueraders in line, Tribe tried to make your wait as comfortable as possible by selling drinks, food and providing music.

COSTUME EXPECTATION/REALITY

My costume was as amazing from band launch to production, to when I put it on. There was of course minor differences but that is to be expected with a prototype. It held up very well, I even have some bruising to prove it lol. I loved the light weight feel of my feathered backpack, and while annoying maneuvering it through the band, not one feather fell off, which is nothing short of amazing. Sandra Hordatt, thank you for another marvelous costume.

THE ROAD – Food/Music/Staff/Vibes:

Road: Carnival Monday is ALWAYS my favorite day on the road. People are more relaxed and we’re dressed down so we come to misbehave. The vibes was bess on the road on Monday. Music was pumpin and we had less rain. Carnival Tuesday was another story. The band felt less crowded because there were less stormers HOWEVER, being Frontline in Tribe can be annoying because of how many people are in the band. I still had an amazing time and put on a show for the cameras though.

The Food was extremely satisfactory. There were several different types of cuisines and the portions were large on both days. I couldn’t even finish all of my food.

Rest Stop: I still believe Island People Mas reigns with the best rest spot because of the bleachers allowing everyone to sleep, but Tribe tries to provide picnic blankets for the majority of their masqueraders so that we can rest comfortably. I was super impressed with the vanity and wellness sections of the mas camp. You could come and get your costume gems stuck back on which fell off, apply gel to your hair, clean up your skin and get a nice foot massage while getting a cool down breeze from the industrial fan.

Music: We had 8 music trucks. EIGHT lol. I think I pass by all.. and ALL had vibes. We had the Road March winners, Ultimate Rejects on Truck 1 which was an extra touch. Private  Ryan and Barrie Hype were notable DJs on the road with us as well. You always hear a couple songs over and over but even with that, enough of 2015 and 2016 soca songs were still played for some diversity.

Bess songs on the road:

• Full Extreme – Ultimate Rejects [Road March Winner 2017]
• Dis Iz D Band – Kerwin DuBois
• Fast Wine – Machel Montano
• Workout – Kes The Band
• Dip – Shal Marshall
• Drink King – Kerry John
• Ranking Ting – Blaxx

CARNIVAL PREP

• Stockings: Carnivalista ; For 10% off, use code: GLOBAL
• MUA: @TheICandyShop
• Hair by me
• Boots from Amazon

THE FETES:

I briefly want to touch on some of the parties that I attended. Shades Breakfast Party is BY FAR the best party that I attended that week. The food, vibes, amenities and even the service was on point the whole morning. I usually attend Sunny Side on Sunday morning but Shades, you have a new supporter. I will forever be at Shades.

 

Other parties of note are of course, Soca Brainwash Heaven. It took me awhile to get into the groove of the event because just wearing white makes me feel too stush to have fun, but once my vibes set in, I danced the afternoon away and even enjoyed the riddim and pan section that kept us engaged for a good 40 minutes post Soca Brainwash Heaven

Caesar’s Army AMBUSH was a successful event. The vibes on the road was bess, as I’ve grown to expect from their brand.

Beach House Cooler was the last for me before the road and the DJs did an amazing job keeping the crowd engaged. I think I was too excited for the road by then to really focus on everything else going on, but honestly, you can never go wrong with a cooler fete.

In short, carnival tabanca is now setting in for me, I had an amazing time. Look out for your girl at the next carnival.

Yours in Mas