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Black & White Blend
Date: Friday 7th October 2005
Venue: Alma Studio, Miami FL
Promoters: ISLANDpeople Miami
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We were coming off a 5 o'clock wedding/6 o'clock reception (Congrats Nic and Veo!) and we feelin' nice. Johnny more than water in that weddin'. Shed the suits - throw on the Jungle Juice apparel and off to ISLANDpeople's Black & White Blend. Directions on the back of the ticket say one thing, directions on the flyer say another, wowi wow. We eventually figure it out and land in the dance about 1:30 am.

On paper this looked like a dream fete to TJJ. The kind of fete we dream of for Trinidad Carnival. Not that we have anything against live bands as a matter of fact we love them, but sometimes yuh wonder how much times yuh go put yuh rag in the air and spilt the crown into left side right side, and make room for the big flag. Sometimes it's nice to just go back to basics: Black and White was just about top notch DJ's in the business like Dorenzo (the DJ at the weddin' too!), Anonymous and Back to Basics (large up Ricardo) doing what they do best.

Here's the real kicker... it was a FREE DRINKS FETE! So let see, the best soca DJs AND Free drinks? We're dreaming?? What's the catch??? There was no catch! Three bars - one in the middle of the party - one at the back - one near the entrance. You can never have enough bar tenders for a free drinks fete, and they made a definite effort to have the bars well staffed. The bar tenders seemed to understand the culture and know their customers as well. That is fast becoming a rarity in free drinks/all inclusives these days.

The dance was ram ram ram with patrons on the inside (warehouse setting) while others chose to be on the outside where it was about 15 degrees cooler, but where you could still hear the music. While the fete was definitely one of the better fetes for the Miami Carnival, the venue somehow detracted from the ISLANDpeople feel that we have come to expect. We give this one 4 out of 5 TJJ masks. Thanks for having us Island People and see you guys next year! Run d'big Johhny King tune... Darling