Photos By Ines J. & Mariah

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TRIBE kicks off the 2k9 Carnival Season!

It is the first Saturday of the year and de TJJ crew made our way to the National Stadium shortly after midnight. Parking wasn’t an issue, but once we got to the main entrance it was pure pandemonium ... people all over de streets. Plenty vendors, scalpers and fete-goers for so. Word is that this fete sell off long time now, so having already collected de money, it was simply up to our good friends at TRIBE to deliver the goods. Which (not to give away the plot here) they did ... full marks!! Not quite as many coolers as one would expect, but I guess it's no easy task to dress up as nice as these people did and have to tote vessels round de place? Cooler and heels? But, that is what man make for, right??!!

Once I made it through the tunnel, which was lined with water fountains, smoke, big pieces of ice and lights, I could see a large ice sculpture and plenty of people who were already in full liming mode. The bars were on the right side and food stands to the left. It had plenty bartenders, which ensured that drinks were served quickly. Located just behind the bar was the blow up Igloo. I'm not quite sure what it was hosting, but people were standing on its stairs to get a better view of the stage. Next to the stage were the TRIBE girls (and one guy who had a hard time smiling ... but I made him, haha) dancing in their red-white-black native Indian carnival costumes (didn’t I see these costumes in 2007 on the road?) to get the crowd warmed up before Bunji Garlin hit the stage. I really felt the heat once people started jumping, wining and waving during his performance. All new and old chunes, including de "Banana" one ... hahaha.

After Bunji heated up the place he left the stage for his wife, Fay-Ann Lyons who announced her pregnancy (for those clueless folks). And I was wondering if she had one too many pastels over Christmas – JK!! Lyons then proceeded to jump, wave and sing. All I will say is, de 2008 Road March winner will always get people in a frenzy with "Get On", especially when done live.

The music was great throughout the night and the “fake” snow and smoke created a great atmosphere as people kept wining on. It got a bit tricky later in the night to walk around as it was crowded and difficult to see all these coolers and drunk people sitting on the ground. One thing I definitely need to keep in mind for next time is to bring cans of beer instead of filling beer bottles into Juliter containers to avoid the “No Glass Bottles” policy.

People definitely had a great time at TRIBE ICE, and Team TJJ stayed well past 4 AM. We're definitely looking forward to this year's Carnival season with TRIBE.

Tschüß!!
Ines