The Tired After the Fun

So we went to the St. Kitts Music Festival last night.  We went our first year here (survived 2 out of 3 nights), skipped a year, enjoyed last year, and tried again. They do change it up. Last year they tried VIP status for the first time and got many complaints. It was not worth the money. This year, they went in the other direction and put out tent after tent with seating, food, and booze. If you didn't spring for the VIP tickets, you had to stand. These things go on for 8 hours! We've always brought our camping chairs and sat on a hill with a great view of everything, but our hill was off limits this time. So was 1/2 the stadium seating, but luckily, we found some seats in what was available, were covered in case of rain, and had a pretty decent view of what was happening on stage. We weren't supposed to take photos, but everyone (including security) was doing it, so we grabbed a couple before the show got started (& one after but too grainy to upset anyone, I'm sure).

Empty stage/grounds

Tents

That area below us, in front of the stage, eventually turned into the largest amount of people I've been around since Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Here was the line-up:

The whole shabang got started at 8:40pm. I will say it was quite an eclectic grouping. Courtney Pine turned out to be an instrumental group playing jazz/reggae and I kept trying to figure out what weird instrument Pine was playing. I'm still not sure. He's known for saxophone,  bass clarinet, and alto flute - I think it's the last one.  We enjoyed most of the groups, but think they could have cut two of the acts, and all would have been well.

I think the majority of us were there to see Morgan Heritage and Damian Marley, which of course, came on at the end. You'll recall we really enjoyed Gramps Morgan in Nevis last month and when he's not going it solo, he tours with his siblings. Finally, at 12:15am (!!) Morgan Heritage came on and everybody went nuts. The mass of people grooving to their tunes and shouting "Yes, Rasta!" had to look incredible from stage. The band did not disappoint - they really know how to put on a show. We were disappointed when they were forced to cede the stage though.

Then we all thought Marley was coming on next and got a rude awakening when Popcaan hit the stage. I thought I might slit my wrists. Was that necessary? I mean, his singing half a song to canned/DJ'd music before yelling at the crowd was bad enough, but his battle cry of "YeeeeeeoooooooooW" in full nasal tone over and over was enough to make me burst an eye vessel. Anyone remember Chris Tucker in Rush Hour with Jackie Chan? He was annoying like that. To his credit, he was certainly full of energy, but I think he was new to performing for this type of venue (note to Popcaan - don't ever do yeeeeoooow again). I think the bigger problem was that he just didn't fit into the vibe of the night and was miscast. Seriously, I was starting to get traumatized, when finally the noise stopped. And then we waited....and waited...for the equipment change.  Zzzzzzzzz. We had the sponsors memorized by the end of the night - that was the filler between sets - so the sponsors certainly got their money's worth in advertising.

At 2:45am out came Damian Marley. Now, he knows how to put on a show too. Great use of lighting, incredibly strong backup singers, etc. And his hair, or dreads as it were! That must be heavy - wow.  His braids are so long that they reach his ankles and have to be put in a backpack whenever the occasion warrants it. Now that's commitment to a hair style.

For photos of the event by people who were allowed to take some, here's the Facebook page.

Upon arrival home, I fed the cats hoping they'd leave me alone at their normal feeding time - 2 hours later - but noooooooo.  I was awake at 6am anyway, but I didn't want to actually get up. My eyes felt like sandpaper, but when Jack got frustrated that I was ignoring him, he'd take it out on Zura and attack her, so I finally dragged my butt up and fed the brats. And have been up ever since....Oy. I can not be held responsible for my sleep-walking actions of today.

An update on the system to the east is that it became Invest 97L overnight and then lost its circle status by mid-Saturday. No one's expecting this tropical wave to bring anything but some rain, and the route models suggested the crux of it to go south of us. The Saharan dust layer seems to have lessened around us, so we could still see some wet stuff here too, but not until tomorrow or later. 

Weather Underground

The last night of the Music Festival is tonight. The forecast is for scattered showers (which is normal). Last night we were stumped when a mass exodus started and the crowds started heading in our direction. What? Somebody fart? Then we realized it had started to drizzle. Yep, that would explain it. Bring an umbrella! I will be nice and dry and sleeping through all that tonight.

Latin Fiesta 2011

The 2nd Annual Latin Fiesta has come and gone and it was just as much fun as the last. Rain gliding off the Nevis coast right around the time the concert was supposed to start (about 2:30) probably rattled a few nerves, but the wet stuff stayed over the water before dissipating completely, so no worries.



There were people shaking their groove thing before anything really started.

Last year had a big crowd, but this year surpassed that by far.

Of course, people watching was always fun. This guy's bringing the pic back! There were several others with their pants down by their knees too. Sheesh.



Instead of a Flamingo dancer, this time around they had 3 couples that showed us how to do La Bamba. This dance is actually African-based, so has lots of drumming (my favorite).



One drummer is keeping a steady beat while the other mimics whatever the feet of the dancer are doing. It's fun to watch the La Bamba performer walk up to the drummer, shuffling their feet as fast as possible or spinning in circles with their skirts billowing, trying to out-do him, but he kept right up.



Of course, the poor guy was a puddle of sweat by the end there.



Even the audience members they pulled up there did a great job!



The band was bigger than last year and sang their hearts out.



If that wasn't enough, they even had a woman rolling out Cuban cigars.

Then it was time for some salsa. A salsa contest, no less. I think they should have saved this for later when people were a little less inhibited, but in the end, they managed to get enough people out on the floor do do their thing.



We ended up going over to the Lion Rock Bar & Grill next door for a little while just to get a break from the lovely, but loud music. Plus, Lion & Angela (Lion Rock owners) are really nice and the beer is cheaper there.

Seriously, we were behind the speakers and it was so loud that we still couldn't have a conversation, so we just watched from afar and tapped our toes and heads to be the beat.

When we got back, there was some kind of Latino electric slide going on on the dance floor. They were having so much fun, it was infectious.



The Latin Fusion and Havana Express played and played...



while we danced and danced. Some even took to the stage!



Most of the Latino/a people on the island are from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Venezuela and are professionals, like doctors or embassy workers, but tonight they were just one big group of happy revelers. Dusk and still dancing!




Ok, the live bands were pooped. Time to switch from the exhausted singers and musicians to a DJ.



Some-day Kittitian Spice Girls? Heineken tip jar?



DJ Fish played for about an hour before attempting to shut it down. Of course, no one wanted it to end, so we kept yelling for one more. He kept obliging and was still doing so when we finally forced ourselves to leave. It was only 8pm, but we'd been going for over 5 hours now. This concert was conceived by Jose of Kajola-Kristada and, as the women on stage (below) pointed out, it's hard to find anyone else as compassionate, kind-hearted, outgoing, and just plain nice as Jose. You can't help but feel better for knowing him. Thanks for the fun Sunday and I'm sorry I sweated all over you (and everyone else)! Kudos to Spice Mill too for pulling off Jose's vision. Until next year!



Despite no power this morning and no internet (still), I finished my video! I am now at the Shiggidy Shack mooching off of their internet connection. I like this island living stuff, but it sure ain't easy if you actually have to work while in Paradise. I guess we have to take our yin with our yang. A Carib helps too.