‘Leave Me Alone’ a hit in Tribe Ice

MCs, “JW and Blaze” filled the gaps with their loquacious and sometimes entertaining discourse, while various popular DJs cued the hits of yesteryear in various genres applicable to the demographic present and the generally festive mood of the audience.

It was obvious that the first fete of the 2017 Carnival season was not as well-attended as previous editions, but the thousands who ventured out into the night definitely had a blast partying with the Tribe alumni. Coolers in tow, they gathered from 10 pm and filled the venue with that restless, mischievous Carnival energy until close to 5 am.

Perhaps, as a sign of the trying economic times, the venue contained a lot less of the decorative frills and sponsored displays that usually take up a lot of space at this event. Instead, the Red Ants’ production team designed a lengthy runway extending from the main stage almost half-way up the length of the dance-floor, through the middle of the VIP section and ending near the front rim of the general section.

A source of contention among both the artistes and the patrons due to the challenges it meted to the performers and to the members of various crews hoping to assemble in the audience, this runway stage design and segregated sectioning may have to be reconsidered or reformatted for the benefit of future editions.

“It’s a lot of work to navigate such a long stage,” one artiste explained afterward, “and virtually impossible to hold the audience’s attention as a collective because there are so many more angles to consider. Plus, there are no monitors out there (at the end of the runway), so keeping track of the sound with the echoes etc. was a real challenge, but the ICE had vibes still and it’s a blessing to represent for the Tribe massive!” By the time the ice in the many coolers that littered the arena had melted, patrons were quite sated with musical moments, Instagram selfies, stories and videos of all the action, outfits, stumbles and spills of the night. As the sun rose on the trampled and abused venue, two things were made abundantly clear: the festival has begun and the Tribe is ready for action!