Lost Tribe brightens QPS

Proceedings began at about 7.40 am and there were a sprinkling of patrons in the Grand Stand and even less in the North Stand though the numbers would steadily increase. There were a number of police officers and a couple of fire officers at the venue and at one point National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams crossed the stage with a contingent of soldiers.

Returning to the parade first up was mini band Simply Cultural with their presentation “Minstrels Bong for Holly B” in honour of national icon and media personality Holly Betaudier who died last year.

The minstrels sang, drummed and had a choreographed dance with “flambeauxs” but had to compete with loud music from the an upcoming music truck.

That next band was Just Wee and Friends with their presentation “A Steampunk Affair - A Tribute to Earl Crosby”; Crosby was a St James businessman and cultural activist who, like Betaudier, died last year. They had an interesting looking king who wore an upside down black and gold octopus on his back and a beautiful queen whose skirt resembled a blazing ring of fire.

They were followed by Ronnie and Caro...The Mas with their presentation “Fearless 10”. The defending National Band of the Year winners had some individual female masqueraders in resplendent feathers and tribal tiger king named “eye of the tiger” but overall the band seemed a bit generic.

Next up was medium band Image Nation with their presentation “Soar”. They began with military drumming and two male masqueraders bearing large shields and female masqueraders dancing b?l? style with large black skirts.

They were followed by large bands Harts and Fantasy with their presentations “Ultra Violet Jungle” and “1001 Fantasies and Alluring Tales”, with neither band presenting anything memorable.

The patrons were then treated to fancy sailor mas courtesy of small band Belmont Exotic Stylish. Their presentation “Sail the Caribbean” featured sailors with brightly coloured headpieces that included a starfish, a hermit crab, a lobster, a flying fish and a jelly fish. The traditional mas continued with mini band Keepers of Tradition and their group of fierce whipping jab jabs.

We then returned to the large band category with Legacy which featured two creative kings: one with a large mosquito and a baby, likely a reference to zika and microcephaly, and the second two pirate skeletons and a large pirate skull seated atop a mountain of gold. The splendour of the kings were diminished, however, by them wearing simple tee shirts. The band also had an embarrassing hiccup as not one but two of their trucks had their music systems shut down on them.

Continuing the colour theme was large band Passion and their presentation “Spectrum: A Universe of Colour”. They began with a young girl in an angel dancing to Ella Andall’s “Bring Down the Power” and later doing some flips.

The security got into the action with a dance display. When the masqueraders came on stage the rains came down on them but they were “jammin’ still”.

The final band before noon was The Lost Tribe and their presentation “Riddim a Revolution of Mas”.

They began with an oriental style dance that was well choreographed and synchronised. Their king had bronze and maroon spikes on his back as well as his hand and feet.

They also featured some type of blue faced monster Indian, sexy black and gold moko jumbies, African and Arabic inspired costumes and beautiful dreamcatcher and clay head pieces. Overall The Lost Tribe was beautiful and creative and definitely the highlight of the morning period for Carnival Tuesday on the big stage.