Memorable moments from the Youth View Awards

The Youth View awards is one of Jamaica’s premiere award shows whose aim is to give a voice to teens and young adults in selecting who they consider the best in the entertainment industry at the moment. This vision has seen the continuity of the show over the years among the ‘Young Hot and Hype’ and cementing its place in the entertainment industry.  It has been a week since the recently held Youth View Awards and it must be said, that the thoughts still lingers. Follow me as I go through the memorable moments of the show.

Opening Performance:  It was a great start to the show with an opening performance by W.T.F (Wayne, Tifa and Fambo) Performing their smash hit ‘Swaggin’.

Winners of the Night: Tifa, Vybz Kartel and Popcaan scored big among the teens who allowed them to walk off with the majority of the night’s awards and I must say all were well deserved.

Disappointment of the night:  The crowd’s reaction to the result of the Male fashion icon category and their reaction during the announcement of the Female Fashion icon. Dexter Pottinger won the award for Male fashion icon of 2011 and went to collect his award amidst loud boos and cheers. I’m unsure as to why he was booed, because it was a well deserved win. Was it just a case of them thinking fellow nominees like Beenie Man or Ding Dong deserved it more? Hhmmm, but, the award went to the right person.  On the flipside, during the announcement of the nominees for the female fashion icon, the performer who represented D’Angel was also booed, and once again, I’m lost as to why this happened. Was it that they thought the performer didn’t represent the artist appropriately? This I could understand.

Best performance of the night: The best performance of the night goes to Ikaya and her tribute to Bob Marley. It was simply a breathtaking performance that I can say every Marley fan would appreciate. The performance had me washed with goose bumps from start to finish.

Another great performance was from Shauna Williams, she showed why and how she won the ‘On the Verge’ talent competition with her rendition of Adele’s ‘Set fire to the rain’. Great vocals, great performance… it was flawless.

Closing performance:  The Youth View Awards came to an end with a thrilling performance from Popcaan which had the crowd on their feet as he performed some of his current hits. It was a great way to finish the night.

Bloopers! :  I felt bad for Mystic. She won the award for favorite female dancer and took forever to go up to collect her award as they called her name, eventually thinking she was absent from the event. When she finally did show up and collect her award, before she could say “Than...”she was abruptly cut off.

Christopher Byfield, I had to laugh when he meant to say “Presenter” but somehow “Presetta” came out. What happened there? Lol

Etana, she’s one of my favorite artiste, but I had to laugh when she was to present an award and actually dropped the award upon entering the stage, the crowd thought she broke it, luckily, she didn’t.

Worth mentioning: WORL BOSS! I was happy to see that Vybz Kartel with his recent troubles with the law, managed to take home two big awards for the night. Well, the ‘girl boss’ MILK had to collect them on his behalf, a move that was well received by the crowd.

Comfort Fedoke from America’s hit show ‘So you think you can dance’ did a pretty good job with their dance routine.  I should say that all dance crews and their performances were pretty good for the night.

Overall, I’d give the YVA’s a 7/10 rating. To go with the number of highs for the nights, there were quite a number of lows. Minor technical difficulties at the start wrecked havoc on the show, thus not making the ‘highs’ consistent, but the great performances of the night surely made up for it in the end. With all that, I surely do look forward to the next staging in 2013. See you there.

Scenes from the YVA's

The new bacchanal venue !!!!?

With the soca season slowly creeping upon us and with the shutdown of Mas Camp, the place we’ve come to call HOME for Bacchanal, the question that fills the air is “Where will Bacchanal be held now?” The word on the street and from good sources is that Bacchanal will be held at the National Stadium’s car park. (Although yet to be officially confirmed)

If this is actually the new venue for Bacchanal, I’m curious to see how they transform it to somewhat resemble Mas Camp, a place we have become accustomed. Another aspect of this venue that I hope is being looked at is security. Being so close to certain communities I hope the safety of patrons is taken into consideration as it’s a factor being considered by many.  Once measures are put in place to ensure that people are safe, I have no problem with this venue, it’s a good choice. (Y)

With that said, I don’t care where, As long as it’s Soca... I’m there!

Will I be Dreaming this year ?

Well, Dream Entertainment has announced the date of their annual party series, Dream Weekend, to the shock of many. The announcement of the date was not the only shocker, but it was revealed that this year would be different, instead of a Dream WeekEND, it’s actually a Dream WEEK… (August 1^st -6^th) This sparked a huge discussion on twitter but all arguments surrounded the thought of accommodations for that period and the cost of the season bands and persons getting time off from work.

I was a bit perturbed by both sides of the discussions. One side complained about how much it’s going to cost overall, and the other side complained about the persons complaining and that if they can’t afford it, they should keep quiet.  With every action, comes a reaction, and with that information being thrown out there, I’m sure the first thought was MORE MONEY! But on the other hand, to venture to Negril has always been a taxing journey, something that some people are used to, and some, if they can’t afford it, they avoid it. For the persons who can afford it, I think they do have a right to speak out about the reality that they will be spending much more.

Back to Dream Week, will I be making the journey this year? I am not sure at all! A lot of factors to consider when I look at it , I have to think about Accommodation + Season band + Transportation + Gas Money + Food money + Clothes money = $$$$$$ (Not for the usual 4 days, but 6/7 days). Do I really want to take up all that money, to just party for one week, when I can use that money to party in Kingston for two months. On the flip side, as someone mentioned “you cannot ascribe a dollar value to a party EXPERIENCE”, think of it as paying for a great experience & memories, which in itself, is priceless.  If you have never been to dream week/end and you’re now faced with what will be a steeper price tag, think of it as paying for an EXPERIENCE that you’ll never forget. I urge you to start saving!

The more I think of it, the more I’m leaning toward NOT going, why? I have experienced all that the Negril weekend has had to offer and I’m not sure if I want to fork out THAT MUCH money this year. It’s ‘Been there, Done that’ for me and I’m not going to go just to live up to the ‘hype’ or impress people, as seem to be the case with some persons. If I make the trip, it would just be as a getaway from Kingston, not so much for the partying.  With the added days which equals MORE MONEY for an experience I have already had, I don’t think will be dreaming this year……………………………….. BUT! That’s the same thing I said last year, and guess where I ended up? lol 

It’s still early, and all information about the week/end has not been released, so I’m waiting to get all the details, and then make my final decision based on that.

RANDOMS

Some ‘uptown’ people need to get off their ‘high horses’ and leave people alone who choose to voice their opinions on whether or not they want to fork out THAT MUCH MONEY. Not everyone is a spendthrift like you to just ‘dash weh money like dat’.

If you knew from day 1, that you could not afford going to negril... well, you SHOULD have a seat.  

I didn’t enjoy dream weekend last year... the parties were TOOO CROWDED and UNCOMFORTABLE, the waiting for a shuttle… SIGH! Do I want to spend so much more, for all that again? That’s my main concern.

Usain Bolt's Tracks and Records

Having opened its doors last year, Usain Bolt’s Tracks and Records have become a hit among Jamaicans with the ambiance they provide, as well as the food.  It became great competition for other restaurants/chill spots with its implementation of technology. Innovations such as interactive tables where you can place your orders or check the latest on twitter and Facebook, A big screen T.V to watch featured sports and touch screen T.Vs to play games.

For me, UBTandR is a great hang out spot, especially on a Wednesday night when they host ‘Eats, Beats and Tweets’. Great food, Great music and you get to watch your tweets on the big screen. The music is always good, courtesy of Dj Narity, you might even forget where you are and start dancing. Overall, UBTandR is a great hang out spot to either eat, drink, hang out with friends, or all of the above. Make sure you pay them a visit.

Okay, let me start talking about the food, and what’s good to try:

1) The Mac n cheese cottage pie

This is my FAVORITE! I LOVEEE IT ! I have to get this on every visit! It's baked macaroni and cheese and under that, stewed beef .. I'm drooling just writing about it. 

 2) Wings Galore 

A good choice if you're there with friends, or if you're just VERY HUNGRY and wanna have 12 pieces by yourself. You have the options of mixing it: Red stripe bbq, Sticky jam Asian, Golden scotch bonnet or jerked buffalo. I usually stick with the bbq. 

3) 'Swimms' Galore 

Grilled jerked shrimp skewers, peppered shrimp and coconut and cassava crusted shrimp with pineapple and sweet and sour sauce. A friend of mine had this recently and I had to steal a few, it's really good. Stay away from the peppered shrimp! Unless you can manage. 

 4) Chocolate coffee decadence

For dessert, this is a good option choice. 

And for something to sip on, try the Yardie Cosmo. The Jamaican version of a Cosmopolitan. Appleton rum mixed with orange liquor and Cranberry juice. (Y)

Things you should know:

* The items are a bit overpriced!

* For me, service is usually good.

* Try to get one of the interactive booths, to make your dining experience better.

* Free Wifi 

* The Menu, it's like a twist on the regular Jamaican dishes. 

Contact Info

Usain Bolt's Tracks and Records

Marketplace

Telephone: 906-3903

The Excitement and Drama of BNM (Fiction Uncensored)

January 4^th, 2012 marked the first staging of Brand New Machine (BNM) , a regular event at Fiction nightclub, and although I don’t usually give reviews of club events , I HAD TO TALK ABOUT LAST NIGHT!

First of all, let me say that BNM was a hit, and for me, was a good way of setting the stage for future Wednesdays.  The music and overall atmosphere had everyone excited, but the drama that took place, took the night to new heights!!!!!!!

So here’s what happened!

Soooooo, I’m there partying, only to see two GROWN MEN… who looked like they have grandchildren at home, FIGHTING!  I have no idea what started it, I only saw people scattering while I went for a closer look… Two grown men shoving and hitting each other, while the bouncers tried their best to pull them apart and escort them out the club! Everything went back to normal as we all continued with our fun… You thought that was it? Nooope!  Exactly five minutes later, another, completely different fight.

This fight, was like the first one, had no idea why it started, only saw people scattering, two women fighting, one being thrown to the ground and bottles breaking. Shockingly, the girl who had the upper hand in the fight,  was attacked by 4 men who seemed to be defending their defeated female friend, FOUR MEN attacking one girl! SMFH! The bouncers tried profusely to break this up and kick them out. What made things worse, is that while this fight was going on, an innocent female patron got ‘gun-butted’ in the head. Apparently, the fight was happening too close to her, so she was easing them off and a certain ‘hot-head’ for whatever reason, decided to use his gun and hit her in the head… I hope those girls are okay. I heard that the matter was reported to the police. My question is, WHAT THE HELL WAS A GUN DOING IN THE CLUB? Aren’t patrons searched? I know that ‘REGULAR’ people are searched, so this could only mean that it wasn’t a ‘regular’ patron like me and you, it was someone ‘well known’ or VIP. Sigh.  Have to give the bouncers props though, they were overworked last night and did their job in trying to stop the fights and getting things back to normal. 

It’s as if everyone felt ‘hype’ last night. I got annoyed with the men popping champagne and wetting up other people, I thought another fight was about to happen when a guy splashed a random girl with champagne, messing up her hairdo,  although it didn’t seem to be intentional, the HYPENESS! I was further annoyed with the ‘Money Pull-Up’ ... Imagine, one song being played about 8 times, back to back *Blank Stare*

Apart from all that, it was a really good night that I enjoyed. Not because of the fights per se, but the ambiance prior to and after these happenings, was a great one nonetheless. I can’t blame fiction for the fights, but a weapon being in the club and a patron being hit with one, could have been prevented, so something needs to be done to prevent a re-occurrence.   

Deciding where to go tonight

A Tough Decision to end the year.

Hope you all had a merry Christmas and I’m wishing you all a Happy New Year! As usual, with ending the year, comes the tough decision of, where should I ring in the New Year? Whether it’s going to Church, staying home or ringing it in at party.

Going to church is always a good way to end and start the year while some choose to stay at home with family. If you’re the one to be out partying, kudos to you, but ensure you do it in fine style. Here are the places worth attending this NYE.

French Connection

Venue: Fort Charles

Prices: Presold $3,000, $4,000 at the gate and $5,000 VIP

To be honest, French Connection was NOT on my list of parties to attend this NYE, but I’m quite surprised at the buzz I’m getting about this party. It has always been a great choice on NYE, but I thought it had outlived its relevance and that not much people would even consider it, how wrong I was!

Xclusive

Venue: Caymanas Golf Club

Prices: $5,000 presold (Female), $6,000 presold (Male) and $7,000 at the gate

One of the ELITE parties this NYE that is being TALKED about, but mostly because of its hefty price tag, being $7,000 at the gate, it’s the most expensive party for the night, one has to wonder what’s so special about this party, I must admit, it HAS piqued my interest.

Absinthe

Venue:  Palisadoes Go Kart Track

Prices:  $3,500 presold and $4,500 at the gate

This NYE, Absinthe is the place to be. Great music, great food, liquor and always a great vibe, I don’t think you can go wrong with Absinthe.

Wherever or however you decide to Ring in the New Year, I hope you have fun and celebrate in style the ending and beginning of a new year. Once again, from me to you…. Happy New Year!  

Party Reviews: Osmosis and Renaissance All White

OSMOSIS

Name Of Party: Osmosis

Date: December 23,2011

Venue: Caymanas Polo Club

Friday Night, Caymanas Polo club was the place to be for Osmosis. It was THE most talked about event for the weekend and I can honestly say, it lived up to all expectations.

I have to keep this review short, why? The party got the best of me and I’d be rambling on and on about how great it was. The overall vibe was G-R-E-A-T, and although I wouldn’t give it 10/10, because the décor was the same as last year (Nothing different), and the food court lines were too long, other than that, the music was great and the bars kept the liquor going and there wasn't much of a wait. So I’m giving it an 8/10, but, it’s on my list for one of the BEST parties of 2011. Let me not be too harsh then, I’m giving it 10/10! Even with the same decor as last year, it was still GOOD, if it's not broke, don't fix it, and after what happened last year, i should not be talking about food. So, a 10/10 for Osmosis ! *Throws hand in air*\(^__^)/

Randoms

Let me first say, I did NOTTTT behave at Osmosis!  X__X … (8) 

Last night I let the party get the best of me (8)

Uuummm… my “BATTLES” with my “FRIEND” LMAOOOO *Inside joke*

RENAISSANCE ALL WHITE 

Name of Party: Renaissance All White

Date: December 24,2011

Venue: Palisadoes Go Kart Track

Renaissance all white, I really did not plan on going and I made it clear that I was staying home and at the last minute I got a call and decided to go and surprise a friend.

Renaissance was another great party for the weekend and even though I was still TIRED from the night before, it was the type of party that could pull me out my bed and at the end of the night, I’m glad I went.

I’d give Renaissance all white a 8/10 rating. Although I had fun, the vibe was not consistent throughout; it had its highs and lows. There was a problem with the music equipment it seems, as there were times i could hear echoes of the song that was being played (coming from another sound box), wasn't pleasing to the ears at all.

Randoms

The girl in the wedding dress who took the night! Lol

The selector! CHAT TOOOOOO MUCH! I hate going to a party and hear this bag a chatting... kmt

I hope that girl wasn’t trying to walk out the party with the chair…. =/