Fall From Grace 2012

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent. I wanted to open with my impression of the whole night, from the concept of the event through to the food, the show and the dance.

This year a lot of people on the soca scene seem to be raising their ‘game’. This Bacchanalia Mas Band Launch was a shining example to that statement.

From the outset the concept was different to most band launches. The event was split into 3 sections.

1. The Dinner
2. The Show
3. The Dance

To attend all 3 there was what some would consider a steep entry fee £40. My view is that you pay for what you get. If you want to try something new, different and exciting or get a better experience it is generally necessary to spend more.

You then base the value you gained from the experience to the money you spent. I am sure that for those who spent the £40 to have the full Bacchanalia Mas Band experience a lot of value was gained.

Take A Look At All The Pictures Here

The Location – The Plush and Elegant Starlight Suite in Leyton, London. On the approach to this venue you do think to yourself ‘is this really plush and elegant?’ However when you get inside you then have to agree that it is indeed a nice place. Don’t let how the building looks on the outside fool you. After all its whats on the inside that counts right lol.

For the type of event that Bacchanalia put on I think the venue was perfect. Very well presented with a good catering area, bar and stage for the performances.

The Dinner – Upon entry we were given a complimentary glass of champagne. A great start to any event. This was followed by a 3-course (well cooked) meal full of Caribbean flavours. To start was butternut squash soup. The main was a buffet of rice, stew pork, stew chicken, macaroni pie and callaloo with a selection of salads. Dessert was Cayaman rum cake with either custard or ice-cream.

There was plenty food to go around and the catering staff did an efficient job of getting us all fed.

On the tables were bottles (I think x5 per table) of rum punch. Which went down well.

The Show – During the meal there was live performances from some of the talented entertainers who are part of Bacchanalia. There was great singing from Nikisha Reyes-Pile and the award winning Michelle Escoffery. An awesome dance routine from Letitia Simpson (how she managed to dance like that in the heels she had on I will never know).

Check out Michelle singing Bachanalist

After the meal was completed, the tables were moved back and we were invited to mingle and get to know other people in the band.

The main show kicked off around 11:45pm and it featured the launch of the jouvert section as well as the costume sections.

Bacchanalia Mas Band Launch – The Show.

The Vibe – I think it is only in soca that you can get a very wide age group of people at one event each having a great time. The were young adults to 65+ year old soca loving fetters having a blast.

The Music – The music suited the occasion well. There were some back-in-times calypso played. Up-front soca was also served up with good mixtures of some reggae and rnb.

All in all this was a great night with nice vibes, amazing talent a good show and good food. The drinks were cheap as well £2.50 for a rum and coke.

If you went to the launch and you want to share your view fee free to do so in the comment area below.

Take A Look At All The Pictures Here