*title taken from "All O' Dem" by Bunji Garlin
Brooklyn Labor Day Carnival Weekend 2014
My Brooklynites and socaholics know that this summer was full of disappointments. Parties were cancelled, shut down, or just plain awful. As a fete junkie, I found myself hesitating to purchase tickets to events because I was unsure as to whether or not the event would go off as planned. Luckily, Labor Day weekend had so many good parties that I tried to go to all of them.
I began partying right after work on Thursday when I headed downtown to Miss Lily's restaurant for a meet and greet with Machel Montano. On Friday, I hit up Club Nova for Island Colors party and on Saturday, I had a ball at Wii Carnival. Sunday was a party marathon that began with Sunny Side Up, then Kes & Friends at 760 Rooftop in the city, and finally, Hot 97's 5 Alarm Blaze at Stage 48. Six parties in one weekend is a lot, but with so many amazing fetes planned for the weekend, I wish I could have gone to all of them.
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I had never been to 760 Rooftop at The Copacabana before, but when I found out that Kes the Band would be there for a free concert, I figured it was worth the trip to Midtown. Despite the coolness of the room, rags and napkins were used to dab sweaty faces as we danced. Yes, this was a great warm up for the sexy, soca superstar.
Sunday was a marathon day for me. While most good people were in church or lounging at a backyard barbecues with their families, DysChick was running from fete to fete. My day began with the annual morning fete, Sunny Side Up - the Brooklyn edition. This party is known in Trinidad as a beach lime, but Brooklynites were able to enjoy a version of it at Pulse 48 yard.
There were rumors that this party would be shut down and that the headliner, Machel Montano, would not show up. Thankfully, none of that was true. Every listed artist showed up, performed, and left the stage amidst cheers and applause. As the only party I went to that was purely soca from start to finish, Wii Carnival definitely the best party of the weekend.
This event was evidence that a good deejay can change the vibe of the party. Although I am a socaholic, I wanted to see what the Jamaicans were up this weekend. For the first hour or so, I was bored! Yes, bored! But when Freeze International touched the set, this party turned into a fete.
After work on Thursday, I headed down to Miss Lily's restaurant on Houston Street for the first time. Not because I had a sudden craving for Jamaican food, but because Machel Montano was scheduled to be there for a meet and greet and interview with LargeUp.com.
After Kes & Friends, I had just enough time to grab a sandwich with my designated driver, take a quick wash up and change into more comfortable clothes before heading a few blocks over to Stage 48 for 5 Alarm Blaze.