Deadly Poison

Since this is not Trinidad where the bands launch 9 months in advance, I thought that I should begin with a short taster of what has been on offer over the last few years just so that the newbies would know what to expect. I do not propose to go into a lot of detail (I would save that for the actual reviews) but as a starter, I thought it would be good to give a little breakdown of what's on offer.

I should begin with Poison UK. Poison describes itself as the premier Caribbean Entertainment Company in the UK. Poison is great at fetes (Wet Fete, Carnival Friday (de traditional Machel Fete) and is a fantastic innovator- this year's PanJazz Events and the annual excursion to Rotterdam are testimonies. What Poison does it usually does very well. It is not known how the closure of its trademark big venue (SE1) will affect it.

Mas in the UK on Carnival Monday falls into three categories: - traditional costume mas (my ting!), fun mas (a hybrid kinda costume, usually without feathers) and T shirt mas (ewww!). For me, Carnival Sunday is the Tshirt day and I must admit that I do look down at Tshirt masqueraders. hehe. Okay back to Poison. Poison is excellent at catering for mas of all genres and for all persons. Poison has about four different options traditionally- three fun mas sections and a costumed section. Last year they called their band "The Red Army" and went with a red theme. This meant that the two variations on the costume were red along with a good few fun mas sections. I personally thought that was lazy.

As to the costumes themselves, they did not really depict anything in particular (although I am sure there was some made up generic description on the website) but there were lots of feathers and some very pretty headpieces (as you can see from the website. There were two basic designs- one with a tankini and the other usual bra and panty mixup. I did not play with Poison this year as I had a free costume for me and my friend with another band and I was also seduced by Bachanalmas (I love freeness!)but they have been my band of choice for the last two years. As to how much it would usually cost, costumes started from 120 pounds but you got a 10% discount if you were a Poison UK card holder. Ah tell yuh de ting set up nice!

Okay moving on to the fun mas. My favourite Fun Mas section this year with Poison was created by Fiona Comption of Dynasty and consisted of some rather cute army wear (one a dress and the other a shorts and jacket combo). They were thankfully not red and also bore country allegiances (e.g. Barbados, Trinidad etc.). I thought that was probably the best of the Lot. The costumes were sexy and tempting and beautiful. This chick is one to watch- she did a really beautiful carnival angel theme a few years ago- I will hopefully be featuring and interviewing her for the blog quite soon. This section is also all inclusive and costs about 65 quid. Value for money in my opinion!

Poison also gives the option of coming adorned with any Carnival costume and playing in the callaloo section for one las jump up. I think this is at a cost of between £60-£80. Good idea but good for all yuh oui, Me, I like my mas too bad to repeat a costume. I like to look fresh.

As for ambience on the road, they do not have a reputation for being stoosh.(My pet peeve). They are probably the Island People of Notting Hill Carnival. They attract a very mixed crowd- a few of the wannabes, a few regular folks, and a few gettoners! Security is always tight however and they are a well oiled organised machine. There are usually a few allowed stragglers in the band but overall, the vibe is nice. For us non trini islanders, the downside with this band is the fact that its strictly Trini soca and nothing else (like Lucia and Grenada and Antigua and Vincy doh exist) but once you get used to it, you will have a good time on the road. There is a good men to women ratio in this band making lots of wining a must.

Definitely one to watch for 2010.

(All pics from Poison UK website- their rights and the rights of the photographers in question are reserved).