>> View Ronnie & Caro Mas Band 2011 Presents ... "Survivor" Gallery

Next on TJJ’s list of Band Launches to cover was one themed “Survivors” … Ronnie and Caro’s Mas Presentation for C2K11. Now most of us know Ronnie McIntosh better as the ‘Ent’ and ‘How it go Look’ soca singer, but for the past 3 years he and his wife Caro have been successfully managing a Carnival Band, so much so that it has taken the Medium Band title for the last 3 years straight.

Expecting a good fete and more importantly an exciting Mas presentation, we rolled up in the usual Port-of-Spain at St. John’s for around 11 PM. It’s a big venue that is easy to find, although parking is not always so easy to come by ... so much so that a couple of parking hustlers even started arguing over who would handle the responsibility of safe-guarding our car. Of course it’s because they were charging a small fee that was really the reason why they were arguing about who got the job or not … ha ha!

After a little stroll to the main entrance, we got banded and were directed to the VIP/Media area. Here we enjoyed free drinks and eats consisting of a premium drinks menu and some finger foods such as saltfish accras, meat pies and other tasty pastries. Making the most of it while we waited for the presentation, we watched the venue slowly but surely fill up. It was obvious Ronnie and Caro had a faithful following. We even spotted soca artist Blackie up in the VIP! Seems like he didn’t get ‘hook’ tonight however as he appeared to be rolling solo … lol!

Costumes started rolling out at midnight on the dot as promised … well done Ronnie and the DJ for keeping  the party going and then starting on time! Ronnie reached on stage and gave us the run down on Survivors: a portrayal of the many different natural disasters and phenomenon that people have survived both in Trinidad and Tobago and the rest of the world.

The first section was ‘Guardian Angel’ ... TJJ was wondering if we interpret Ronnie wrong but then Global Warming, Tsunami and even Bird Flu reach on stage! The presentation ended with Carnival … the ultimate survivor despite the nay-sayers that ‘Bikini Mas’ will never survive. Also we could see why Ronnie and Caro continue to keep their group of followers and masqueraders   … the costumes were Real Real Bess!

TJJ had to give kudos to some of the models as well. It was level palancing on stage, like they were already out on the road! One man charge out at the crowd like a warrior as soon as he hit the stage, another one was gyrating right on the edge of the stage ... you swear the man could have fell off … lol. There was real eye candy for the ladies and fellas alike also.

After the presentation we sat down Ronnie for an interview and asked our burning question … “with the success of your Mas band, have you retired from soca?” The answer was No! 2011 will see the return of Ronnie McIntosh on stage. You heard it first, right here on TJJ. Ronnie however was very tight lipped on the details … lol.

We return to crowd, hunting amongst the winers and grinders for some interesting characters to talk with. Once again, TJJ learnt how loyal Ronnie and Caro Mas players are … everybody only had good things to say about the service and the costumes of this Band. Humm … like TJJ have to find ourselves on de road with Ronnie & Caro to see if this is as true as they say. Signing out from another 2011 Band Launch …

Sweet Juice for the TJJ Fam

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