Saturday, July 30, 2005

CARIBANA 2K5: Int'l Soca Rave

cK reunites with n8 Dogg and pals!

There were 2 major parties for the Caribana Sunday. You were either at the Machel Montano FIre Fete Part 2 at the KOOLHAUS in downtown Toronto, or... you were at the PALAZZO entertainment complex for the International Soca Rave. That's where I went.

I went there last year and it was off the chain, but the door was poorly managed by security. This year, it was well managed. A super improvement in comparison to last year.

The artists appearing at this venue were: Iwer George, Denise Belfon, HOT 97's Fatman Scoop, Dr Hyde, Dr JAY, De Hitman, Soca Monarchs and much more artists.

I went with my boy, n8, my cousin, Jazmine from NY, and my other pals, Selena and Samir. We met up with more friends and cousins once inside the venue. I have to say, that coming early (10pm) really helped to get inside the place faster. Last year, people who had tickets, were turned away around 11:30pm when the venue exceeded capacity. We definitely did not want to go through that this year. The venue was very hot, and the a/c was working full blast! There were so many people generating heat jumping up and going crazy that the a/c's cold breeze was not enough.

Selena, Samir, n8 and cK - Pic was taken by Jazmine

When it got real hot, our group proceeded to go to the outside patio. It was much cooler there and breathable. It also was packed with people with the same idea. After catching a few breathers, we went back inside and found that the top floor lounge wasn't as packed, it was very spacious and the a/c was cold up there. So we chilled there for a bit. I eventually got too comfortable and forgot for a second that I came to a SOCA RAVE and not a lounge. So I left that area and went on to the main area to jump up and go nuts. Thats where I found Shelley and joined her for a bit.

cK taking a 1 second break from dancing

Shelley and Veda dancing

N8 came to join me and we danced going crazy for hours. Yes... its a SOCA RAVE! I went to the bar and brought back bottles of water to keep up hydrated. We kept on dancing. The music was fantastic. There was a part in the night when Fatman Scoop came out and hyped up the party.. and then the music artist known as "De Hitman" who sung last years underground hit "Mr. Shankar" came out and the place just lost it. It must have been somewhere around then I fully lost my voice.

Denise Belfon - pic taken by Jazmine

Somewhere around 1:30am...n8 and I went back to the outdoor patio. It was still hot. Suddenly, it started to rain. The outdoor patio is covered so nobody gets wet, but it was so hot you kinda wanted to. n8 and I found a spot right at the end where the fence is that rain was streaming down and trickling in. We stood right under it and cooled down. It would have been a great pic if someone were to take it.

Even though the party went all the way to 5am, we left after 3am. It was great. Palazzo's Soca Rave lived up to the hype, again!