Undercover Cooler Fete 2024
This weekend we attended Undercover Cooler fete at Drew Manor, Santa Cruz. If you've been to Drew Manor, the fete was located in the upper part of the grounds, you know...where Alicia The Talkest and them does have their cooler fete (IYKYK).
I must say this venue was much better than the previous one. For one thing the lighting was better. Last year at Undercover nurseries, even the mosquitoes were carrying pitch oil lamps. Parking was a breeze and there was no line to get into the fete. I stood up at the entrance for a good 10 seconds before I realized they weren't searching coolers.
When you walked in you noticed the decor right away. There were the usual drinks and shot stands but thankfully I didn't see any drain water...err sorry...Campari station. There was even a cigar stand if you're into that sort of thing.
There were also moko jumbies dressed from head to stilts in green outfits terrorizing patrons all over the fete. Ok, well that's how I see it. Some people doh like clowns well I doh like them jumbies dem.
Anyway...the fete was buzzing when we arrived. A lot of people were dressed like it was an all-inclusive which isn't surprising as it probably was plenty people first fete of the season. The talent on display was quite impressive. Carnival is the time when ladies emerge from their cocoons and display the results of eating two crix and half a grape for lunch and riding their Pelton for 17 hours a day.
The party itself felt like two distinct fetes. The back three quarters of the fete was more subdued and stoosh, with plenty of convent gyal two-step side to side dancing on display. Not a fan. The front quarter was where the vibes truly were and where we quickly relocated our cooler.
There was a small food court with all manner of fried shark, flour and potato. They say the oil is eco-friendly which I guess means it's reusable...although old oil is probably what gives you that unavoidable post KFC purge.
As far as the music goes, it was a continuation of the debacle of last season with DJs playing the old familiar tunes from previous years. I mean it doesn't help that apart from a handful of decent 2024 songs the rest is just juice dripping from the garbage truck.
Blaze and Myles however did mash up when they came on. Them fellas had the crowd moving and were responsible for bringing the vibes at the front of the party. However, the "DJ that shall remain nameless" (again IYKYK) was having none of that and put a stop to the vibes as soon as he came on.
The fete was scheduled to go from 7pm to 1am but around 1am they announced they were giving us an extra hour. However, when Hans and he DJ start off with a set of ancient calypso from when Machel was in secondary school, I gave that extra hour right back to them and left. No thank you.
All in all, it was a decent fete but it felt like it was missing that lil extra something to make it epic. I think It needed maybe a lil performance, it didn't have to be somebody big inno and definitely not one of them Trinibad fellas...it coulda be a B-list artiste like....allyuh really feel I was naming names dey?? I guess it would be tough to do that and still charge $350.
Well done Undercover.
TANA