BLISS: PART TROIS

Ok so we have to make sure to keep up with all these changes in BLISS!! Here now is their (kinda) new section Amazonia. Its basically the sme design as Amazon in Tribe but with a different colour scheme. They are both very pretty but I think I am leaning towards this version just an itsy bit more. For the full gallery and close ups click here.

In other news, Ice Warriors just lost its feathered collar. Now I don't know if the frontline will have the collar option or if you can purchase it for an additional price but it just went poof! What is left is kinda blah, the collar really made the costume complete. However this section is pegged to be the 'ultra inclusive' section for those with champagne tastes.( I want to see if it will be a champagne budget as well)

We are still hoping that the "Indian" makes last call as people are anxiously waiting to see what it looks like before commiting to anything. The Bliss site is now up with prices minus some of the newer costume versions, keep checking for updates.

BLISS : THE REVAMP

Well a little birdie told us that the Bliss costumes were going to get a little facelift. Well I expected a slight tweak or two. I certainly was not expecting a complete rework of Ice Warriors and Solaris. So here is Solaris and Ice Warriors take two:

SOLARIS

Solaris is almost unrecognizable. Most of the costume has been completely scrapped with the exception of the tubular gold chain. Most obvious is the colour change which went from gold/orange/ yellow to blue/ lime green. The design on the bra and the waistband are completely chaged.The back of the waistband is a piece of cloth that hangs to one side. The frontline version has a backpack instead of the large armpieces before. I think much better use of the gold chain compared to the previous version and the colour are fantastic . Down the the bracelet accesories......I am truly shocked, 110% improvement!

BEFORE

AFTER

ICE WARRIORS

I had to do a million double takes on this one. The colour combination is now teal/grey/purple. No trace of the former shade of blue. The icicle headpiece and the oversized back pack are gone. We now have giant fetahered shoulder pads and a cute headpiece. Please note the funky pink walls in bliss mascamp sometimes causes some distortion in the colouring and I was so excited that I forgot to take an overall shot with my digital camera instead of my blackberry.The transformation is amazing. Similar style gems are being used but a lot more colour brought into the costume.

BEFORE

AFTER

I really need to give the designers a round of applause! Well done! This is what i was hoping to see in Bliss to begin with! I can see some people jumping off the TRIBE bandwagon very shortly. For close up pics of both new designs click here.

But wait! Its not over yet !! Cyclon is a "dead man walking" and will be removed from the lineup as well. As we speak a NEW costume is being photographed for addition to the band. Stay tuned!

TRIBE IGNITE UK

Your turn London!

TEAM BLISS!

So Tribe had their mascamp opening for their new band Bliss this evening. The crowd started filtering in quite early. I guess either hoping to catch more Roast Pork or knowing that the parking situation is always a pressure. Much to my disappointment there was no roast pork in sight. I would not be left with my belly in my hand however as there was a never ending flow of hors d'oeuvres and if you was REAL hungry there was the biggest mini roti I have seen in a while available for the taking. As an advocate of the Bliss concept I was very glad to see it well attended. The new Bliss mas camp is located next door to the Tribe mas camp within the same compound. It was not long before bandleader Dean Ackin said a few words and welcomed everyone and then invited us all to take a look at the costumes on display.

So thoughts after second look:

TITANS

Probably the best of the lot. This costume is attracting the largest majority of the attention. Almost everyone who has

made the decision to be in Bliss wants this costume. The designer is offering so many different options that it would be difficult not to find one that fits you. There is the two piece, the monokini, the cold shoulder, the plunge, the big backpack, the small backpack, the big head piece, the small headpiece, the big belt, the little belt and who knows what else! From my understanding you will be able to mix and match whichever you want. Love that customis

ation option but I just hope they can keep things straight! The costume is every bit as beautiful in reality and I was glad to see some nice detail on the belt and neckline. I was even more pleased to see that the monokini has and adjustable center piece for different torso lengths. I am loving the diamante crown for the Frontline!

SOLARIS

I was never a fan of this costume and I although i like it better now that I have seen it with a full bra, I am not really sold on it. It has an interesting all metal waistband which was made using a tubular chainlink that has recently become popular with costume jewellery. There is only a little bit of colour in the body wear as it is mostly gold on gold. As I said before I can only presume that the intention is to minimise the body wear to enhance the elaborate arm, leg and head pieces that the floor version comes with. Although quite generous for a floor, I don't particularly like any of them especially the headpiece. The arm and leg pieces are a good design but seems like it was not executed quite right.The feathers look too droopy and there is this "half of an orange feather" stuck on each piece for a sad looking contrast. Maybe its because its a prototype, but I thought the arm band material which is also used for some of the cut out spikes were not of the level of quality workmanship I have come to expect from Tribe. Overall the minimal contrast makes it bit dull in my opinion.

IZUMI CLAN

This is my personal favourite. I am really loving the colour combo.The wrought iron-like detail is very attractive. The waistband is literally held on by two leatherette strings on each side which makes it extremely skimpy!!!! I probably would have preferred a bit more to it because it makes the main emblem portion of the waistband with the long cloth look a bit like a 'pin the tail on the poonky' play piece. It is so nicely detailed and so pretty that I am more than willing to overlook that. The back is a mirror of the front. I would probably cut the cloth anyway (from the top as to not lose the ombre pattern) and maybe use the scraps to make the side ties fabric.The headpiece is also very pretty but I am tired of headpieces and would probably opt for a simpler option if available.Unfortunately the frontline bra was not on display but judging by the book cover (no pun intended) its very racy. If you gonna rock the frontline it would be a shame to do so without the wire bra.

PELE

Another popular option among the sexy ladies. The plunge bra is an eye catcher indeed! The costume is nicely detailed but very reminiscent of Machu Pichu (which as I said before can never be a bad thing) with a lot more diamante. I was able to take a closer look and noticed that there were some more traditional wooden (?) beads included on the hanging parts of the costume. You might think this is a bit

inconsistent with all the diamante bordered gems but it seems to work quite well. My only concern was the fit of the bra, I suppose the mannequin was not the right size but food for thought, those of us with not much volume in the upper booby area due to breast shape (not size) may have some gaps in the top as seen in the pics.The mohawk head piece looks great but again, I hope I would have an option.

CYLON

I think those on the fence about this costume should see it in person. Close up, it is much more attractive than I anticipated it to be and its really growing on me more and more.You might need a bit of swag to rock those shoulder pieces .The costume itself seems to be meticulously put together using materials that individually would be unassuming.I am really liking how the patterns of the squares and circles vary throughout the costume giving its robotic look. In the booklet the model

looks fierce but I am still trying to figure out what is the difference between the floor and frontline in the book. I assume its an error.

ICE WARRIORS

I think my first impressions have not changed much with this costume but the 'like' factor went up a few notches on seeing it in person. Pretty costume and a safe choice. My only concern is that I think either the head piece or the collar needs to be reduced in size. There is too much interference between the two and they overwhelm each other. In reality the collar does not stand as straight up as it appears in the booklet and I would hate to have to hold it up all day like the model does in the studio shots. Furthermore, I hope the strings used to tie the backpack on display become straps (as they typically are in

Tribe) as they will certainly cut into the skin.

CAPRICA

Edited to add:Yeah I somehow skipped this one.

I think the body wear is very nice and the beaded curtain on the waistband is done well. I have a similar concern as with Solaris about the quality of the arm ban material.The arm pieces themselves make the costume quite broad. Don't plan on being able to wlak side by side with your friends. The head piece is not my favourite style but is very elaborate. Overall still one of my favs.

Last, but apparently least, I would like to offer my condolences and say R.I.P to Traxson Warriors which although it made it to the main band launch,it did not make it into the Bliss mas camp or the booklet. It is fair to say that it has been deposed to oblivion where other costumes such as Flamingo have suffered the same fate. I don't think it shall be missed but this strongly suggests either the popular section (Titans) just got bigger or the band just got smaller. I am putting my money on the first possibility.....supply and demand. The Bliss website is due to be up on Tuesday with full pricing. For full gallery click here.

BLISS VS TRIBE

Well unless you have been living under a rock, you would know by now that the management of the band TRIBE has decided to produce a new separate band called BLISS. BLISS is being touted as the "Intimate Experience" with the smaller band size while TRIBE is still the "Ultimate Experience". Since this revelation I have been bombarded by questions about the differences between the two and find myself almost being a marketing representative for the new band Bliss So much so , that I did not even want to tell anybody about when I first found out because I thought it was such a fantastic idea. I have personally been campaigning for a smaller Tribe band for some time; there was my social commentary The Tribe Mentality where attempted to determine what was the driving force between the obsession to get into Tribe,then there was The Lost Tribe where I lamented the loss of the 'Tribe experience' and then there were several other rants about TLC. I also have this theory that Tribe being spawned from Poison had a great advantage and increased probability of being successful by being able to learn the ropes and get their working formula sorted in Poison before creating their own entity. In such a way, I have no doubt in my mind that BLISS as spawn of Tribe can be just as successful as they already know the gameplan. I am therefore an avid supporter in the venture! Will I actually play with them???...well that remains to be seen.....

Firstly, I think a reality check is in order:

1. TRIBE intends to reduce their band size for 2k11 to approximately 4000 ppl or so
2. BLISS will be a small band with approximately 2000 ppl or so
3. There is no more TLC
4. According to a Bliss committee member: TLC is not a requirement for Bliss nor is previous participation in Tribe.You just need to know a committee member willing to register you.
5. It is unclear how the abolishment of TLC will affect the TRIBE band sequence of registration.
6. You cannot shuttle back and forth between Tribe and Bliss.Each masquerader id band entitles you to ONE band i.e drinks, permission to be behind the ropes
7. Everybody can't be in Tribe!!!
8. Everybody can't be in Bliss!!

In my opinion, part of the reason for creating Bliss is so that all the people who can't get into Tribe will have somewhere to spend their money that is still in the realm of Tribe but not have to move to another band completely. This is not a bad idea at all cause you still 'kinda' in Tribe and still get the level of service that you are accustomed to. This works even better for those who don't want the jam session Tribe.

Unfortunately I think BLISS is shooting themselves in the foot (or maybe even the head!) for several reasons:

1. The Costumes: You would think that as a new band they would ensure that the costumes are ALL hot!!! Now I think the costumes are pretty good but very few can be considered great. My personal hypotheses: If I pool all the costumes and take my top 5 picks, my first 3 will be in Tribe and my 4th and 5th would be in Bliss. Even though I loathe,hate and detest the overcrowding in Tribe I am CERTAINLY not throwing down a hard $5 grand on a costume that is my 4th or 5th choice! Comparatively if my costume selection went like #1 in Tribe and #2 in Bliss or even vice versa I would be there in a heartbeat!It only takes one look at Saucy's polls to know that in Tribe the popularity of the costumes are evenly distributed between 3 or 4 sections. In Bliss ,one costume has almost half the popularity! So true talk, doh lie!! Point in fact again, Knights Templar vs Ice Warriors. Same designer, one in Tribe and one in Bliss respectively. Templar is clearly superior so if I am fiercely loyal to this designer why would I not go for her best costume first?And yes I know that Bliss size is limited and I not telling TRIBE how to run their operation but I should also point out that people will want to know why this private section designer has a section in both bands while others do not. I'm jus sayin....
2. The Costumes!! Lets not forget how skimpy they all are ! I love my skettel costumes and I am not playing in any section with no set of cloth but some of the choices in BLISS take things to another level. Yes wire bras are popular but contrary to popular belief not everyone wants one..especially not in if you just want a floor costume. So Bliss as just excluded the average female masquerader who has an average body type who does not want to be so risque by limiting their options (on top of their first 3 choices being in Tribe). Considering that they have also placed many of the older Tribe committee members (25-35 age group) on Bliss' new committee it can be expected that many of their market are also more mature and quite likely more modest in their choices. So having older people market over skimpy costumes to older people (25-45) makes no sense to me. Its almost to the point where you wonder what you are getting for your money cause I am not seeing as many of the wonderful accessories like Templar has or Xi'an has on most of those costumes. Should I therefore expect a cheaper price???
3. Marketing: Exactly where are the costumes? No seriously, where the site?Where the book? Where the mas camp? Hell, who selling for allyuh?? Tribe sent out this info blast announcing the band Bliss and since then ...nothing!!! You guys seem to forget that it has now been a week that people have been talking TRIBE costumes non stop! They go on the site they stare at the costume , they hold telephone conferences with books in hand, they shopping for boots and they designing monday wear...all based on a TRIBE costume that they can SEE. To add insult to injury, we all know the demand in Tribe is so high so if I have access to a private section that I have stared at for a week , even if i was contemplating Bliss I am going to make sure my spot in that private section is booked! Why? Because I am not going to hang my carnival future in my bff band Tribe on uncertainty for something I have not seen or have any info on. I have nothing to compare, no prices, no perks. I would love to know how they splitting the music trucks up.
4. Exclusivity: Right now Bliss seems to be so exclusive that everyone is afraid to even try to get in! Because of the lack of information and explanation of the registration process, many people I know who are interested are either intimidated or turned off at the prospect of Bliss. At the end of the day (past costume choice) they still want to be with their friends and no one wants to feel that if they get themselves in, their friends are going to be out. Bliss has not hit the road and they already have a stush reputation.By being so clandestine in all their dealings they are actually repelling some of their target market.

So in summary, the typical current Bliss masquerader is 30 something (average), with a really hot body, who knows all the right people to know, does not care about how much they like their costume, happened to decide up front that they want the smaller band and did not really like Tribe costumes to begin with. Any how you take it,it's going to be really difficult to find 2000 people that fit that criteria.I really do not want Bliss to suffer the same fate of "Poison 2". If you don't know what that is then you should probably be in Bliss! Bliss please get your act together!!! Let us know what is happening!!! Its an easy fix...hot costumes...more information....where do i sign up! Don't let me down!

BLISS 2K11: REVIEW

Well I certainly got my wish when I asked the TRIBE gods to give me a smaller band. Unfortunately I am not sure if all my other criteria has been met because although I wanted a smaller band I did not want to give up the stage or my favourite costume. It will really be tough for some people to decide between the two depending on what their priorities are..size? friend quota? costume? stage?

If nothing else these costumes were designed to keep people moving as there they are all very skimpy. Floor sections with cage bras well boy! This might be the most ventilated band ever, less people, less costume. Soo my take on the costumes:

CAPRICA

Things were off to a strong start with this one. This is one of my favourites. I really loved the colour combination. It really caught the light very well. I like both versions but would probably pick the starburst headpiece version for myself.

ICE WARRIORS

Its a basic costume but still very attractive with a popular colour combination. The waistband gives very little coverage and is more like a gemmed belt really. I do like the gems used to decorate the bra. I do think however, that the collar on the FL is hidden by the massive head piece. So much so that in pictures they blend into each other.

PELE

Very nicely done but everything here is teeny tiny. You MUST be in top form for this one!I am really loving the plunge bra option for the floor. Its interesting to see a cage bra option for floor as well. Reminds me of Machu Pichu which is one of my fav costumes of all time. The Frontline monokini is gorgeous but I am not really feeling the choker. Love ,love the headpiece!!

CYCLON

Well this year is definitely the year of the shoulder pad and I love them! No feathers and lots of silver give this costume the robotic look that I believe the designer was going for. I really like the headpiece.

SOLARIS

I don't know where they hiding the rest of this costume. The frontline is so skimpy it is almost invisible, i dunno if that was the intention. I guess the beauty is meant to be in the accessories like the leg/arm pieces and the head piece. Even so I don't really like the leg pieces. Would love to see how much this one will cost.

TRAKSON WARRIORS

This colour combo is always difficult to get right but I think it came off pretty well. I really like the bra but not so sure about the waistband. I think the headpiece could have had a bit more to it to give some sort of wow factor. The sleeves are an interesting idea but I would like to take a closer look at them before I decide if I am feeling them or not.

IZUMI CLAN

Another one of my favs. A very pretty colour combination and I love the detail on the bra. The waistband is also very skimpy but it has some detail and the fabric helps to balance it off. The floor shoulder pads are too cute! The frontline is also gorgeous and I love the necklace! The wire bra is very daring but I like how it ties into the waistband.

TITANS

A top pick for sure. Love all the monokini options. The use of the fringe is very well done. I would have a hard time picking which version one I would want if I was in this section.Love it.

So my top picks are (in no order): Izumi Clan,Pele, Caprica, Titans
My least favourite : Solaris

Tribe seems to be taking their time to get Bliss' website up and running and I would love to take a closer look at them all. I think if you choose the Bliss experience you wont have a problem finding a costume you really like however the choice may be driven by how much flesh you are comfortable with showing. Choose wisely!!!