Every child usually has that one activity that they are passionate about. Sure, we have the activities some of our parents forced us to attend, but I’m talking about that staple, can’t live without activity. For me, it was roller skating.
My father bought my first pair of Barbie Doll quad skates from Bradlees circa 1993. He threw in every type of protective gear to go along with them. Needless to say, I looked a HAWT padded mess rolling around the side streets of Codman Square. Once I got the hang of it, I tossed my helmet to the side and started going to a nearby rink called Chez Vouz a.k.a. “The Vouz.”. If anyone was looking for me, they knew they could find me there every Friday and Saturday night skating to the latest Hip Hop and Dancehall jams (think back to Bad Boys and Little Vicious jams…) pure chunes meh say! The Vouz had vibes from start to finish. If I lived in Boston now I’d still go faithfully.
But, fast forward to adulthood (bypassing the latter years of high school and college) I can sadly say that I haven’t stepped foot inside Chez Vouz in about 18 years. Sure, I go skating in Jersey every now and then but the tunes are wack and the DJs always start playing Jersey Club for an obnoxious period of time. Yeah, yeah, clearly they should play their own music but it’s just not my cup of tea.
However… all yuh know what is my cup of tea right? SOCA! So when my friend tagged me in a post about some “Wine on Wheels” event in Boston being held AT Chez Vouz, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. When you’re advertising strictly soca and roller skating… sign me up! Registration was easy breezy via Eventbrite and I was able to purchase an early bird ticket. The promoters were going hard on Facebook, keeping the patrons updated and excited as the event drew near and I was thoroughly impressed! If y’all knew the struggle regarding the Boston fete scene you would understand lol.
So, let’s move forward to the day of the event. I get my lil outfit ready and pull my skates out my luggage. In my excitement I posted a short message on the W.O.W. Facebook page letting everyone know that I was going to be the first one in line at 6:58 p.m. They laughed. Just like old times, my mom dropped me off down the street and I sashayed my way to the Vouz a little before 7 p.m. as promised. I couldn’t help but think the following thoughts mid-walk:
– “Let’s see if the doors really open by 7:00 p.m.”
– “If I hear one lick of Hip Hop I’m gonna be vex.”
– “I wonder if de skate floor gonna get ram”
– “Nobody betta make me fall”
– “What’s the vibe going to be like?”
– “I hope they have a good turn out.”
– “What de ras it gonna be like to skate to soca?!”
– “I wonder how dis liquor situation gonna work out. Dey for real?!”
Well, I’m going to answer all of these for you right now lol. I walked up and LOOK AT GOD… the doors were open! My friends hosting the event saw I was the first to arrive, laughed and said, “Yo, she was serious lol!” That’s right, I don’t play! Soca sound checks were taking place as I put on my wheels and chilled for a bit. I looked around and verified that the bar was definitely present; drinks were actually being served…wow! Then, I rolled out.
Me in my element. Pretty sure that was “Bend Down Pause” playing
People started trickling in slowly. Majority of the folks didn’t arrive until damn near 11 p.m. Then within a blink of an eye de place was RAM! The skate-less bystanders were spilling onto the skate floor catching wines, photographers and videographers were everywhere with dey bright lights; skate crews were in tight formation and jam skaters were flying by doing high octane maneuvers. All to SOCA! It was insane! I couldn’t believe what was happening. There was a moment towards the end where I was thinking, “Dag, sure would be nice to hear some dancehall.” (Yes, JA Tabanca still in effect.) Then, BOOM! Mini throwback dancehall session! Then, as if things couldn’t get more real, they called for all the skaters to exit the floor because it was time to get on bad without wheels. How could I forget about the post skate “freak” session lol! Talk about nostalgia! To say I was happy would be an understatement. We walked out of Chez Vouz only hearing Caribbean vibes. The closest we got to Hip Hop/Pop/Rap was “Work” and “One Dance,” and we all know those don’t really count.
Skate Crew com in through!
All I have left to say is well done Scape crew…well frikkin’ done! From an early bird’s perspective things went very well. But, those who arrived beyond fashionably late missed out on a few things.
– You missed the short lines for roller skate rental (unless you have yuh own skates)
– You missed the open space (unless you like to be tight up on people)
– You missed the liquor: Yes folks, there really was liquor in the beginning but BPD shut it down and that is no fault of the promoters. But honestly, if you’re skating, please don’t drink and roll lol. It is dangerous enough as is. Sober skaters only lol.
So my recommendation to party goers for the next W.O.W. would be to haul yuh tail and don’t stick! Simple t’ing. To the Scape crew my only request for the future is to set up speakers in the back of the rink so we could rhell hear de tunes. Other than that, 4.5 stars for a first time fete! Let me know when de next one coming up!
Scape Entertainment biggup yuhselves!
For more W.O.W. pics visit the Trickstarr photo album here!
