Thursday brought the highlight of many student’s social calendars’ – Carnival’D – to campus. The night promised to bring Rio de Janiero, Notting Hill and Venice Masquerade all together under one roof.
In recent years, the Big D events have attracted criticism for not being worth the ticket price, and to this end Derwent made the decision to slash both the capacity and price of the event. Now only in D Bar, the JCR and a few marquees, Carnival’D was definitely the better for this move. On top of the acts performing, there was a bungee run, gladiator-style fighting podiums and a silent disco with two channels all included in the ticket price.
Despite this abundance of activities available outside, they remained mostly neglected for the night, as students flocked to what they knew best: the smoking area with its shisha pipes, and to D-Bar, where drinks were served promptly all night to keep the throngs of students happy.
The music was eclectic enough to pique all interests, from York favourites Dandy and DeLions playing incredibly energetic ska to an excitable crowd, to DJames and his setlist of sharp R&B and hip hop edits that kept old school favourites sounding fresh to students jaded by several weeks of post-exam parties.
Held in Derwent JCR, Room 2 played an important role during the night, featuring the likes of Milli Vanilli and Breakz, to which the party-goers seemed to flock about halfway through the night. Harry J and Tim Perera, local York DJs, were excellent acts despite not having a real gathering until after the end of Ms Dynamite. Gin & Juice also played fantastically, however suffered due to their early slot, resulting in a small audience.
Fenech Soler filled about half of the dancefloor with their feel-good indie-rock. Even so, Aa good as they were and hard as they tried, there were simply not enough people around, and it was commented that some students were unaware that they were even playing. Nonetheless, the crowd that they did attract were raucous and enthusiastic, with everyone dancing even to their lesser known hits. Their hit single ‘All I Know’ went down a storm and overall they were easily one of the strongest acts of the evening.
Miss Dynamite stood out as the best act of the night. As she opening with ‘Miss Dynamiteee’ the crowd went wild, truly transforming the night from a normal Club D to something of proper significance. She played most of her classic hits, such as ‘Wile Out’ which really got the crowd going, harking back to the halcyon days of 2003. Hilariously, towards the end of her set, something resembling a mosh pit formed in the middle of the canteen. Only in York.
With all this in the more intimate setting, the atmosphere of the night was impressive, especially when considering that basically you were paying £15 to go into to the canteen. Even the JCR didn’t seem as dingy and unhygienic as it usually does. The team deserves congratulations for the transformation of the space. However it was slightly tainted by the finite amount of people along with party-goers inability to follow the carnival theme, with the attire mirroring a house night at Fibbers rather than a parade in Brazil.
Overall it was a brilliant night, with brilliant decorations, wonderful music, and the perfect way to end the year. Although it was enjoyed by everyone I spoke to, those who had attended the Big Ds of the past argued that it was more of a glorified Club D than a real Big D event. It wasn’t what Big D used to be, or is supposed to be: it was fun, eclectic and friendly – but it wasn’t ‘Big’. For most though, this didn’t seem to matter.
As a third year I went to both BigD and Summer Ball, and can honestly say that BigD trumped the Ball on not only value of ticket prices, but student experience. DBar that night had £1.50 pints, which compared to extortionate racecourse prices (excluded on the ball ticket description for obvious reasons) made the night much better.
Yes, this was not the BigD of the past, but Derwent and student life this year has seen a drastic change in the social makeup of Freshers, who spend and party a lot less that the organisers would have been stupid not to adapt. You first lambast them for being too pricey and too big, now they are cheap and too small. Pick your side and fight, don’t have have your cake and eat it.
And yeh it was a pity that not the majority dressed up, but how you can blame that on the organisers I do not know. It’s my choice what I wore, they cannot be held responsible for that. And the Vision writers didn’t dress up or make the effort themselves, as I’m pretty sure t-shirts and jeans aren’t typical gear at Rio…
I know one of the organisers, and am pretty proud of what they have achieved given the change in Derwent and Freshers this year considering what few resources they have. I went to Summer Ball as it was my Grad Ball, but I wouldn’t ever again, whereas Carnival’D still had that end of year warmth that ended my time here perfectly.
Let’s not joke, the event was a load of shit. What an absolute let down to the JCRC’s of the past, seeing Big D degenerate to such a non-event in the space of two years. Long gone are the days when YUSU crashed due to high ticket demand on the first day of sales…
Vice-chairs, you’ve let Derwent down.
“International Food Court” was listed as an attraction at Big D on all the official postings – forgive me if I’m wrong but I wouldn’t call just pulled pork particularly “international”, nor would I label it a “food court.”
Hopefully this year will give Derwemt JCRC a kick up the arse – Big D is far from what it was and has declined over my three years here. The current organisation reeks of complacency. Also, to the previous commenter, the problem is far from a lack of dressing up, that happens every year – the real problem lies with how poorly organised and run this event now is.
Comparing Big D to Summer Ball is also ridiculous – you’re effectively labelling an event as successful as it had some positives compared to another badly organised event. Derwent should be seeking to offer a better experience than Summer Ball, as it did in first year, not compare failings!
Let’s be fair to the organisers: this event has declined over the last 3 years mainly due to apathy of the University populus. I don’t really think it’s fair to blame the organisers – who have put a hell of a lot of effort into making this event a success for everyone’s benefit, let’s remember that.
I don’t know where that apathy has come from, but I noticed a severe decline year on year since 2009 and a complete lack of willingness to spend any money whatsoever on student events, and this can in no way be blamed on 2 people trying to organise the last of many campus events.
It’s also a case of a spiral downwards, in that once one year fails to break the YUSU website and there are still tickets left 2 or 3 days after launch, the hype and excitement is somewhat lost. This means that people who would otherwise buy don’t feel the pressure to be at their laptop on the morning of launch refreshing over and over again.
I’ve heard so many people blame the organisers over the years for a range of “failures”. If these people think they can do a better job, they should quite frankly give it a shot rather than w**k around all day complaining about someone who’s actually trying to do something useful with their time at uni.
It’s a shame that Big D isn’t what it used to be, but it’s time to stop blaming people who are doing their best to put on a good show.
@Fourth Year
Bugger off and stop trying to blame the student population for its apathy. Blame the organisers for booking shite acts instead.