It was another evening of upsets and crowd-displeasing results at the Dimanche Gras 2008 show.

The evening ended earlier than it typically does, winding up just after 12:30am early Carnival Monday morning. For the first time in years (ever, perhaps?), Dimanche Gras fans may even be able to get some shut-eye before J’Ouvert. Or not.

In any case, the most startling upset in the costume competition was Brian McFarlane’s Pandemic Rage costume, portrayed by Jhawhan Thomas, beating out favourite Curtis Eustace in his bid to break the Carnival King wins record portraying Chromatic Chaos.

The Calypso Monarch competition also produced several surprises, with veteran acts like Crazy and Singing Sandra relegated to unaccustomed spots in the bottom half. Some of the strongest calypsos and performances – Last Bad John of Kaiso from Kurt Allen (8th), The Recipe from Karene Asche (who won the Political Monarch this year, but came 3rd) and the scathing St Joan of Arts from Chalkdust (5th) seemed to have been undervalued and lost in the hype and politricks of the Aloes-Cro Cro rivalry.

The top two spots were then a toss-up between fierce rivals, Sugar Aloes and defending Monarch Cro Cro. Despite what was, arguably, a fairly weak calypso and performance, Sugar Aloes still pulled off another Calypso Monarch crown. No doubt there is no love lost between himself and the “Mighty Midget”, Cro Cro.

The final results were:

Calypso Monarch
1. Michael “Sugar Aloes” Osuna – Reflections (438 points)
2. Weston “Cro Cro” Rawlins – Respect for the Fourth King (435)
3. Karene Asche – The Recipe (433)
4. Dexter “The Stinger” Parsons – Voices from the Van (430)
5. Chalkdust – St Joan of Arts (426)
6. Walter Taylor – Sorry (419)
7. Leslie Ann Ellis – Our Nation’s Heroes (410)
8. Brian London – A Song for We and Kurt Allen – Last Bad John of Kaiso (tie: 409)
10. Singing Sandra – I Stand for Trinbago (406)
11. Skatie – Reasons (402)
12. Versatile – Shadow Reloaded and Edwin “Crazy” Ayoung – A Positive Message (tie: 393)
14. Francine “Singing Francine” Edwards – The Irony (386)
15. Sekon Alves – When We Meet (380)

King of Carnival
1. Jhawhan Thomas – Pandemic Rage – Brian MacFarlane (431)
2. Curtis Eustace – Chromatic Chaos – Evolution Carnival (427)
3. Earl Thompson – Man – Island People (416)
4. Glen Turnbull – Amazula (400)
5. Ronald Des Vignes – Cocoa in the Sun (390)
6. Glenn Dave Larkhan – Master of the Wind (382)
7. Theophilus Simmons – D’Great Tribal Warrior (380)
8. Roland St. George – Obsession (378)
9. Aaron Kalicharan – Bongo Beat (363)

Queen of Carnival
1. Susanne Lowe – Yemanja: Orisa Goddess of the Seas – Trevor Wallace & Associates (413)
2. Lenore Caterson – Peesunt: The Daughter of Chief Kitwanga (401)
3. Tamara Alleyne-Gittens – A Splash of Scandal (396)
4. Gloria Dallsingh – Makeda: D’Warrior Queen (395)
5. Peola Marchan – Matilda, Who Gathers Flowers of Life and Sings its Virtues (385)
6. Alana Ward-Mike – Coatlicue: Yucatan Goddess (373)
7. Savitri Holassie – A Brighter Way of Life (370)
8. Anne-Marie Quammie Alleyne – Jewels of Marakech: The Ancient Berber Tribe (355)
9. Inez Gould – Goddess of Fertility (348)
10. Pamela Gordon – D’Devine Queen of Worship (342)