Dear recent Orlando transplant:

Ok, so you just moved to Orlando from New York / Philly / Chicago / San Francisco / et al. You feel lost, uprooted, misplaced -- you're starting to think Orlando might suck. Eager to find some nightlife in this town, you go to Lattitudes on Church Street, Slingapour's on Wall Street and that mega-club on Orange Avenue owned by one of those Backstreet Boys (Orlando's finest celebrities). Maybe you even think International Drive, Citywalk or Downtown Disney is where everyone hangs out in this town. Now you really think Orlando sucks.

Well, you're wrong. There is more to this city than theme park "nightlife" and crappy clubs with guys wearing shiny shirts, but you have to know where to look. Instead of complaining about how lame Orlando is compared to your city of origin, why not get out there and support your new scene -- it's a lot better than you think! After all, you moved here for a reason, right? (I'm guessing to escape the cold weather.) So you can do one of two things: either 1) move back to the city you think is sooooo much more awesome or 2) quit bitchin', check the events below and DON'T SLEEP on the shit that is happening!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Feinberg-less Firestone

I feel the need to post about something that's driving me insane lately: something I like to call the "Feinberg-less Firestone." Let's take a look at the talent Mike Feinberg has helped bestow upon Orlando's club scene in the past few years:

Justice
DJ Mehdi
MSTRKRFT
Chromeo
Girl Talk
Tommie Sunshine
Diplo
Digitalism
Bonde do Role
Tittsworth
Surkin
Para One
Curses (aka Drop the Lime)
Peaches
CSS
Steve Aoki
Them Jeans
Toxic Avenger
Flosstradamus
Kid Sister
Princess Superstar
Guns 'N Bombs
Kissy Sell Out
The Rub
Orgasmic
Villains



And now that Feinberg is gone, here is the upcoming lineup:

DJ Mea
BT
DnF
Uberzone vs. Bassbin Twins
Friction and Spice
DJ Icey

Seriously?!?!? I feel like I should grab a pair of glowsticks, throw on some Jncos and set my Delorean for the year 1998. Haven't Orlando breaks died a horrible death by now??? Things are not looking good.

Be prepared for all flyers to start looking like this:

Friday, July 11, 2008

Get Mental + His & Hers + Hellboy Art + Free Slurpees!!!



Another weekend is upon us here in O-town and I will start the same way I do every Friday -- with the Get Mental weekly password. If you haven't been to this night at Sky60 yet, you don't know the insanity you're missing. Tonight's password for free admission is: My doctor says this will be good for me. Take two shots of Jaeger and call me in the morning.

What do you get when you cross Ted Danson with The Lord of Darkness from Legend?



Hellboy, of course!



Saturday night, Überbot is celebrating the anticipated sequel, Hellboy II: Electric Boogaloo, with a comic-inspired art show. Click the flyer for more info.



There's another art show taking place at Bay Two at Mills Park on Saturday, but I couldn't find any information on it. At all. Except that it has a $7 cover, which is completely ridiculous.



The real meat and potatoes tomorrow is, of course, MY party at Crooked Bayou (I am so modest). Cub and I are joining forces to create His & Hers, and we are going to kick your ass with awesome music. Best of all, it's FREE, so you can spend more on booze and fried pickles. Oh word.



Have a great weekend -- hope to see you out!

PS... Since today is July 11th, 7-11 is giving out free slurpees!!!

Shameless Self Promotion

Weekend events coming soon. Until then...

Come to this tomorrow night! Woooo!



*muah*

Thursday, July 10, 2008

We All Need New Frontiers!!!

Hello, again! I apologize for my extended absence, but now the birthday and vacation craziness is behind me and I should be able to get my blizzog back in shizzape. And who better to celebrate my return than the much-anticipated Journey cover band, Frontiers??? They are gracing the stage at The Social tonight and I am so stoked, people, I can't even tell you!!!



Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell said it best: "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby" but with Steve Perry out of the picture, this is the best we get. OR, you can opt to see the Asian guy heading up the real Journey (along with Heart and Cheap Trick) at the Ford Amphitheatre later this month.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Cuatro de Julio aka 4th of July


If you're reading this – hello! No doubt you're here for the 4th of July festivities taking place this weekend. Thanks to the magic of Google Blogging scheduling technologies, by the time you read this, I will be here:



Ahhhhh, yes. A well-deserved vacation to the Bahamas, courtesy of the "Bank of Mom."

The recent posts here have been much like Miller Lite – taste great but less filling – and my only defense is that I'm just one (unpaid) person, with a 40+ hour day job, freelance gigs and an active social life on the side. But don't give up hope!!! In true campaign-style, I promise a new and improved DontSleepOrlando in the next few weeks!!! Once all this birthday vacation holiday craziness has slowed down, I will be back in full effect.

Until then, I will leave you with the best things I know that are happening this fine weekend:

Thursday:



Ummm... Crue Fest?!? Fuck yeah!!! But it's sold out. If you don't have tickets, maybe you should just rest up for Friday. Don't go to Red Hot and Boom – trust me.

Friday:



Tons of BBQs and all that. I still haven't heard anything about the annual drunken bike ride, so I have no clue if that's in effect. The fireworks at Lake Eola should be amazing, as always, and they can be viewed beautifully at Sky60, the rooftop bar overlooking downtown. Stick around for Get Mental, the new Friday party featuring MOT and Andrew Spear. Password for free admission is: "I'm here to do the Indepen-dance."

Saturday:



KG and The Band is playing at The Social and I've heard they're good. It's almost 5 am now, so this is the best I can do.

Have a safe and happy weekend, kids! Wish I could be here to enjoy it with you (we'll both get over it, I'm sure!!!).

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

NYC invades Carnival tonight!



Yes, the above photo is of Microbes. I have done the hard work finding his Myspace for you. Just try searching for his name in the Google. See if you get back a insane amount of science-y websites that have nothing to do with music. Maybe, just for fun, add the word "electro" and see what you get! Even more scientific jargon, I'll bet.

Apparently he is from a collective in NYC calling themselves The Ruff Club. From what I can gather, the six of them are prone to the color hot pink and had pretty decent taste in music as of September 2007.

Another member of the club is Denny Le Nimh. He didn't have a cool animated Gif, but he likes big yellow smiley faces and had the dopest Robin costume ever in 1979:



Catch them both at Carnival tonight as they show us how it's done in NYC (and vice versa).

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Tonight: DRM and Kidgusto

My apologies for the brief-ness... I am mega-bogged down. No witty commentary today -- all I can muster is a flyer and some links. Sorry!!!



Check out Phat-N-Jazzy for DJ DRM and Kidgusto.

I promise more in-depth posts in the future. Until then... :)