Tonight: THE Michael Jackson Tribute Party

Sorry I haven’t been around lately but I’ve had shit to do. Planning a major party in one week has been stressful, but tonight we will reap the benefits! Our man Michael Jackson died one week ago today and we need to pay him respect. There have been a few other tribute parties here and there, but I guarantee this one will be the party of the year. 10 PM, Peacock Room, $5 cover.


We encourage everyone to dress as appropriately as possible!!! Meaning glitter gloves, red leather jackets, high water pants, fedora hats, arm bands, white v-neck tshirts, and fakes noses !!!

So tonight, gotta leave that 9 – 5 upon the shelf, and just enjoy ourselves.

What To Do This Weekend?

Tonight you should go to this at Peacock:



And tomorrow you should join me at Semoran Skateway for my awesomely retro-fied roller disco birthday party!!!



Tube socks will be in effect. Sweet.

Magic Playoffs + Extended Drinking Hours = Extreme Work Hangovers

You may or may not have heard by now that you can get your drink on until 3 AM tonight and Thursday due to the Magic playoffs. This is a bittersweet victory for a few reasons: 1) Umm… don’t most people have to be at work early on Wednesday and Friday? and 2) Really, City of Orlando? All it took to extend drinking hours was the economy tanking and the Magic finally making the playoffs? If we ever hope to get back to the days of clubs actually staying open late, maybe we’ll just have to conjure some unicorns or teach pigs to fly. If the Magic can make the playoffs, anything is possible, right? Oh yeah, and fuck you for that parking ticket the other night. I was one minute late and on my way to refill your stupid meter!!!!

Wait, what was I saying? Oh, right… more time to drink tonight! If you want to get all up in the downtown chaos, Crooked Bayou is a great spot to watch the game. Not only do they have awesome food (try the Danimal with honey mustard and a side of tater tots), but they’ve also been featuring Magic-al drink specials throughout the playoffs.


Redlight Redlight will also be showing the game this evening, along with hosting a special beer-tasting event. The Left Hand Brewing Company will be serving up beer flights to try their southpaw-style beer and the first 48 people get to keep their pint glass.

(Note… Not sure if Redlight Redlight gets that extra-hour extension. According to the official press release of the City of Orlando, “alcohol can be sold until 3:00 a.m. (instead of 2:00 a.m.) and that closing of properly licensed establishments (within the City’s corporate limits) will be 4:00 a.m.” This fun little parentheses may very well screw over places like Redlight Redlight, Will's Pub and Peacock Room.)

And the award for most creative way to rip off the Magic’s logo goes to Covert Skate Shop!

Even though I'm the opposite of a sports fan, I can't help but be stoked for my li'l ol' town of Orlando getting national recognition. Hopefully they won't get their asses handed to them again! Happy hangovers to all planning to celebrate (or drown sorrows) tonight and Thursday!

The Haps This Weekend

Here’s some stuff you just shouldn’t miss:

Tonight at Will's Pub: La Garage a Go-Go! with Los Knievels, The Empyres, The Mondellos


Over at Peacock: Latenight Society presents Disco Disco with Just Jason, Romano Arcaini, Gino Sutera and Nigel


Saturday at Orlando Brewing: The Grafitti Bus Tour featuring artists, DJs, BBQ and beer.


Saturday night at Hard Rock Live: comedian Jim Gaffigan



Have a good one :)

A Wet Wednesday

Oh, Orlando. It seems as if the feast or famine rule also applies to the weather. A drought for 3 months followed by torrential downpours for 3 days straight (and counting)? Why not spread these things out a bit??? It would make for happier residents.

Anyways, if the rain finally decides to stop, or if you can rock a pair of galoshes like nobody’s business, then wade your way to one of these parties tonight.

The almighty Rocksteady crew is taking on Brownsville tonight for Sound Clash Soul @ Peacock: Kittybat and Diddles vs. Nigel and ThinkDifferent. Serato will be in effect.


And it seems the monthly Good Look party has been moved from beloved Bikkuri Sushi. Why? According to a cryptic Facebook message, it seems Bikkuri has been violating city codes and has been shutdown indefinitely. So much for the secret venue with seizure-inducing disco lights (they were a cool photo backdrop, though). The new home of Good Look is The Beacon, which just doesn’t seem the same. Maybe it’s the frat boy-esque, “see and be seen” vibe that accompanies most of the restaurants in Thorton Park. Can the Good Look kids thrive in this kind of environment? We’ll find out tonight.

Happy Wednesday!

Art Show: Charles Marklin

Tonight at the Peacock Room) don't miss the opening reception for "Girls of Color" presented by local artist Charles Marklin. There may even be free wine. :)



Not too shabby for a rainy Monday, eh?

Just Another Manic Monday

Yesterday, after infiltrating the swimming pool at a Disney resort that shall remain nameless, we took a 192 road trip. Water Mania and Xanadu are closed, but Gatorland, Shell World and the gift shop with a wizard on the roof are still in full effect.

In other news, come to this tonight at Peacock to cure your case of the Mondays.

Silver Streak + Dolla's Solo Show + Awesome Afterparty + MC Chris

My apologies to all of you faithful DSO readers (hopefully there are some of you left) for slacking on updates. Last week I was in Fiji for work (aka relaxing in a villa with a private pool on a gorgeous private island resort) so I have been especially out of the loop. Did I mention I have the best job ever? I did? Okay... so yeah, the best job ever is taking up a lot of time and energy, which doesn’t leave much for this blog.

Anyhooooo... Here are some events going on this weekend:

Tonight at Peacock, you should check out Silver Streak. No, not the Gene Wilder / Richard Pryor movie, but rather a DJ trio consisting of Nigel, spaNk and Rhett Elliot. Peep their promotional video below.

Silver Streak May Dates! from Rhett Elliot on Vimeo.

Saturday night the most awesome local art gallery ever, Bold Hype, is having their first solo show featuring Dolla. Seen those smiling Buddhas around town, the ones that say Dolla Lama? Yeah, that’s him. He also has a promotional video – check it (promotional videos are the new black).

$TILL PAYIN' DUE$ from VЯL♳ on Vimeo.

Then over at Stardust, the official afterparty begins with Andrew Spear and yours truly. It’s going to be awesome, we promise.



Finally, instead of watching 60 Minutes and dreading the coming work week, wrap up your weekend by seeing MC Chris at The Social on Sunday night.



Have a fun weekend, kids!

Today Sure is a Good Friday, Huh?

I never could figure out why Christians call this day "Good Friday" when their favorite dude was crucified. I would think "Black Friday" would be more appropriate, but I guess that name was already taken by the post-Thanksgiving retail store hell. Anyways, here’s what’s going down this weekend:

Mr. Religulous himself, Bill Maher, is spitting his brand of religiously-offensively-awesome humor tonight at Hard Rock Live. I wonder what he has to say about Good Friday and Easter. If you want to find out, tickets start are a mere $55 + Ticketmaster fees. Ouch. Here he is with a penguin.



I have said before that Kittybat is the best DJ in Orlando, no question, hands down. I’m pretty sure it’s because he’s so damn versatile musically – in fact, he plays bass in a rock band called The Attack. They are playing the early show at The Social this evening along with Fake Problems and the River Boat Gamblers. Show starts at 5PM (yikes) and costs $12.



For a cheaper road, check out the Disco Disco party at Peacock Room with Latenight Society, Tard and Nigel. Don’t let the name fool you – not a drop of disco music will actually be played. I scoured the interwebs for a flyer, but all I could find was this video:

disco!disco!


Or, if tasty kid snacks and punk rock is your thing, check out the awesome all-girl band The Little Debbies over at Crooked Bayou. I was always a fan of the oatmeal creme pies.



And on to Saturday. Hipster favorite, Ratatat, will be playing at House of Blues. I don’t really have an opinion on them either way, but I do dig these Bjork and Kanye West Remixes.

Bjork - Wanderlust (Ratatat Mix).mp3

Kanye West - Get 'em High (Ratatat Remix).mp3



There’s also a Ratatat afterparty going down at The Social. This is the part where I would tell you who’s playing (I believe the aforementioned Kittybat is in the mix) but the social’s website is down at the moment, so I cannot fact check. Hopefully by the time you read this, it will be back up and you can get all the info for yourself.



And last, but certainly not least, we have The Empyres a band formed from ex-members of The Hatebombs, Fantasie and View-finder (and also Swami and the Salamis, if you remember them). They’ll be playing over at Peacock with Vanda.



If you believe in the Easter fairy tale, then have a nice one. If you don’t, have a kick-ass weekend anyway.

Street Players + Club Queso + Say When + Beer Bombs

If you’re a tad older and a music nerd like me, then you’ll probably be excited to see Chicago play at Hard Rock Live tonight. (Cue: Baby What a Big Surprise.) If you’re not down with the Cetera-less band, then read on for other happenings.

First Friday must mean it’s time for everyone’s favorite night of deep house and Mexican wrestling masked mayhem. Club Queso, starring Q-Burns and Atnarko, is going down tonight at the Peacock Room and they promise super villains, dancing queens and a free mix CD to the first 50 people.



Saturday night the local art scene gets a nice kick in the ass thanks to Bold Hype, the art gallery next to Stardust Video that totally knows what’s up. Their group show, Say When, opens tomorrow night and features some of the best internationally-known artists and illustrators. The flyer claims this to be the “biggest new contemporary art exhibit in Orlando. Ever.” and they’re totally right. Don’t miss out. 7 PM – 11 PM.



Once the show ends at 11, the festivities continue next door at Stardust with yours truly and Andrew Spear hosting the official Say When Afterparty. We’ll be playing all kinds of music – or maybe just disco and funk, we haven’t really decided yet. Either way, it’s better than listening to the same untz untz beats all night. Best of all, they have liquor and there’s no cover charge.



If drinking beer on a Sunday is your thing, you’re in luck! The Beer Bomb Bus Tour is scheduled for April 5th and tickets are available at Redlight Redlight for $45 per person. What does that include? You get to ride on the fully-stocked Shipyard bus for four different beer classes at four different bars in four different towns. Sounds like you’ll be four different kinds of obliterated before it’s over. The party kicks off at Redlight Redlight at 2PM and stops include The Sanford Wine Company, OM Bar in New Smyrna Beach, and then to The Abbey in Deland. Visit the Myspace page for more info and other upcoming events.



Have a nice weekend, kids! Street sounds swirling through my mi-i-i-ind.

Jellyfish and Other Weekend Events

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, my apologies for less-than-frequent updates as of late. My home computer has finally died a nasty death, leaving only my work computer to access the internet. And in today’s hard economic times, my jobby job is very important to me. Ok, enough woe-is-me talk – let’s get some weekend action up in this piece.

First off, we have an art installment from Doug Rhodehamel. Remember when he was collecting all those plastic bottles a few months back? Turns out he wasn’t cashing them in to pay he rent, he was creating sea creatures. Night of a Thousand Jellyfish takes place at the City Arts Factory from 7 to 11 PM with music by DJ Nigel. It’s 2 bucks or you can opt to bring a cheap bottle of wine. I know which one I’m choosing!



And over at the place you never thought would open, Will's Pub, catch The Empyres – a band consisting of ex-members of The Hatebombs, Fantasie and View-finder. Or Dave Ewing, Jeff Orlando and Aaron Zacktan if you need names to go with the faces. Special guests: The Bell Towers. $5, 10 PM.



Continuing down the 17-92 pub crawl, we have The Future on Films in Space playing at the Peacock Room. $5, 10 PM.



Househeads should stop in at Crooked Bayou this evening, where DJ Chang (best known as resident DJ at the ecstasy-filled nights of club Simon’s in Gainseville) will be the special guest. No cover, 10 PM.



Kick your Saturday off with a group art show dedicated to life in Central Florida. Altered State features work by Johannah O’Donnell, Joseph Williams, Linda Hartmann, Morgan Steele, Pam Treadwell, Patricia Coyle, Peg Martin and Tom Hope. Each artist will be showing their perspective of life in our fair city – it should be interesting to see the outcome. It’s being held at my favorite bight-orange building, Say It Loud. $5, 7 PM, soundscape by Adriaan Mol.



Also on Saturday, The Spam Allstars will be heating up The Social. The 9-pice band blends “electronic elements and turntables with Latin rhythms, funk, hip-hop and dub to create an eclectic, original sound.” Special guest: The Gerry Williams Band. $10 in advance, $12 day of show.



And finally, the last Saturday of each month marks the Dublife party at Crooked Bayou. Hosted by Jungala, No cover, $10 PM.



Have fun :)

Fucking Finally - A Weekend Post!!!

To quote the great Sir Boy George, "I know you missed me, I know you missed me, toniiiiight!*" and "Time won't give me time." After over a month in limbo, for which I have no excuse except extreme busy-ness, I'm back to give you the skinny on this MLK JR. weekend.

(*I just found out the words to this song are "I know you'll miss me, blind" so I have been singing it wrong forever. Oh well, it's already too deep-rooted in the brain to change it now).

First up tonight, bundle your happy ass up and hit Sky60 tonight for the Obey Party, presented by Covert Shop. They promise free gear and stickers, 2 for 1 drinks until midnight, and dope music from MOT, LT Smash and Johnny 5 Mikes. Password for free admission is "OBEY THIS".



If braving the cold ain't your thing (pussy!) then hit up the Bangers and Hangers On party over at Crooked Bayou.



And, finally, the main event, the highlight of the weekend - month - year - decade, etc.: The Stevie Wonder party at the Peacock Room. Yes, I may be a tad biased because myself and Andrew Spear and throwing it, but still - it's an event not to be missed!!! Rumor has it that Stevie himself will even make an appearance.



So there you have it. If I hear of anything on Sunday, I'll update this post. Enjoy your long weekend, if you have one. We finally get Obama on Tuesday, and that's reason enough to celebrate. Hope to see you out, kids!

Prohibition Is Over! Now, Let's Drink!

December 5th is a big day in the history of drinking. Remember that time, back in the 20’s, when alcohol was illegal? Me neither. But today you can thank Utah for being the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment, which canceled out that lousy 18th Amendment for those of you playing along at home. So this weekend, why not raise a glass to Utah -- something I doubt you will ever do again -- to celebrate this glorious date in history. Then get wasted in honor of it. Here are some options to help you out.

Tonight, kick off your drinking binge at Heritage Square with the Orlando Holiday Brew Fest. For the (mere) $25 admission fee, they promise food, entertainment and (obviously) lots and lots of beer.



The boys of Get Mental are back tonight at Sky60 after a month-long hiatus. Not sure if this weekly party is going to continue in the future, but they promise madness and mayhem tonight. The weather will be in the 50s, which is not cold, people. So don’t complain, throw on an extra layer and enjoy the un-humid, non-sticky evening outdoors. Password for free admission: Fuck Rent, Let’s Party.



First Friday means one thing at the Peacock Room - Mexican wrestlers. The holiday edition of Club Queso features the usual cast of characters: Q-Burns, Atnarko and Sleazy McQueen. Free CD to the first 50 people.



Also tonight, Taste will be hosting a benefit party for Syd Zed. I don’t know the guy personally, but he got injured on the job, was misdiagnosed, and is now dealing with all kinds of workers comp hell on top of his injuries. If you click the info website, you can see pretty horrific photos of his foot or just read more about how he is being fucked over by the man. Support him tonight, along with local bands Franchise, The Mondellos, Jim O'Rourke, Hot Hands, The Saved 666 and DJs Cub and Dirty Sneakers.



Or, if you just feel like catching a movie, the Enzian will be presenting Gremlins as part of Popcorn Flicks at Winter Park Central Park at 7PM.



On to Saturday! You may have heard about the party I am throwing, but just in case... join Miss Becky (that's me!), Nigel and Cub for The Non-Denominational Holiday Funfest at the Peacock Room. God, I love The Simpsons.



A little band called The Misfits are also performing at Firestone on Saturday night. I’m guessing if you want to go see them, you probably wouldn’t come to my party anyway. And, since I can never resist a Jem and the Holograms reference, “We are The Misfits. Our songs are better. We are The Misfits, The Misfits, and we’re gonna get her!”



Have a lovely weekend and don’t forget to get drunk -- after all, it’s your constitutional right as an American. Thank you, Utah!