Grandma Party + Duran Duran + The Invincilbles

Today is very special. It's one of the few days the hipsters will brave the hot Florida sun and come out during the daylight. The annual Grandma Party Bazaar will be taking place from 10 AM until sundown in the Stardust parking lot. Expect to see a lot of bicycles, cut off shorts and pale legs (yeah, I'm really one to talk). Should be fun times! Click the flyer for more details:



Duran Duran will be playing tonight at the UCF Arena. I really hope they don't play Ordinary World because that songs sucks. Here's a photo from when they were dope:



Weren't the 80's great? It was totally hot for men to look super gay! I had the biggest crush ever on post-Wham George Michael. Actually, you may see the same hairstyles featured in the photo above at the Grandma Party.



And finally, over at The Social, you'll find west coast rapper Murs joining forces with Florida punk band Whole Wheat Bread to create The Invincibles. Get there early to hear Kittybat throw down beforehand.

Another Beer Fest + Space Ace + Punk Rock

What could be better than standing in a parking lot on this hot Saturday afternoon? Wait, there's beer involved? Count me in! The The Great Orlando Beer Festival is being held today from 2 - 7 PM in the parking lot behind Firestone (42. West Concord St.)



All the KISS fanatics will be flocking to the House of Blues tonight to see the makeup-less Ace Frehley's solo performance. And although I doubt sparks will be shooting from his guitar, he's probably still a badass (his makeup is my favorite!) and the people-watching will be prime.



Punk rock kids should head over to Taste, where the Hate Bombs will be playing. Opening for them are The Dyin' Days, who wrote this awesome description of their band:

In the room where Grandma Santina kept the pictures of her dead children, there were four photos enclosed in a single frame. These were the photos of The Dyin' Days, Grandma's only son born with four heads.

Word. Click the flyer for info.



Oh, and it's flyers like this that make people think Orlando is whack. Mariah Carey's "offical" DJ??? Fuck off.

What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and $300 tickets?

I am a HUGE fan of The Police and was psyched to hear about their tour last summer. That is... until I found out about the price tag accompanying the long-awaited reunion. The tickets in my price range were labeled "obstructed view" -- meaning you were sitting behind a pole in the nosebleed section -- and sold out faster than you can spell Sting. My friends were forking over the $300 for lower level (not even the floor?!?!? Jesus!) and I was pretty discouraged. I just couldn't bear to spend $300 for ONE band and ONE show. It all worked out in the end, though, when one of my favorite guys in the whole world gave me a ticket for my birthday. Hooray!!!

Long story short: I saw them and they were AMAZING. Stuart Copeland is totally the man!!! I still get goose bumps when I hear the song "Wrapped Around Your Finger," as I remember the gigantic percussion set rising from beneath the stage. Seeing him perform the multi-layered, studio-produced song live (and without missing a beat) made me think he may not even be human. His wrists look like rubber when he is playing the drums.

So, if you have any extra $300 that you can happily spend on a show, The Police are the way to go. Joining them at the Amway Arena tonight is Elvis Costello, which is a major improvement over Maroon 5 -- the opening band when I saw them. As my boss put it, "I'm spending $150 to see Elvis Costello and $150 to see The Police. That makes it a little less painful." Indeed.

Tonight: Third Thursday and Prince vs. Michael Jackson

No time to even breathe today!!! I'm this close to having the same kind of breakdown as Jessie Spano on the Saved By The Bell episode*** where she was addicted to speed. "No time! There's never any time! I don't have time to study! I'll never get into Stamford!!! It'll be okay... I just need one of these!"

I could probably do that all day, but again, I am wasting time by quoting SBTB.

*** Holy crap - I just found the Saved By The Bell episode redone by Jesus and Hitler. I <3<3<3 the internet!!!



So, anyways, tonight: Third Thursday at the City Arts Factory. I met an adorable woman named Consuelo Bellini a few weekends ago and was admiring her gorgeous necklace. It turns out she made it herself and is having an exhibit tonight from 6 to 9 at the Q Gallery to show off her jewelry. Get a sneak preview of the beautifully stunning pieces on her website.

Click the flyer for more details.



Next door to the Q Gallery is the Pound Gallery, where Patrick Fatica will also be showing off his artwork from 6 to 9. The frames on his paintings are brilliant and compliment his pieces so nicely. I just recently found out why -- he paints the frames and puts them on himself. Very nice.



While you're in that area, stop into Urban Flats downtown between 8 and 11 for a bite and listen to the deep-rooted battle between two music gods: Prince vs. Michael Jackson.



It's been done before and it will be done again, but tonight (and every Thursday) it will be done by BMF. Personally, I would like to see him change it up each week - Stevie Wonder vs. Chaka Khan? Earth, Wind and Fire vs. Heatwave? Kool and the Gang vs. The Commodores? What about a straight up Quincy Jones party??? The opportunities are endless!!! But I guess those parties would be wasted on the Urban Flats happy hour crowd, anyway.



Of course, the main thing going on in town tonight and this weekend is the Florida Music Festival but I am not going to cover it. Go to their website if you want details.

Tonight: LA Riots take over Carnival!!!

No, not those LA Riots! These LA Riots!



I caught them during the WMC this year at the club owned by Tommy Lee in Miami (PS... huge thanks to the Carnival guys for getting us past the meatheads at the door!!!). LA Riots totally killed the place and had the dance floor going off -- unfortunately Lazaro Casanova went on after them and ruined the whole thing. I have never seen anyone literally clear the dance floor at the conference, but somehow he managed to do it. AND Bloody Beetroots missed the gig because their flight was canceled or some crap. Wait, I'm getting off track -- LA Riots are awesome.

Don't take my word for it -- see for yourself tonight when the cool kids take over snooty Suite B every Wednesday for Carnival! These guys have been bringing some major talent to Orlando and I give them mad props for what they're doing for the scene. \m/



And now for some music:

The Toxic Avenger - Escape (LA Riots Remix).mp3
Justice - D.V.N.O. (LA Riots Bootleg).mp3
Heartsrevolution - Switchblade (LA Riots Remix).mp3

For a sneak preview of what you can expect tonight, here's a mix they did back in January (via Zshare).

Upcoming: The Worst Music Party® Vol. 12

I hope you kids are ready, because I am about to start whoring *ahem* promoting The Worst Music Party® Volume 12 that is going down at The Hideaway on May 23rd. I am starting by posting the best.flyer.ever.made.ever:



Cancel your plans, hide your children and get ready because we're going to have a dunking booth this time!!! Ohhhhh worrrrrrd!!!!!!

Tonight: Phat 'N Jazzy with BMF and Q-Burns Abstract Message

What happens when two of Orlando's best DJs team up to create a new brainchild? The answer lies within tonight's episode of Phat-N-Jazzy. Here's some background info:

"From beyond the stars comes the mysterious John Bigbooty, an interstellar super-group prone to dusty vacuum tube beats and distorted hyper-melodies blasted out of hi-fidelity megaphone speakers. Delicious breakbeat buffoonery mingles with hip-hop sample catching in four outrageous studio productions bound to start a dancefloor pogo riot.

John Bigbooty is rumored to be a one-off collaboration between Eighth Dimension stalwarts Q-Burns Abstract Message and DJ BMF arising from a presumed-forgotten session of beer drinking and beat making. It's been unearthed and repackaged for widespread release and is a sure-fire winner for fans of labels like Wall Of Sound, NinjaTune, and Bastard Jazz. Lap it up."



I have to be honest: I'm a fan of both of these DJs but the name John Bigbooty is terrible. I'm not sure why, but it reminds me of a two-person horse costume.



Still, all things aside, the music should be pretty dope. In addition, tonight is also advertised as "Swamburger's Expo Tees" but I'm not really sure what that means. I'm guessing there will be t-shirts to buy. The B-Side Artists will be doing their thing, and Maria Diestro, the driving force behind local house promoters Hoochie Productions, will be celebrating her birthday.

Lol'n through Monday

I would like to start off with a huge, tremendous, COLOSSAL, MASSIVE, HUMONGOUS (look, I can use a thesaurus!!!) THANK YOU to everyone who came out to Sky60 on Saturday night!!!!!!!!!!! Muchas, muchas gracias!!!!!!

If you missed seeing Nate Day this past weekend, I have good news and bad news. First, the bad: holy bejesus, did you miss an awesome party. If there had been a roof on the club, he would have torn it off.

Now for the good news: you have one more chance to catch him before he rides off into the LA sunset. He'll be playing again tonight at Crush, along with residents Pauly Crush, Justin Scott, Miss Fit, Ge30n, and Koolbreeze.

Even more good news: you can get in for free before 11 by signing up for the Crush guest list.

Password for FREE admission to Nate Day at Sky60 this Saturday!!!

My internet access is about to be taken away, so this is my final push for Saturday night!!!

If you missed my post about how awesome Nate Day is, you should probably go back and read it.



And since Andrew Spear has already summed the night up so eloquently, I will just quote his Myspace bulletin:

"If you don't know by now, this is what you are doing Saturday...

NATE DAY is coming to Orlando this weekend to kill it with ME & MISS BECKY this SATURDAY NIGHT @ SKY60
and it's free with the password(s):

"I'm here to see DAY all night !!!"

if you don't say that, then you will have 2 pay $5.

it's up 2 u.

here's some examples,

if u have short term memory loss, then write it down.

if u r rich then u don't need the password,
then u should tell some friends that aren't as rich as u.

and most importantly, if u don't care about nate day, password(s), or have $5 you probably shouldn't b coming at all .......... cause u don't know how 2 move it, move it anyway suckah !!!!!

Saturday night-- SKY60--10PM--W-O-R-D- !!!!"

If you come out on Saturday... I mean WHEN you come out on Saturday, be sure to say hi!!! <3

Rocket 88 + Pete "The Shaker" Bones

I am moving tomorrow. Moving sucks. Since I'm in the middle of packing everything I own, this has got to be quick.

If you like Rockabilly, go to The Peacock Room. There, you will find Rocket 88 and Big Jef Special. I am guessing you will also find tattooed girls with Bettie Page bangs and guys with pompadours. Just a guess.



If you like house music, head upstairs to Sky60 to see Pete "The Shaker" Bones. It's his birthday, so things should be crazy up there. And T.A.R.D. will be venturing away from Crooked Bayou to join in the festivities.



Happy Friday!!!