Diplo vs. Tricky

Allright, kids, here are your best choices for tonight.

Florida’s own superstar DJ slash producer, Diplo, at Icon. He really looks like a Florida guy, doesn’t he? I can’t explain what it is but I’m sure I’ve seen him buying cigarettes at a gas station wearing a wife beater and jeans (boxers showing, of course). After making some lame comment to the cashier, he takes off in his pickup truck, blasting either country or hip-hop... you never can tell with those guys.



Or, British trip-hop icon, Tricky (aka Gary Oldman’s right-hand man in the Fifth Element!!!), at Firestone.



Not bad for a Thursday, huh? Be sure to save some juice for Girl Talk this weekend.

Tigercity @ Will's Pub

Any of you kids remember the band that opened for VHS or Beta last year? Well, you should. They’re called Tigercity, a Brooklyn-based band named as one of Rolling Stone’s Artists to Watch in 2007. This disco-fied foursome are guys after my own heart: they describe their influences "ranging from The Police, Daft Punk, and Roxy Music, to classic Prince and Off The Wall-era Michael Jackson." Um... yes, please! My favorite song on their Myspace player is Are You Sensation, hands down.



They’re playing tonight at Will's Pub with Spirit Bomb, Makeshift Gentleman and The Royal. Catch them in your own backyard while you still can! Not only are they headed off to SXSW and a European tour, I’m sure it's only a matter of time before they get signed to the DFA label or something similar.

$8, Doors at 9 PM

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 :)

The Second Coming

Pauly Crush and his crew have been trying for awhile to resurrect the once-lively Thursday night party and it looks like they may have finally succeeded. Tonight is the grand debut of J.E.S.U.S., the new weekly party that will replace the old Saturday Thursday at Firestone. Headlining this evening are Kid Sister and Flosstradamus – I guess the kids aren’t sick of them yet. The big question: can they turn the hip-hop haven of whack-attack Club ICON into the banging electro trash scene they crave? God only knows.

Sign up for the guestlist and get in free before 11.



Upcoming up @ J.E.S.U.S.
March 5th - Diplo
March 12th - Klever and A.C. Slater
March - Tba (They’re French)
March 26th - Calvin Harris and Gizmos
April 30 - Steve Aoki

Have a Non-Sucky Valentine's Day

Where will you be this Valentine’s Day? Will you be fighting with your significant other because he/she has a different view of the day than you? Will you be drinking heavily to numb the lonely self-loathing that can only be induced by holidays invented by evil greeting card companies? Either way, you should be at Crooked Bayou this Saturday night for the Kiss ‘N Makeup party. Spear, MOT and I will even be decked out in Kiss makeup for the occasion. How often do you get to see DJs in Kiss makeup? Not often enough.



Word to your mother.

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!

Tonight: Good Look

Do you ever go out of town for a week, only to come back to piles of work and tons of unread emails? Multiply that times a million, add holiday shopping and voila: You have my life. No, I'm not complaining, just explaining the lack of activity around these parts.

Also, I don't have time to post about tonight's event (which kicks off a new monthly party and should be dope), so I am forced to copy/paste from Dustin Orlando's email. Have fun!

------------

Good Look - A new monthly party for the art, design, fashion, and DJ community... (no shutter shades please)

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
9pm-2am

at Bikkuri Sushi Lounge
1915 E. Colonial
Orlando FL 32803

No cover 9-10 ($5 after 10pm)
2-4-1 beer and saki from 9pm-11pm
18+ welcome

with:
DJ Keen-One (miami) Stereo 77 and a live performance by:
Crates Anatomy (3 turntables, an mpc, and an upright bass)

Hosted by:
A la Revenge & Filtered Sunshine Radio

Switch It Up

Let’s go back in time for a moment. The date is March 28, 2008 and it’s a million and one degrees. I’m sweating my face off while hanging out poolside at the Southseas Hotel in Miami Beach. This is my ninth straight year of attending the Winter Music Conference and I still haven’t learned my lesson: I’m not dressed properly for the scorching heat and am getting trashed on mojitos way too early in the day. My friends and I are at the Windish Agency day party, eagerly awaiting the major headliner of the moment: SWITCH. As the day goes on, more drinks are consumed, Groucho Marx novelty glasses provide much amusement and we dance to Drop the Lime and DJ Medhi. Somewhere in my drunken haze, I ask Mike Feinberg what time Switch is playing.

"He’s not."

Another WMC lesson not learned: sometimes the headliners bail. Had I been less drunk, I might remember why. His agency canceled, he’s double booked, he missed his flight -- it’s all coming to mind. (Although, I could be confusing the latter with Bloody Beetroots, who also missed their Rockbar gig.) The news is quite a blow, considering we’re specifically at this party to see him. The next morning at breakfast I beg Feinberg to bring Switch to the artist formerly known as the Saturday/Thursday party at Firestone. He tells me it’s already in the works.

Fast forward a few months: Saturday/Thursday is dead, leaving few options to host this big-name producer slash DJ from the UK. There aren’t many Orlando venues that can deliver a paying crowd without promoters losing their ass. Not to mention Orlando might not be the number one destination for a man of such accomplishment: he’s behind the music of M.I.A and Santogold (to name a few) and the founder of Dubsided Records, not to mention XLR8R’s Artist of the Year of 2007.

But Mike Feinberg and Pauly Crush are smart. Knowing Switch may not be overly eager to stop in the Sunshine State, they have set up a mini-tour to make it worth his while. So now it’s all up to YOU. In the name of all that’s good and holy, you MUST support their efforts!!! There are three options to catch the man in action and it is your duty as a club-going Floridian to be at one or all of them.

Thursday, December 11th in Orlando
Catch him at Icon with Pauly Crush, Mot, Andrew Spear and Queso
***Spend $30 at Covert or Beta and get a free ticket!***



Friday, December 12th in Ybor City
He’ll be at Pulp with Pauly Crush, Justin Scott and Estrange



Saturday, September 13th in Miami
Playing at the Heathrow Lounge with Pauly Crush, Jessica Who?, Keen One and Damaged Goods



And just for good measure, here are some of my favorite Switch remixes.

P Diddy Ft Christina Aguilera - Tell Me (Switch Remix).mp3

Freeform Five - No More Conversations (Switch Remix).mp3

CSS - Music Is My Hot Hot Sex (Switch Feat. Mapei Remix).mp3

The Futureheads - Worry About It Later (Switch Remix).mp3

Please do whatever it takes to get to one of these shows. Sell a kidney if you have to. Yes, he's just that good.

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!

The Non-Denominational Holiday Fun Fest!

That's right - we're throwing an all-inclusive party this weekend and you're invited. This Saturday at Peacock Room, join me, Nigel and Cub for our super duper holiday extravaganza. We'll be playing it all -- funk, soul, disco, hip hop, house, electro, 80's, 90's, and even some really bad holiday music. So join us as we wish you a merry Christmas, happy Chanukah, kwazy Kwanza, a tip-top Tet, and a solemn, dignified Ramadan.