DJ T at the Get Physical Boat Party
I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning when I woke up last Wednesday. Probably the one and only day of the year I actually wake up before the alarm goes off. The day had arrived that I had been waiting months for. Miami Music Week was finally upon me! As my plane descended into Miami for the sixth year in a row to attend what would this year be called Miami Music Week, the question on my mind was how would the split of Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival affect the parties, turnout, etc. WMC opted to have all of its events during the second week of March, while Ultra Music Festival continued the tradition of having its festival the last weekend of March with numerous events going on during the week preceding the festival (dubbed this year as Miami Music Week).
If the two parties I attended Wednesday night were any indicator of the success of Miami Music Week, it was clear that the split had no negative affect on the turnout. First stop was the AVA Takeover party at Shock Lounge featuring Andy Moor and Ashley Wallbridge as the headliners along with Ben Nicky, TyDi, Joseph Areas, and Triarchy. I arrived just before midnight when TyDi took over the decks. I stayed for an hour or so and listened to TyDi play a great set of trance, but unfortunately missed the headliners, Andy and Ashley, who weren't scheduled to play until 2 a.m. By then I was two strong drinks in and had already left for Gareth Emery's Northern Lights Re-Lit album launch party at Dream one block away. I arrived to a completely packed and sold out show. I went upstairs and was promptly invited by someone from team Garuda (Gareth Emery's record label) to join their table. Next thing I know I'm getting a drink poured for me, in true British fashion, that's about 3/4th vodka and 1/4th cranberry juice in a tall glass. That's about my last memory of the night except for a vague recollection of Gareth playing the classic club banger “On A Good Day (Metropolis)”:
Gareth Emery closes his set at Dream
The next morning I woke up with a bruise the size of Florida on my ass, so I'm going to conclude that the night was a success. Another highlight of the week was the Get Physical yacht party with M.A.N.D.Y., DJ T, and Audiofly. I was very impressed with the boat, and especially the top shelf liquor that was provided. Not something I typically see with an open bar party. We were also given a free Get Physical T-shirt that was of nice quality. The music had me dancing for hours, and distracting me from the fact that I was already coming down with the “Miami flu”. You know, the cold you get from partying too hard in Miami. The only low light of the party: the tool bag who spilled his red wine all over my white shorts, and then looked at me and said “Relax! It's no big deal”. “Um, actually it wasn't - until you said that”.
Get Physical Boat Party
The party I was most excited for was the sold out Pacha Ibiza pool party at the Shelborne, which I'm sure partly was due to my excitement of my impending arrival in Ibiza for the summer. I was happy to see that the party completely lacked the Jersey Shore loving juice heads that typically take over the Shelborne pool. Pete Tong was playing when I arrived, who I see basically as an Ibiza icon and always plays a great set, but the highlight of the party for me was the DJ duo Goldfish from South Africa, who I never heard of before, but will definitely keep an eye out for in the future. Their electro-jazz sound and live instrument playing were a breath of fresh air compared to the typical set of most DJs.
Pete Tong (somewhere!)
Goldfish
Kelly (left) Shelborne Hotel-ing it
