Miami Nights

Well, that was oddly refreshing. Have you ever heard the term "pearls before swine?" I hadn't either, but my bored-looking psychiatrist told me to read a lot of books to get my mind off of things and I that's where I got it from. I got tired, really really tired, of being a participant in the useless echo chamber of Miami's nightlife scene. Talking about something gives it credibility and we were doing a lot of talking about things that weren't credible (and definitely weren't incredible). It was eating away at my soul, which was already really tiny and crusty and black, and I needed a break.

To my surprise no one rushed in to fill the void. The big media outlets tried hard to look indie and unique but, like so many pretentious experiments in this city, it's painful to watch.

So welcome back to Miami Nights. Our new focus is being less commercial, less caring, and less polite than before -- if that's even possible. Enjoy.

There's supposedly a recession or something out there -- I'm not sure, I started paying for the oil changes on my Rolls with steamy maintenance-closet BJs months ago -- so we're going to do our best to help you unemployed Miami drug children conserve what remains of your precious savings.

Step one of our recession plan to survive WMC: we are giving away five pairs of tickets to our Three Year Anniversary Brawl, featuring the sweet sex of Diplo, Kid Sister and Chromeo, plus about ten thousand other artists.

Interested? Click here to enter! We'll be picking the winners on Tuesday, March 24. But sign up now because I need to impress my superiors.

Update: And while we're on the recession tip, here are some recession cocktail recipes from the New Yorker. (Yeah, I usually don't read that shitty rag either, mostly because I failed the credit check, unless I'm trying to impress a girl, in which case I usually tell them to meet up with me at the library, where I am wearing a cardigan, plus you can totally surf for all sorts of illegal porn on their computers while you wait and then blame it on the 8 year old next to you when the party van comes.)

Note: I'm reposting our official photo policy and amending it to reflect the fact that we are now posting videos as well. If someone from MiamiNights aims a camera at you, and you pose for it, you are consenting for it to be posted.

Many of the readers of this site also appear in our photos and videos. Please read the following carefully.

From this point forward, no photo or video we take ever goes down. If you're sober enough to pose for a photo or video, you're sober enough to give your consent to it being on the site. The only exception will be when something unexpected appears in the photo or video that wasn't evident when it was taken (like a nipslip), duplicate photos, or technical issues about the media itself (out of focus, poor lighting, etc).

1. No Weekend Roundup this week; I'm way too busy with day job responsibilities (damn you, Indian programmers!) and helping DJ GRRRLPWR prepare for her show tomorrow night at White Room. I suggest checking out Nic Fancuilli at Vagabond after you're done at White Room.
2. We got a cheapo video camera, the popular Flip Video Ultra. Expect more blurry video and less crisp photography on the site from here on out. I'm dreadfully bored of still JPEGs. Video is the zeitgeist.
3. Duran is on hiatus from Miami Nights because his new full time employer, the Miami New Times, finds our site to be a conflict of interest. Fair enough.
4. I like cute kitties, bunnies and meeses, like Nibbler:
    
   
   Meet Nibbler from Steve Isaacs on Vimeo.

The video in which I talk about Aero Bar's permit issues, Space going old school and karaoke at Rokbar.

I almost forgot to say thank you so much to Danny Dillon at Shampology Salon & Supply, who squeezed in my last minute appointment so I wouldn't look like shit for this.

The video in which I'm interviewed by Monica Glass, director of GenArt; give my condolences to Karu & Y; talk about Aero Bar; and answer the question I get asked the most, who is my favorite local DJ.

You see the beauty to the left there? That's, sigh, Tristin. When I met her Thursday morning at the Standard her beauty swept me away. Probably some of the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen on a woman. God, why has thus forsaken me? Needless to say I think this has been my best interview for Plum to date, and I think I owe it all to, sigh, Tristin. And no, the picture doesn't do her justice. She even prettier in person.

Here is me and, sigh, Tristin sitting down talking about what I know:

Tristin call me!

Congrats to winner Chris L. who scored to two tickets for tonight to see Modeselektor! If you didn't win, don't cry, there will be other contests. And come, tickets are only $15 at the door!

A little late, but better late than never I guess, even though the shit I talk here is over and done with. I can't say I thought this went well. Look at me, I look like a fucking mess. That's it! From now on I'm going to embody those Bulimiatron T-shirts I've seen around.

I have never been more nervous in my life then right before doing this interview with Plum TV. I thought it was just going to be me, the host and a cameraman man, but when I arrived at the Standard, all I saw was tons of people, lighting, huge equipment and whatnot, and my stomach just started to sink. The real bright side to this was that I got to meet Herald gossip columnist Lesley Abravanel, who was interviewed right before me and admitted to me her favorite place to hang out was Circa 28. What?? I know, I expected her to say something like Florida Room or Mokai.

Anyway, here is the interview and I've got to say I was really surprised on how well I spoke. Those public speaking classes in college paid off!

By now we should all be informed of the terrible news concerning Studio A. Yes yes, it's shutting down. And with Studio A soon seizing to exist, will we now be forced to succumb to battling through Miami highways -- and developing a higher level of driving Tourette's by way of it -- crossing county lines, and wasting a "mutharfucker!" amount of gas just to get to a show at Culture Room or Revolution?

Not if this girl can help it.

So if you are like me, and shows are your thing then rejoice in the fact that there is still good live music to attend to. Actually, if you start thinking about it, Miami has a decent range of venues of all sizes from the American Airlines Arena (which, by the way, I expect every single one of you to already have your Celine Dion tix, she's coming January 23, uh huh), to PS14, which let me tell you, their stage size can be quite deceiving. Now that I think of all the venue possibilities for shows down here, I'm starting to wonder why most bands just play at Ft. Lauderdale. If anyone can give me a reasonable explanation for this phenomenon, I would be quite thankful.

Aside from the venues, Miami is also filled with loads of local music talent, and lots of them happen to conveniently be musically talented -- go figure! So I say that we give NY and LA a run for their money and make the Miami music scene go "BANG!"

With this just said (cue the guitar)

Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a girl of wealth and taste. I've been around for a long long year. Stole many a man's soul and faith. Sup I'm DynamiteGirl and I have chosen to be your informer of shows and most things awesome (whether they be local or touring). I freaking love music, specially the good kind. And don't fret 'cause if theres some sort of holy-mother-of-bob-I-will-travel-4-hours-to see-them! type of show I shall also let you know. Good night and good luck.

Quick heads up on more media love for our little bitchy baby Miami Nights. This month's issue of Closer Magazine features a cute little spread of some of our photography from Winter Music Conference. Check it out. If anyone is wondering, we're getting all of this attention because I started showering instead of taking bubble baths, and my personal hygiene has improved as a result.

So I told everyone we had big things in store for 2008. Check this out! Plum TV and Miami Nights are partnering up to provide you with the best nightlife coverage. So in a few weeks, you'll start seeing our weekly nightlife roundup posts appearing on Plum Miami Beach's Web site along with our galleries.

But wait! There is more! I'll be popping up on Plum's segment Daybreak at The Standard to tell you what are the highlights for the upcoming week. Also every now and then some of our gallery pictures might pop-up on TV. So keep your eyes peeled. Plum is available on channel 5 in Miami Beach, but you can also watch a lot of their segments online at miamibeach.plumtv.com.

We are still working on all the exact details, but if everything goes well, expect nothing but chewy goodness. 

Hello, hello Miami Nights. It feels good to call you home.

My name is Carmen, my friends call me "Murphy", my fellow creatures of the night call me "CarStar", and now Miami Nights is calling me "The New Blogger".

I wanted to take this time to introduce myself properly to the family in hopes that they'll keep me around for a while. I'll be keeping you posted on my favorite hot spots and the new ones that have yet to have the pleasure of my judgment. I can be sweet, but I can also be so so cruel, so try to stay on my good side. I like to consider myself the "Where's Waldo'" of the club community -- you never know where I'll be. So unless something amazing is going on, I probably won't tell you about it 'til the next morning (in a drunk haze hopefully). So here's your how-to-find-CarStar* guide:

me in the day.me in the night.

try not to get confused.

So the next time your at the beach-day or night-and theres a girl on the table screaming the lyrics to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", join me for the chorus "and for a smile they can share the night!"

If you've noticed, our weekly post count has dropped a bit. Well there is a good reason for that: Lackner, B.A.C. and myself are way to busy at the moment that we don't always have the time to post, and things don't seem to be letting up any time soon. So in the spirit of keeping this charade going we are looking for new writers. If you are interested in nightlife, music, art, fashion, culture and politics, e-mail us at miaminightsblog [at] gmail.com. We aren't looking for the next Dave Barry here, just people with a lot of character and strong opinions. Resume and clips not required, but definitely a plus. 

Holler! So today I stopped by the offices of Miami Modern Luxury to pick up their latest issue. "Why?" you ask. Because Jipsy (better known as Nefarious Girl) and myself were featured in an article about Miami nightlife and photography. Now, Jipsy and I rather stay behind the cameras, but I got to say I don't look half bad. Eh? Probably the Photoshop. Anyway, here is the PDF so all you can read how great Miami Nights and Nefarious Girl is. The issue hits newsstands on Tuesday. Pick one up and you can draw funny mustaches on me.

It's with great pride and absolutely no trepidation that I introduce to you our new site Ybor City Nights! I really like Ybor City because I can go out and have a good time in Nike flip flops and not spend a lot of money. It's way more relaxed than all that Downtown junk in Miami that we normally talk about on this site.

Check it out and give us your feedback!

B.A.C. played host on Friday to the guys from RoadBurn, which is a group of Canadian guys documenting their trek across the southern United States. Miami was their first stop on their roadtrip and instead of taking them to the fake and touristy clubs found in Miami Beach, B.A.C. made sure they checked out the side of the city few ever bother to see by taking them to PS14 on Friday.

They interviewed B.A.C. and myself, which I'm hoping the video surfaces soon. Needless to say our answers were the typical asshole comments you have come to expect from us. We talked out Miami Beach, lost snowbirds and the site itself. Wait for it! 

So today is officially my last day at my full-time job. I've gone through all the emotions of being worried, stressed and excited. While the blog has been laying low this week get ready Miami as Duran turns to blogging for Miami Nights full-time for the time being. Yes, get fucking excited because I have A LOT of surprises up my sleeve. This is sort of a dream situation that I find myself in that I can devote most of my time to the site and seeing how I already do a kick-ass job, with the extra time it's only going to get better. So let me show you all what I can really do with a blog.

To add to the excitement, I turn 25 this Sunday -- god, I'm so fucking old. So come out on tomorrow night as I celebrate my birthday at Poplife at White Room. That same night Prive Salon will be giving free haircuts, while DJs Matt Cash, Aramis and Induce will be spinning all night. 

Just a little reminder that as an event organizer or club/bar owner you to can now upload events to Miami Nights. For all you Winter Music Conference organizers and party planners this is a useful tool to spread the word about your parties absolutely free. Anyone who throws a party, owns a club or bar is encouraged to upload their information for the masses to see. You will see in the top right corner the link 'Post your event on Miami Nights for free'.

In addition to event postings regular readers can now post their own personal blog. We created the Miami Nights Community Blogs so users could express their own opinions on anything Miami rather than listening to us blow hards all the time. It's simple: Sign up with Miami Nights using the account control in the top right area. Once you are signed up you can create your own blog by clicking My Blog. And just like that you have become a blogger.