Miami Nights

Well this is exactly breaking news, but everyone knows Louis Puig and Parkwest fell into some hot water with the city of Miami after it was discovered that the venue was operating without a liquor license. Allegedly the operators of the club presumed that Space and Parkwest were one building, therefore only one license was necessary. It seemed that city bureaucracy was keeping Parkwest managers and employees guessing as to whether they would be open for Conference, there was even talk of moving all the events to the former Life Downtown venue -- which opened during WMC as the new venue 90 Degrees. Alas, at the last minute when it seem they were being punished for their oversight, a liquor license was obtained and WMC went off without a hitch, much to the relief of absolutely everyone involved.

This Friday marks the first weekend in a long time that Parkwest will open its doors for its Stereo party. Will the massive crowds return after such a long hiatus? I mean being closed for a month in Miami clubland is like being closed for a year; most people can barely even remember where they went the week before. We shall see this weekend, when Shawn Rudnick drops the usual house craziness in the main room.

Hey bitches, I'm blogging to you live from Brickell, my temporary home until I sign a lease at a new place. Let me tell you, two guys and a loft make for awkward situations. Well not really, but I expect it to happen soon enough. Unfortunately my gracious host forgot to pay his AT&T bill so I'm stuck blogging from the business center which is cold and has no windows and isn't remotely inspiring. So I may not blog as often as I'd like because I don't want to sit around here the entire day when I could be in the loft soaking up views of the Downtown/Brickell skyline.

Anyway onto to the reason for this post. Seems like Louis Puig is in trouble with the authorities over license issues at the newly opened Parkwest. If anyone notice, all the parties over the weekend at Parkwest were moved to other Puig-owned establishments leaving everyone to wonder what happened.

According to those gossip hounds over at Talknightlife.org, representatives for Parkwest were trying to put the blame on their sound system as the reason why, saying it was "knocking off the power in our neighborhood." Not true says some of the people posting in forum, Parkwest was operating under the assumption that Space and Parkwest were the same building and it only needed one license. Now it's not uncommon for separate venues to share one license, especially if they are in the same building. Snatch/Suite and Prive/Opium Garden can qualify under that, but Parkwest and Space can hardly be considered one in the same.

I know Puig has a lot of pull and will fix this situation pretty quickly, but it will be interesting to see if the city gives him a hard time. Will Parkwest be open this Friday? Not sure, but I'm working on trying to find that out for you.

Ladies and gentlemen, this years Winter Music Conference is gonna be sick. And the above mentioned clubs are killing by bringing you lineups listed in the below image. Also don't forget you can buy "Club Space WMC VIP Early Bird Prices" until March 1st, 2008. You can see all the details on VIP prices by clicking the "read more" link at the bottom of this post.

Click here to read full article..

Infamous Miami worldwide personality Alan T is having his 25th birthday this Sunday. If you've ever been humiliated in front of a heaving, sweaty crowd of chuckling club wanna-be's, you've felt the pleasure of the Alan T experience. Now it's time to thank him and bring him swanky gifts.

Sunday morning at 4am, Industry Afterhours @ Park West. Be there.

Also I heard this.. person.. is making a cameo:

If you see.. it.. make sure you say "EUGHHHHHHHHh!!"

Update: Dear god please help I can't stop watching it.

Now I'm no afterhours junkie. In fact, everytime I've been tricked into going to an afterhours spot, I come to regret it instantly the moment I arrive. It's an ungodly hour to be drinking and dancing.

Anyway, I'm seeing the fliers for the new afterhours at Parkwest, which it states "Space terrace afterhours has moved." Now, like I said I'm no afterhours expert, but isn't the reason people go to Space and Nocturnal's afterhours is because they have terraces? I mean wasn't one of myriad of reasons Twilo closed because it couldn't compete in the afterhours scene because it lacked a terrace?

I'm not going to provide much of my opinion here because I may not know the whole story here and again its not really my scene, but anyone feel free to enlighten me, particularly if you frequent the afterhour circuit. What do you think about the move?

With the death (hiatus?) of Revolver back in October (Riot! Riot! Riot! at Rokbar didn't count as Revolver in my book), there's been a bit of a void in the diversity of Friday night parties. The last few Fridays I've jumped from party to party filled with open format blandness and antiquated house music. Trust me, I was yearning for some electro/indie goodness. I mean these parties are never held in the highest regard by the average clubbers or club owners, but its thanks to them DJs are now playing stuff like Justice, Mylo, Calvin Harris and arguably even Daft Punk, and that DJs like Steve Aoki, Klever and MSTRKRFT are now dance music icons.

Regardless of what you think of Revolver, you've got to admit founder Joshua Menendez can book some pretty progressive DJs every now and then. I mean he's brought LA Riots, Guns 'n' Bombs, Flosstradamus, Le Castle Vania, the Ruff Club DJs and plenty more. They might not be household names now, but they are definitely making waves. So it was good to see Menendez stay true to his formula in booking Hatchmatik on Friday for the exclusive preview of Damaged, his once low-key Wednesday night party at the Mark. Hatchmatik started off pretty passive but built up the beats and tempo. Yes, the beats were dirty, scuzzy and hard -- just how I like them. Of course, he through plenty of curve balls, turning hip-hop hits into electro-house gold. The best part was simply that Hatchmatik always kept it danceable.

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It's back bitches! I leave B.A.C. and Lackner in charge of things during my absence, and what happens? They kill off my favorite post throughout the week. But after doing some sexy CPR to Auditory Orgasm, it's thankfully resurrected from the dead.

This week I introduced you all to Hatchmatik, Montreal DJ extraordinaire. It's not a surprise that this French Canadian is mimicking what his cousins across the Atlantic are doing: hard as fuck bass and choppy beats to achieve dancefloor gold. But unlike a slew of imitators, Hatchmatik is actually good. Scratch that: he is great! He has done some remixes (whether official or not, I'm not sure) for Blaqstarr, M.I.A. and Thunderheist, just to name a few. He is also part of the crew who throws the Peer Pressure party in his hometown of Montreal.

Anyway, judge for yourself. Here I give you a sampling via the chaos he achieved remixing M.I.A.'s track "Boyz". And make sure to catch Hatchmatik as he strolls into town Friday for the exclusive premiere of Damaged at Rehab Bar (Parkwest).

Ah, the Miami New Times, an alternative weekly to some, a vile sex-for-hire listing to others. No publication in South Florida is as polarizing as the New Times (come on, it's universally understood the Miami Herald sucks). I for one adore the New Times because it dares to publish stories that brings down those in Miami would think they are untouchable. Just in the last few years alone Miami-Dade Public Schools superintendent Rudy Crew, county commissioner Art Teele and Miami police chief John Timoney have all been exposed as frauds by the New Times staff. Save for the Herald's House of Lies report, the New Times recently has done more for Miami than we could ever truly know.

And what better way to say job well done then by throwing a party. The New Times wants to celebrate with all of Miami with Artopia 08, the 20th anniversary bash Saturday, January 19, at Parkwest. The Spam All-Stars, ANR, Raffa & Rainer, Circ X and Animate Objects Physical Theater will be doing live performances, while DJ Hottpants and the Deuce Crew will be on the turntables. There will be live art, short films and fashion shows as well.

Yep, all this for $15, if you buy your ticket in advance, or $20 at the door. Yes, there will be free booze, Belvedere to be exact, from 9 to 11 p.m.

What once started as a quaint bar party at the Mark (R.I.P. best place no one knew about), is now moving to bigger digs at Parkwest. Yes, the party Damaged will now hold fort at Parkwest's Rehab Bar.

Damaged was always my favorite out of all of Joshua Menendez' (who now works for Parkwest) parties, but the location and people had more to do with why I liked it so much. After it moved for a short (very short) period to Rokbar, it was obvious it wasn't going to recapture the magic it had at the Mark. But in a Friday night slot, it is poised to give everyone feeling the pain of a obviously absent Revolver something to do again. What I hope is that Parkwest offers a good alternative to their upscale party right next door -- although, I admit, for an open format party I definitely think it's a great one, so I could see myself going to both.

Anyway, Damaged will give an exclusive preview Rehab Bar next Friday, January 11, with Obi T. and special guest Hatchmatik (Montreal). And yes, there will be complimentary drinks from 10 to 11 p.m. 

Skinny jeans, long bangs, ironic tees, severe coke addictions -- where have all the hipsters gone? You know, those adorably misunderstood misfits that Opium Group exploited in 2007 with extra oh-I'm-too-cool-for-school fliers by Supermarket and a voyeuristic ad campaign by Bronques of LastNightsParty?

Despite their rise to commercial exploitation, 2007 was arguably the death of the hipster trend. From L.A. to New York numerous hipster parties threw in the towel. Probably no sign was clearer then when the MisShapes decided to close their infamous Saturday night party in Manhattan, while Miami's own grandfather hipster party Revolver quietly disappeared. But fret not my Parliament-smoking friends, 2008 may usher in the hipster resurgence thanks to some new venues popping up.

Louis Puig and company hope to cash in on an empty Friday night slot with Rehab Bar at Parkwest. While Rehab has already been opened for afterhours, I was told it was specifically planned out to be the club's "indie" space where the door will be a little more lax on dress code than the main room. If you haven't seen the space, it is industrial chic to the max resembling more a creepy guy's loft (kinda of like Lackner's) than an actual club.

And just down the street, next door to PS14, I/O Lounge will transform into The Vagabond. Owned by Carmel Ophir, the buzz is that there will be no bullshit at the door with lists and drink prices will be sweet. Rumor is last year's runaway success Money Shot will hold fort on Thursday nights and you can probably count on the return of Ophir's gender-bending Monday night Back Door Bamby. If you are wondering what the space will look like, according to the Miami New Times the venue will be divided into 3 separate areas, a bar area in the front, a proper dancefloor and removable performance stage in the back and an outdoor patio complete with fire pit.

Oh yes kids, 2008 is looking brighter for you already -- well if that's what the cool thing is now, if not it sucks.

Click here for full gallery.

I just returned from the industry afterhours @ Rehab. I was only there for a moment: I hate being "that sober guy" but I have a job to attend on Monday mornings. It was sketchy but incredible.

I think Miami's long-term contribution to the global nightlife landscape is not the guest list, or the celebrity-strewn VIP, but the pervasive afterhours. I know a couple of girls who only go to afterhours parties. You can party continuously from Friday night until Monday afternoon, if you wanted, and tonight there's an afterhours party that will take you into Tuesday. That's pretty remarkable.

My early Christmas present to you: a bunch of bad photos.

Click here for full gallery

Ladies and gentleman, after the four-club nightmare-disaster-excursion that was my suicide-provoking attempt at something that could be confused for a life last night, I suggest we clear our palates and renew our damaged auras with some nice champagne at one of the following venues. Onward.

Eyes Wide Shut-style thing at Stereo. That means we're going to be wearing masks, having sex with hookers, and teabagging weird old New York politicians. Also, over-acting. (Just kidding, I loved that movie. It made me feel much less guilty about having sex with 12 year old Russian prostitutes.) If any seminaked dudes whisper "Fidelio" to you, run the hell out of there, even though that would probably be me. It's hosted by Spannk Magazine which I don't know enough about to comment on (first time ever?), and the flyer is here.

Update: It just occurred to me, this is the perfect opportunity to wear a cape. Finally! Capes are the new fingerless gloves. Where the hell do I buy a cape? It's times like this I wish I hadn't blocked all my goth buddies on AIM.

Rosa Cha fashion show at Glass. (Glass, not Grass.) Orlando A. and Greg T., formerly of Vice on Fridays, are throwing a new upscale Friday at Glass. They started last week but I couldn't go because I was expelling the contents of my stomach in the bathroom at Stereo. (Just kidding, I kept it all together last Friday. Finally! I promise I won't make that mistake this time.) This week they are having a swim wear fashion show. Many beautiful and glamorous women, almost completely nude but for a few wisps of fabric, will be up on a stage, actualizing and exemplifying the war of the sexes and inherent power imbalance that we, as single men, must contend with, in the interest of open discourse and to provoke sexual arousal from the audience of men. I've been told that, at the end of the show, all of the single males who are of breeding age are going to be chained together and forced to supplicate in the form of building a huge fire of all of their money and worldly possessions, and then castrate themselves over a stone altar that is inscribed with ancient sigils depicting the feminine goddess, the moon, a jaguar, and a bushel of flowers in a weird fertility rite. In other words, the usual fashion show stuff. (Just kidding about the fire of money, but the rest is all true.) Here's the flyer

Also this really weird Aquabooty thing which appears to be doing drugs in a circus funhouse.

We're mobbin. Get money.

Editor’s note: This is a first in a series of posts analyzing Miami’s nightlife scene.

So despite Art Basel being over, I'll be doing sporadic posts every now and then until my own project gets off the ground. I have to thank Lackner for giving me a temporary soapbox to speak my mind, because anyone who knows me very well knows my biggest problem is I can't keep my opinion to myself, whether or not they are welcomed.

Unless you were under a rock, you know last Friday was the grand opening of Park West’s new club named, ummm, Parkwest. Despite the sudden name change from Stereo to the confusing Parkwest, the venue shows lots of promise.

When Twilo occupied the space, it set out to be Space's competitor by offering a place for true house-heads to gather. Its lighting system, which I'm sad to see go, I could only describe as Daft Punk-like and overwhelming (but in the good way). Unfortunately, bad marketing and confusion as to when it was open quickly insured its demise, as well as for the never-took-of-the-ground Sound Factory (praise Jeebus!). Louis Puig (owner of Space and Cameo), being the smart business man that he is, decided it was time Pawn Shop Lounge and Y Ultra Lounge face some real competition in the upscale nightclub/lounge market. I can only hope Puig's venture into the open format club o the mainland gives all these other venues a swift kick in the ass to wake up and stop resting on their laurels.

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Hey look, a club that actually cares what customers think! On Parkwest Nightclub's Myspace they are soliciting customer comments about how the opening night went. If you went, speak up! Give them some feedback so it can be even better for next week.

Remember: leave the comments on their MySpace, not on our site. We're too busy vomiting up the last of the weekend into the shredders in our cubicles.

Roy T. is the winner of tonight's bottle at Stereo! Everyone else who entered: you're on the guest list, get there before 12. I can't guarantee anything after 12.

Hello sheep. I hope you haven't forgotten about tonights grand opening in Downtown Miami. We have only been reminding you about it all week. Not to mention all the lashing I've had to do around here to get Lackner to tidy things up with Stereo logos and such. So if you forgot or don't understand the concept of winning a free bottle then do us a favor and sign up! Lackner and I are so excited we already picked out our matching outfits for the night (Look out Lederhosen!!).

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR GUEST LIST AND WIN A FREE BOTTLE

As everyone knows (and won't shut up about, depending on your perspective and who writes your check), the most exciting recent development in downtown's nightlife profile occurs this Friday. I'm talking about, of course, the opening of Stereo in the old Twilo space (now known as Parkwest Nightclub).

This may be the complete nerd inside me talking, but this place makes me somewhat giddy. We're excited because, lately, downtown has felt kind of like a place for junkies and the unemployed to party on the cheap. Too many dancefloor fights and bathroom overdoses. South Beach has been stealing the thunder in the party press, and unfairly slurping away at the velocity of dollars flowing into the South Florida nightlife industry. Now this can all change: the unabashedly upscale targeting of Stereo has the chance to bring back the glitz and glamor that the downtown Miami entertainment district deserves.

We're running a pretty hot contest right now to give you a free bottle at the grand opening (and unlimited guest list for all the people who enter the contest, of course) so you probably already know we're excited about it, but if you want to read the official press release from the horse's mouth, we have that for you too. Click below to see the full press release after the jump!

p.s. for those of you slackers who still haven't entered the contest, I recommend you do so immediately; there's almost a full week to go and we're already getting quite a bit of interest. Enter the contest now, and have your friends enter too, to increase your chances at winning the free bottle!

Click here to read full article..

Attention children, more freebies.. this time in an exciting new location!

It's no secret that everyone is expecting a lot from Stereo, the new super club coming to the Park West nightclub district. It's owned by the team from Club Space and run by some of the most respected names in the industry. We did our official walk through last week and, without giving too much away, I think you'll all be quite impressed with the space. I'm giddy; it's about time that an upscale party came to NE 11th Street.

To make sure you get in on the fun, we're giving away a free bottle to one lucky winner and his party and comped guest list entry to everyone who enters the contest for the official opening party on Next Friday (December 14th)! If you're one of those weird Unabomber types that sits on the sidelines and never participates in our contests, this is the time to put down your tin of baked beans and sign yourself up. Unless there's an earthquake or other natural disaster, this should be a night to remember.

Click here to enter the contest