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.
We all know nightclubs are gluttonous fiends when it comes to energy consumption and waste. Have you ever stopped to wonder what happens to those thousands of bottles, plastic cups, straws, napkins and so much more waste that is involved with consuming alcohol after you chuck it into the waste? Or perhaps you have never wondered the cost of running all those lighting apparatuses, DJ booths and projection screens? For anyone who has the slightest inclination towards sustainable living the thought can be pretty disturbing. I for one do my best to recycle on a weekly basis along with lowering my energy consumption by turning the AC off whenever I am not home and making sure I don't have lights on in the house that need not be. Granted my efforts are a mere drop in the ocean considering the population and the society of consumption we live in but hell it makes me feel a better that I am doing something to make a difference.
To my surprise, as I was site seeing around Overtown earlier this week, I overheard a small segment on WLRN (that's 91.3fm for you brain dead out there) with our favorite PR Vice Prez from Opium Group Vanessa Menkes. Interestingly enough it centered around The Opium Groups recent decision to undertake a recycling program at all four of it's South Beach night clubs (Set, Mansion, Opium Gardens and Prive). On top of the recycling program they have also decided to implement energy efficient lighting. Granted for such a tremendous operations this is just a drop in the bucket, but it's a start. So small is that drop that if you compared it to the Netherlands Worm Club, which was built with 80-90% recycled material, the changes seem inconsequential. That's not to say what Opium is doing isn't good, but I hope as their program progresses they can expand to include something like this. It won't be easy adapting these opulent clubs to the minimalist mantra tree hugger's live by but with the world becoming more ecologically aware it makes perfect business sense to begin investing in it. Now let's see who will have the first LEED nightclub in Miami. That would be a serious accomplishment.
It's happening, sources say at Cooljunkie's forums, and speculation on who will be headlining is already swirling. Some say the Smashing Pumpkins (or the Frankenstein band Billy Corgan now calls the Smashing Pumpkins) and Kanye West have been confirmed as headliners for Bang Music Festival at Bicentennial Park this year. Not as daring as Duran Duran and Daft Punk, but if it is true, this ought cause a riot at ticket booths everywhere. Here is my wish list of other performers that I would love to see at Bang:
Wouldn't it be sweet to have Bjork and the Knife? God, I would die. Do it to it Bang organizers, all these people are currently touring so they shouldn't be too hard to nab.
Oh, and in case you haven't seen the latest incarnation of the Smashing Pumpkins, below is the video for their (and by their I mean Billy's) latest single "Tarantula":
Dancing the night away is good and all, but sometimes you got to slow down. So Monday, instead of the usual getting hammered by midnight, make your way to the Sagamore where IamYourVillian and Vocal Marketing will be hold a pre-screening of the new Robert Downey Jr. movie Charlie Barlett. The movie also features Anton Yelchin (Huff), Hope Davis and Kat Dennings (40 Year-Old Virgin). Here is the film's synopsis according to the press release:
Wealthy teenager Charlie Bartlett is failing miserably at fitting in at a new public high school run by the world-weary Principal Gardner. As he begins to better understand the social hierarchy, Charlie's honest charm and likability positions him as the resident "psychiatrist" dishing out advice, and the occasional prescription with his partner and fellow student, Murphy Bivens, to other students in need. Along the way, he decides to take some of his own advice, find romance, and learn to accept who he is, thus wielding a witty dark comedy about the angst-filled years before college.
Screening is at 7:30 p.m. at the Sagamore's theater. To get on the list for admission, send an e-mail to miamicharlie@vocalmarketing.net. For those you that are legally retarded, the Sagamore is at 1671 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach.
My friends are dicks. Every month I go through the same song-and-dance with them. They all say they want to do the Wynwood gallery walk and "mysteriously" mere hours before the event, they are longer interested. That's because if there isn't hard liquor involved, they aren't interested. I think it's time I get new friends who are interested in more cultural things.
Anyway, this Saturday I will be doing the walk, with or without them. I'm particularly pumped up for it after reading an article in today's Miami Herald regarding an exhibit titled Polymorph by Icelandic artist Magnus Arnason at Locust Projects. He does these grotesque sculptures that look like they came straight from an alien horror movie. What find refreshing from him, at least what I gather from the article, is that as an artist he doesn't seem to be so full of himself. I've met plenty of artist that think they are the next hot shit -- I find it hard not laugh in their face. You don't see me going around saying I'm the next Gabriel Garcia Marquez, even though I know I am (damn my ego).
People always tell me they keep away from the gallery walk because they feel intimidated because they tend to feel stupid when they don't "get it." There is nothing to get. Go out and enjoy yourself. Unless you vocally make it known that you have no idea what you are looking at, no one is going to know. If there has to be a 2nd Saturdays for beginners, I say stick to the the big four: Rubell Family Collection, CiFo, MOCA at Goldman Warehouse and Margulies Collection. They are a lot bigger than your average Wynwood gallery and the exhibitions tend to be more diverse and filled with "superstar" artists. Although, I highly encourage you to stop by any of the smaller galleries you see on the way. They tend to be hit or misses, but when you find that great gallery, you'll be throughly amused. My favorites tend to be the Dorsch Gallery, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin and Fredric Snitzer Gallery. But explore, exhibits are always changing and it's a fun thing to do.
[image via the Miami Herald]
I'm a geek when it comes to political and infrastructural problems concerning Miami, so one of my favorite blogs apart from Dlisted (love Michael K.) is Transit Miami. The bloggers mainly focus on Miami dependence on automotive transportation instead of effective and reliable public transportation as a means to get around and they provide great examples of other cities who do just that. This blog is what convinced me that I should take the Metrorail to work, and yes I get caught in sudden showers every now and then, and yes the heat can be unbearable at times, but I feel like I'm doing my part to make this city a little better for everyone to live in. Trust me, if the Metrorail worked at night and actually went to popular nighttime destinations (and I wasn't afraid of getting stabbed or being held at gunpoint), I'd using it to go out as night as well.
Anyway, for those not in the know Miami and the state are currently building what we could refer to as Miami's version of Grand Central Station, which will be known as the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC). It's a place where you'll able to catch any mode of transportation you desire: city buses, long-distance buses, trains, taxis, Tri-Rail, Metrorail, the airport or rent a car. Well blogger Gabriel Lopez-Bernal brings up some good points on the sustainability of the project and how we can effectively use in the center in the longer run. Take some time out of your day and learn more about a project that could definitely impact the way we get around the city and perhaps the entire state.
With all the hoopla over that other blog, I've decided that in order to balance things out I'd mention one that is a bit more positive.
If you haven't notice the link on the sidebar for 2 Live Looks, it's definitely worth a click. The blog documents some of the most daring and good (hipster) fashion choices with quick critiques from bloggers Matthew and Thompson who don't always agree if they like what they see. Sites like this exists in many cities, but this is the first for Miami. Point of the site is not to bring anyone down, but to applaud bold and unique statements done with clothing. Alesh at Critical Miami already gave it his seal of approval, and I have to second that. I waited a little longer just to see if the bloggers could keep up with the demanding pace of posting up a picture every day. So far so good, let's hope it doesn't die out.
On a side note, someone at the Miami New Times must have read my catty little comment on Style Soldiers, because the latest post is actually funny.
I hate it when I enter a club/bar/lounge and am overcome by the nauseating wave of heat, humidity and the almost rosy smell of people's sweat. The stench and heat crawls all over my body like the African bloodletting leeches I use to detox my blood before a drug test, only they don't smell like piss. Is it really to much to ask for working AC? A sweaty night in a tight space filled with frolicking scene kids kicking and screaming to the latest hit is not my idea of fun (I'd rather be tied up in the trunk of Lackners car....don't ask). Personally I don't like rubbing against sweaty, smelly people. Having other peoples sweat drip on my arms and legs causes me to regurgitate the apple I had for dinner and I'm skinny enough as it is. It's not all venues obviously but there are a handful that refuse to address their A/C malfunctions. Can we please get this issue fixed? I don't know how much longer I can last.
