On the List - Tony Rohr, White Room One Year and Sébastien Léger

Happy New Year, ya'll! It's 2009 and with the economy going south, everyone seems to be looking for answers at the bottom of a bottle -- and that means more parties! And January is already gearing up to be spectacular. But let us not get ahead of ourselves, because here is what you definitely want to check out this weekend:

Reading Panic Bomber's treatise on why he does what he does, one could easily suspect that Richard Haig is bitter that live music doesn't get as much respect as DJs do in Miami. But from listening to his tracks, we beg you Haig, don't ever move from behind the DJ booth, because you're everything we love about electronic music. Catch Haig's alter-ego Friday at The Vagabond.

Also on Friday, White Room's Pl0t party hosts Brooklyn techno master Tony Rohr.
And speaking of White Room, has it been a year already? It seems that it wasn't too long ago that the venue defiantly opened its doors on the outskirts of Overtown, luring people away from the bright lights of South Beach and 11th Street in downtown Miami. So it's only fitting that the party that gave it instant cred, Poplife, help it celebrate the milestone. And like any good celebration, there will be free booze from 11 p.m. to midnight Saturday night, along with a champagne toast. Also celebrating another year is infamous local nightlife photographer and New Times contributor, Jipsy (a.k.a. Nefarious Girl).

Nearby, Lee Burridge returns to The Vagabond for what seems to be already the hundreth time. Although, it's pretty easy to see why Carmel Ophir and Co. are quick to have him back. His signature house sound easily keeps the dancefloor packed all night.

Across the causeway, Mansion continues to keep its EDM coffers full, this time booking Sébastien Léger Saturday.

And finally, in case you are looking for something to do early next week, Louis at the Gansevoort South Hotel will feature an appearance by Dirt Nasty (actor Simon Rex) and Andre Legacy Tuesday night. Call us South Beach trash if you want, but Louis is by far one of the most promising venues we've seen in a while, so you'd be missing out on a hell of a good time if you fail to attend.

-- Jose D. Duran