With no work Monday, the partygoers came out in droves to South Beach Sunday night. We could have focused on capturing one party, but with so much happening it was hard to do. So check out the action at Bella Rose, Buck 15 and Laundry Bar. Click here to view the full slideshow.
Mansion consistently books big names to take over its decks, and the Labor Day weekend was no different as New York house music legend Roger Sanchez got the South Beach set dancing. Click here to view the full slideshow.
Remember Rokbar LA? No? Don't worry, neither does anyone else. When Rokbar Miami flourish, owners quickly opened a Los Angeles version in Hollywood, competing with institutions like Viper Room and the Roxy. But the problem was that Rokbar was a play on those kind of venues, so why would the LA set want to go to a place that already existed?
But as the late Aaliyah once sang, "If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again." Well Rokbar is definitely trying again with a Las Vegas outpost at the New York New York Hotel & Casino. From the press photos, Rok Vegas (the "Bar" is dropped because this place is huge when compared to the Miami version) reminds us of Studio A (R.I.P.) but a bit flashier, featuring a huge projection screen that wraps around the venue.
Well if you happen to be Vegas this weekend, stop by because it's the grand opening. Local DJ Danny Daze will be there spinning all weekend long (how appropriate) and faux lesbian Katy Perry performs live tomorrow night.
With this being Laundry Bar's final weekend, Shelley Novak and friends decided to give the venue a proper roast. Patrons laugh and drank as Novak entertained the crowd the way only drag queen royalty knows how. Click here for the full slideshow.
We are hearing around town that Miami is in store for a busy fall and winter seasons. Big names are being tossed around and events are in the works -- too bad we can't tell you just yet, but you can rest assured we'll be the first to let you know.
But looking ahead at this long Labor Day weekend, there is so much to do that we couldn't possibly list every single event happening, so here are the highlights this weekend you may want to check out.
Laundry Bar (721 Lincoln Lane, Miami Beach) is closing y'all! But don't worry, it will remain under the same management, but just a different look and feel. But before that happens, the sudsy venue is going out with a bang -- or a permanent press wash. Tonight, Laundry Bar is giving itself a roast courtesy of a bunch of drag queens, bringing back the glory days of the venue it catered to the gay set. Shelley Novak hosts and will feature plenty of other prominent South Beach players.
Skip to Sunday for the venue's truly final farewell, when San Francisco's Nikola Baytala and Michael Louis give the venue's speakers one final workout.
ZOMG!!! Have you heard the news? Karu & Y and Bricks are being resurrected!
Sorry, I got needlessly excited. The real question is why? They stood for everything that was so very wrong with Miami's nightlife scene, and worse of all, they were so boring. Those are places I consider better off dead. Now, if someone told me they were bringing back Studio A -- and actually doing it right this time, with a proper marketing and promotion -- I'd be eternally grateful.
But until that day happens, I'm going to have to settle for what's being offered this weekend:
Tonight, it boils down to two options: Guilty Pleasures at Aero Bar (247 23rd Street, Miami Beach) or Money Shot at The Vagabond (30 NE 14th Street, Miami) -- fail-safe nights that are guaranteed to start off your weekend right. Ross One, as always, will be on the decks in the main lounge at Aero Bar, while Money Shot starts its Subway Series with New York DJs Morsy and Cobra Krames.
Want to try something sort-of new? Tonight, White Room (1306 N Miami Avenue, Miami) hosts Apt, Ray Milian's weekly Thursday night party. The night finally moves off South Beach to Downtown where it seems better suited.
South Beach venue Laundry Bar is calling it quits. Well, not exactly. The place we come to know as Laundry Bar will in fact cease to exists, but its owners are still planning to keep it as a nightclub -- just with a new facelift and name.
According to Talk Nightlife, the venue will no longer be a laundromat -- no complaints here. I always found it somewhat unsanitary to do your laundry at a bar. And space that could have been used to dancing and the such is taken up by these machines that as of late are rarely used.
There is also the gay sentiment attached to the name Laundry Bar, which was a popular gay venue at one point, but in recent years, the venue sought to diversify the crowd it catered to. Most recently, its been a beloved hang out for locals and the EDM crowd, who were attracted to it because of its bookings, which included the likes of Skream, Stretch Armstrong, Planet of the Drums, Ralph Falcon, Christian Martin and more.
Asses were shakin' as local turnable master Craze and Baltimore DJ Dave Nada put The Vagabond's bass to the test. Thursday night party Money Shot brought the duo's Borrachos Locos tour to the Downtown Miami venue, along with resident DJs Contra, Mike Deuce and DS. Click here to see the full slideshow.
In order to beat the heat, PS14's Wednesday night party YO! BBQ had a pool party -- er, except there is one problem, PS14 doesn't have a pool. That's why kiddie pools were brought in and downtown night crawlers were encouraged to come in swimwear. Check out the flesh-heavy slideshow of the night.
Avant-garde electropop artist/producer Matthew Dear, also known as Audion, returns to Miami next Saturday, August 16 at Boutique (NE 13th Street & First Court, Miami) -- er, you know, Pawn Shop Lounge's Boutique Room. I know! It's still open! Who knew!
Dear's return to the Magic City is thanks to Safe, who have been putting together great EDM events all around the city. Dear is a special treat because he definitely appeals to a wide variety of people, including IDM fanatics, party people and house-heads. He is very much inspired by the Detroit-techno scene, but could easily be compared to acts like Ladytron and Hot Chip, who he has opened for in the past.
Tickets are available in advance for $15 at Wantickets.com; doors open at 10 p.m.; 18+; entrance through the alleyway entrance in the back at NE First Court.
Check out Matthew Dear's video for "Don and Sherri" off his 2007 release Asa Breed as well as the full flier after the jump.
It's a busy weekend in Miami's club land, so get ready to party all weekend long. This comes as a relief, seeing how the past few weekends, the choices out there have been less than stellar. So it's a bit of a surprise that at the height of the summer season, there is this sudden spurt of things to do.
If you are looking for something that involved free booze, head over to Aero Bar (247 23rd Street, Miami Beach) tonight where Absolut Vodka will be promoting its newest limited-edition flavor Absolut Los Angeles (I wonder if it tastes like silicone and smog) with free drinks from 10 p.m. to midnight. "Celebrity" DJ Cheapshot will be providing the background noise, along with Mark Leventhal in the lounge.
Local turnable deity Craze will be stopping by The Vagabond (30 NE 14th Street, Miami) for its weekly Thursday night Money Shot party on August 14. Freshly off of Kanye West's Glow In The Dark tour (or How I Completely Ripped Off Daft Punk's Live Show and Called It My Own tour), Craze will be joined by Baltimore DJ Dave Nada. The two have join forces Los Borrachos Locos Tour (um, that's The Crazy Drunks Tour for you non-Spanish speakers). The four-date tour also stops by San Francisco, Dallas and Minneapolis (all Village Voice markets -- weird).
But as far as Miami is concerned, Money Shot's resident DJ Induce, Contra (who will be back in town after touring with Santogold) and Mike Deuce will also be there dropping the heavy beats. Cover is $10; doors open at $10.
Read more on Craze in the November 2007 article published the New Times. And in case you need audio/visual proof that you may want to be there, check the videos out of Craze and Dave Nada in action after the jump:
There is only one word that could describe last weekend: Boring. It was so boring, personally I went to bed most nights by 1 a.m. Come on Miami! I know we are at the height of the low season, but that doesn't mean we have to get lazy. Unfortunately, things don't seem to be picking up this weekend either, except for a few gems here and there.
Last weekend was a rough one for The Vagabond (30 NE 14th Street, Miami). After a ceiling tile fell and hit a patron, the fire department closed the venue for the weekend until repairs could be made and a building inspector could examine the work. But leave to the owners to make lemonade out of lemons. Its Thursday night party Money Shot will be happening tonight with special DJ Tommy Ryk (Rokbar). And to celebrate the reopening there will be a Skyy is Falling drink special (Get it? Got it? Good!), with free Skyy vodka from 10 to 11 p.m. In addition, last week's canceled Mid-Summer's Night Fairy Tale will happen this Saturday.
Word around town is there was an accident at The Vagabond (30 NE 14th Street, Miami) last night. Various sources have told me someone got injured, and then this was posted at 5:56 a.m. by The Vagabond via MySpace:
Hello friends,
Last night, an unfortunate incident happened where a ceiling tile fell loose. The Fire Department informed us that we must close in order to repair the damage and have the ceiling re-inspected. We will not be open tonight (Saturday), but we will be back next Thursday.
All our best,
The Vagabond
UPDATE: Spoke with Carmel Ophir, co-owner of The Vagabond. He reiterated what was said in the MySpace message, confirming that a young woman was injured when a acoustic ceiling tile fell. However, according to Ophir, the woman refused the service of paramedics, who responded after the police and fire department were called. The incident occurred around 1 a.m.
In addition, the A Mid-Summer Night's Fairy Tale event that was scheduled during the Back Door Bamby party tonight will be rescheduled for next Saturday.
Miami's nightlife landscape in filled with many characters who make going out that much more interesting. They are always larger than life and are always shrouded in mystery. Perfect example is Miami's latest anomaly, the Unicorn King, a man who frequents the 14th Street area in Downtown Miami, yet no one knows anything about him -- but that's sort of half the fun.
If you are going to look of the single-horned creature, stop by the Vagabond (30 NE 14th Street, Miami) for Money Shot. Tonight, DJ Elle (Turntable Lab/NYC) will be spinning her signature blend of hip-hop and pop with an indie sound sensibility. DJs Induce and Mike Deuce, along with special guest DJ DS, will also be there to keep the music going.
