:::: Nitevibe :::: WMC 2005

Miami WMC: Civilian-Style
By Monty Luke | Juicy Bitz

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23rd

7:30am: Our Story Begins
Fuck! After waking up late and rushing for a cab, I make my plane and am on the way to Miami WMC for the first time in about five years. Soon, I will be completely immersed in nothing but the scratch, the bass, and tits and ass in my face. But this trip is also going to be unusual because it will be my first trip to the WMC as a civilian: no gigs, no tracks to shop, no business to do. I’m curious as to what this will be like. During my layover in D.C., DJ Tasho, who will be my hotel roommate in Miami, calls excitedly to check in and let me know that the Doubledown Records party will be the spot to hit tonight. I say that’s cool but I’m rollin’ with Nitevibe so I’ll be hitting as many hot spots as possible.

8:43pm: Touchdown Miami!
The plane is taxiing right now after landing at Miami International Airport. I can already feel the thick, humid Florida air like a wet towel in my crotch. Or maybe that’s just one of those automatic erections that happens when I sit in a vehicle that vibrates a lot. I’m just not sure at this point, but I’m ready to start the adventure.

9:45pm: Alton Rd. (the house I am staying at for the night)
I learned that it rained for about an hour today, which got in the way of several parties, including the much-talked about outdoor Defected Records’ event featuring DJ Eric Morillo. A few of my friends tried to go, but upon entrance and attempting to buy hot dogs which cost $15 each, the rain started and they left. Maybe it was a sign from God. I doubt God wants hot dogs to be sold for that much. I learn that the house where I’m staying will play host to a few parties of its own. My friends ask why I didn’t bring any records. Damn good question.

1:30am: Uniting Souls Party @ Purdy Lounge
My first event of the conference is the perfect intro to the Miami club scene. Seattle/SF crew Uniting Souls threw a low-key but fun event that featured both funky house and a good measure of Latin-tinged beats. DJ Moses is on the decks, the lights are dim and I can easily spot a multi-cultural mix of mami’s and papi’s puttin’ it down on the dancefloor. The event’s promoter, Ramiro, comes over and tells me that Uniting Souls is starting a label, which is exciting news on the West Coast funky house scene. After checking Mikey Tello’s set in the back room, I’m feeling the itch for something a bit more edgy, so we break out to our next destination…

3:20am: Martini Party @ Flute
Let me tell you something about house music. House music, without a doubt is the most potent form of dance music out there – when put into the right hands. Think about your friends that hate house. You know, the ones that think everything is “techno” and “sounds the same.” Most likely, these people have been to a top 40 club on a Friday or Saturday night and some horrible wedding DJ was on the decks, playing really boring tracks like some Clay Aiken remix set to a 120 bpm shuffle. Of course you are going to hate the music if that is all you have heard. But go to a proper club and you will know it. That bleep. That bass. And those congas in your face. You might not realize it at the time ‘cuz you’ll be dancing your ass off, but you will on more than one occasion think to yourself, “What do you call this music?” That’s house. That’s the feeling you get. And if you get that feeling once, you will always want to get it back. I look around and that’s the vibe at 3:30 am in Miami tonight.

3:45am: Doubledown 5 Yr. Anniversary @ Bash
We’re greeted outside by Om Records’ prez Chris Smith and underground wunderkind Andrew Kelsey. We walk in and it’s rocking. Justin Long is on the decks playing Adonis’ Chicago jack track classic, No Way Back. Ain’t that the truth! I go to the bar and in an attempt to impress a lady friend I order two glasses of champagne. The bartender comes back and asks for $24. Welcome to Miami, kid. In the back patio area, JT Donaldson is in the mix. At the end of his set, he slows the music down and plays the Carl Craig mix of Zap Mama’s Bandy Bandy, which immediately upon being blasted from the sound systems’ speakers becomes my first “Song of the Night” for what is probably going to be a wild few days in South Beach.

THURSDAY, MARCH 24th

2:50pm – Om Listening Party @ Eden Roc Resort
How did it get to be 3 o’clock already? Sheesh. I’ve decided that attending the WMC, as a civilian, sucks. What makes it worse is that everyone you see that you know asks if you’ve got any gigs. I can’t figure out if people are asking me this because they are genuinely interested in knowing, or they’re just checking my status. After checking into my hotel room at 21st & Collins, I hop in a taxi and rush all the way down to the Om Listening party at Eden Roc. See, upon entry into the hotel’s massive lobby, a tall alterna-industrial looking guy in a Remix Magazine t-shirt makes eye contact with me and darts over in my direction asking, “Hey are you J-Boogie?” Now, I’ve been mistaken for a myriad of people in the past like Rasoul, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Donovan McNabb, you name it. But J-Boogie? That was a new one. Apparently he was due to perform at the listening party at 3pm. He’s late. I proceed to pick up my passes and enter the banquet hall where the listening party is happening. DJ Collette’s album is playing. Chris Smith is at a table chatting with James Curd from Greenskeepers. Collette is nearby at a table with Sharon Buck, among a few other familiar faces. I take in the scene and exhale; but there’s no rest for the wicked. There are plenty more parties to cover! I bail from Eden Roc and on my way out I spy J-Boogie jumping out of a cab…

4:30pm M3 Showcase @ Surfcomber Hotel
It’s early evening and the air is still hot. Kerri Chandler is lighting up the outdoor stage with an eclectic set of raw house, disco and acid. Back to the raw, Yeeeah! Music industry heads are crawling everywhere, including my boy Phil Sherburne. Two girls start a volleyball game in the sand just as Greenskeepers take the stage for a live set. As I am watching them perform I spot my man, KCRW DJ Jason Bentley in the place. He’s being interviewed by Sirius Satellite radio. Everyone is here, including Mr. Derrick Carter, JT Donaldson, Lance Desardi and many more.

9:00pm – John Legend
John Legend, the new R&B sensation whose Kanye West-produced debut album was released last week, will be performing in just minutes. Fat Lip from the Pharcyde has been the show’s emcee, and just before John Legend goes on, he and a friend launch into the Pharcyde classic Passing Me By. Oddly enough, Fat Lip only recites the choruses and his verse (arguably the best in the whole song), but when it’s his turn he rips it for a captivated audience. Clearly ready for the smoove-ness of John Legend, the man himself finally stepped up on stage and played an hour set which left the ladies quivering for more. I guess that’s what happens when you sit in front of an electric piano and sing about love in a pink polo shirt. I should try that. Derrick Carter is due to close the night out immediately after John Legend and I sense a problem. Clearly, the people standing in front of the stage right now are straight-up R&B fans. What could Derrick possibly do to transition smoothly and keep these folks from immediately leaving? I spot him backstage and ask him if he knows what he will be opening with. Somewhat nervously he responds, “I haven’t decided yet.” No doubt he pulled it off!

10:35pm – Vice Magazine Party @ Raleigh Hotel
FINALLY managed to find this party. The address on the master list was misprinted. I expected this to be asymmetrical haircut heaven (hell?) but I was kind of disappointed. Maybe they got tired trying to find an address that didn’t exist. I took in the last 20 mins. of the UK sensation The Go! Team’s set which sounded like a cross between the Partridge Family on speed and the Psychedelic Furs. Entertaining, but the lack of attendance was freaking me out. Time to “go!”

12:15am – Om Party @ Mansion
“If you use that camera inside the club you will be ejected man, so don’t make us do that, ok?” Alrighty then. Immediately upon entrance into the club I spot SF underground promoter Dax with several of his friends, taking pictures of each other, having a great old time. Fuck the bouncers. This party is already completely packed; by 3am it will be totally richter. If San Francisco doesn’t have the best DJs in the country, I don’t know who does. The back room blasts off into the stratosphere with some of the most deadly house tunes I’ve heard since I arrived, including tonight’s “Song of the Night,” the Abe Duque remix of The Chemical Brothers’ Galvanize. While at the Om party, we get word that our plan for the after party at the epic Red Bull Mansion has been thwarted. Apparently, it got busted by police sometime after 2am.

FRIDAY, MARCH 25th:

5am – Alton Dr. Afterhours
Since the Red Bull mansion was out of the picture, everyone scrambles for a place to chill late-nite/early morning style. I ended up at a fantastic afterhours thrown in the house I stayed in my first night here. They had a sound system set up in the living room. But what was most astonishing is that they turned it on; this house was located in the middle of a ritzy neighborhood—surely the neighbors wouldn’t stand for the noise for long. Surprisingly, no complaints. Not even when someone brought the enormous nitrous tank and set up shop in the backyard. You’d think the loud “PSSSSSSST!” sound of the tank filling balloon after balloon would piss people off, but at 11am with the party winding down we were in the clear. And yes, I did have to answer the inevitable “Did you bring any records?” and “So, why did you come to the WMC this year?” type questions. And with each time I got asked, it kind of got easier to admit that I was just there to enjoy the music and the good times – kind of. Rick Preston and Diggs from England’s DIY posse rocked the afterparty – among a few others.

2:30pm – Nikki Beach
After much wrangling and jockeying for position, we finally headed out of the afterhours and on to Nikki Beach, where the BBC Radio 1 Party was happening. Deep Dish was scheduled to play, along with Pete Tong, Blaze, Murk, Behrouz, Donald Glaude and many others. My main objective was to stay awake long enough to hit Aquabooty later tonight. Probably the most anticipated party on my list, it should be THE JAM of the conference. We finally arrive at the outdoor beach club and the line extends from the entrance all the way into the parking lot. Upon entrance we find out this place is wall-to-wall skin, sunglasses and fat asses. Oh, and some hard house and trance. Not entirely sure who is on the decks, but it’s definitely not Blaze or Murk. The people-watching though, is absolutely fantastic! It’s a serious ‘check-out’ vibe. Everyone is checking each other out. Good thing my sunglasses are dark. We all check each other out for a while, but the trance dancing is a bit much for us, so we head out for another adventure.

4:35pm – Vivrant Thang @ Miami Botanical Gardens.
It has been non-stop since last night’s Om party and it’s beginning to show. I have no idea where the energy is coming from but man, am I glad I went to the gym a bunch before I came out here. Otherwise, I’d surely be out like a light in my hotel room and Sam and Jessica would have my head for missing 5 or 6 more events for this piece! I remind myself of one key thing: I am a House Music Soldier. I must trod forth. Civilian or not; that will never change! As Miles Maeda plays some of that slinky chi-town bump-funk, I sit and reflect on the scene around me. Here, in the middle of downtown Miami, is a beautiful oasis of grass, palm trees, and exotic flowers and plants from around the world. It’s a great place to see the sun set, which is exactly what we do before jetting to our next destination.

SATURDAY, MARCH 26th:

??? am – Rub Down
DJ Sneak is on the decks and this is the first time in years, I’ve heard him rock it! It could also be the extreme lack of sleep but who cares about that now? I can see the promised land, people! Out in the back patio, the Lawnchair Generals have commandeered the sound system and are absolutely freaking it! Can you fucking feel this? I can.

2:00am – Amika Afterhours
The Rub Down is done, but no one wants to go home. I make plans to meet a voluptuous cutie at an afterhours spot called Amika. I have no idea who is playing, but we jet over there anyway. Someone steers us toward a side door where a patron was just exiting. Inside, a woman who works there seems startled to see us while several large men, who I assume are bouncers, turn the corner towards us. They start yelling at us to leave – immediately. As we do that, a guy in my crew makes a smart remark and as we turn onto the sidewalk, two bouncers corner him, screaming, “DO YOU WANT TO WIN THE LOTTERY?!?! DO YOU WANT TO WIN THE FUCKING LOTTERY TONIGHT BECAUSE I CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN MOTHAFUCKA!!!” I’m assuming this is Miami bouncer-speak for “ass-kicking.” Another bouncer is behind me and I turn to him with my hands straight out in front of me to stop him from advancing saying, “alright man, it’s cool…we’re leaving—nobody is going to cause any problems…” The bouncer screams back in a German accent, “GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!” so I step to the side and he joins his buddies who have my friend cornered. Meanwhile a random guy approaches the scene and the next thing I know, the German bouncer turns to random dude and yells, “SHUT UP, NIGGER!” and starts pummeling the guy. We all manage to slip away completely unscathed. Moral of the story? Don’t walk through the wrong door in Miami. Um, yeah. We then head to the much anticipated Aquabooty party to learn that it’s been cancelled!? What the—

5am and Beyond…
I am devastated at the cancellation of Aquabooty. We use the downtime to devise a new plan, which eventually lands us at an afterhours called Breakfast in B.E.D. It’s sponsored by Thump Radio. The venue called B.E.D. has, instead of a massive dancefloor, several chill areas along the walls and yes, they’re pretty much huge beds. We get there and someone is playing live bass on top of some chunky house music. Sen-Sei is supposed to be playing but we never peep him at all while there. Hopefully he didn’t “win the lottery” tonight. Somewhere along the way, the music becomes too chunky and turns into bits of trance. We escape into the broad daylight - I’m shocked to learn that it’s about noon on Saturday! Ok, I think it’s finally time to bring it down a notch. I’ve got a plane to catch and I haven’t slept in a day or so. I’m lucky enough to crash in my hotel room with two lovely ladies I pick-up along the way. Although it’s nothing freaky-deaky it sure is a hell of a way to wind down after a hectic few days.

Looking back, I had a damn great time. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if I should even be in Miami with no real work to do. But the fact that I had no gigs only made it possible for me to explore and discover other things about the WMC scene, such as which clubs have racist German bouncers, and which bars sell bottles of water for $9. Was my experience in Miami better or worse as a civilian? I don’t know. Either way, who cares? I’m in my hotel room kickin’ it with two hot chicks. I highly recommend checking out the WMC/M3 Miami scene at least once…especially if you consider yourself a House Music Soldier.

By Monty Luke | Juicy Bitz

If you have lots of time on your hand and some cool tunes on playing in the background then head over to our WMC/M3 2005 Photo Gallery for full coverage.