MIAMI, Fl. (Top40 Charts) - Monday's (March 25) lineup at the Winter
Music Conference in Miami served as testimony to the immense amount of DJ talent available for dancing enjoyment at this annual event. Where else on this planet can one check out names like
Fatboy Slim,
Pete Tong,
BT,
Masters at Work,
Dimitri from Paris,
Lazy Dog, and more all in the same day, and all within a radius of a few blocks?
Once again, the Urb magazine/Essential Mix boat party, a.k.a. Aquatheque, proved to be one of the conference's most exclusive events. Departing from the luxurious Fontainebleu Hotel, the three-hour tour was anchored by DJ sets from Essential Mix DJs Sander Kleinenberg and Pete Tong, who both extended their sets to fill in for Carl Cox, who couldn't make the event.
Lazy Dog |
Kleinenberg, whose own
Essential Mix dropped earlier this month, truly rocked the boat with an inspired set that drew an ample crowd inside from the ship's sunny outer decks. After finishing up, Kleinenberg was approached by an onlooker who wished to compliment the Dutch DJ on a stunning performance. When the fan introduced himself as
Grandmaster Flash (whose own
Essential Mix will be released later this year), a starstruck Kleinenberg found himself nearly speechless. Also among the boat's passengers:
Dave Ralph and the
Deepsky duo.
Back on the beach, up-and-coming house label Naked Music hosted a free party at the gorgeous Nikki Beach and provided equally gorgeous sounds. With a DJ booth and stage nestled among the palm trees and a sandy dance floor lit subtly by strings of light hung from the boughs, the Naked party fully utilized the South Beach setting. After sets from Miguel Migs and Lisa Shaw, the duo of Ben Watt and Jay Hannan (a.k.a. Lazy Dog) took to the decks and brought the masses to a higher level, particularly when they launched into the second half of their set with "Tracey in My Room." As hot Miami ladies pranced on stage, sweet and sticky drinks were consumed, and hands were raised repeatedly for the multiple climaxes that the Lazy Dog set offered.
Dimitri from Paris |
As night fell and partygoers paused to wash off sandy feet and sweaty brows, even more events began to kick off all over the beach. At the massive complex known as the Opium Garden, French house maestro Dimitri from Paris laid down his reliable disco-tinged grooves for a bevy of beautiful people and a VIP section filled with Playmates from
Playboy Latino (and who knows what those ladies were filled with).
A few blocks away at Goddess, the Triple Five Soul-sponsored Future party featured Vikter Duplaix's soulful house grooves on the ground floor and head-bobbing hip-hop from the Roots' ?uestlove in the absolutely packed upstairs lounge. Further north on Washington Avenue, amidst the piles of discarded club flyers, Crobar continued to be an impossible venue to deal with, this time hosting the Subliminal Sessions party with Erick Morillo and Fatboy Slim and leaving many would-be clubbers out in the humid Miami night.
