It was a weird night at CityWalk last night. The top deck of the parking garage was jammed with people wanting to watch the 10:30pm fireworks show over at Universal Studios. Bob Marley's had an unusually long line while Red Coconut had an unusually short line. Pat O'Brien's had no line. Over at The Groove DJ AJ spun mostly 80's (and not just Michael Jackson) during the first hour before switching over to his more normal Top 40 mix. DJ Leony at Latin Quarter said he was in a crazy mood and played a lot more techno then he normally does. Back at The Groove most of the last half hour was Dance. The hip hop crowd didn't know what to do! It was awesome!
Had the opportunity to chat with management about 80's Night at The Groove and how popular it's become. They agreed. I suggested allowing a little bit of late 70's Disco in the mix and they said they're actually considering that plus a little bit of early 90's too. If they start this and word gets out, look for even more crowded Thursday nights!
Yeah, it was a wild night at City Walk. Switch aka Nerd Ranger band were playing 80s music on the outside stage and the crowd was lovin' it. Then, later around 11pm or so the DJ at the portable DJ booth setup opposite Pat O Briens started playing a variety of good dancing music, including 70's stuff like ABC by J5. The ladies were really gettin' down and havin' a good time and the circle of onlookers were wide and deep.
ReplyDeleteI did watch the band for awhile and there was a HUGE crowd of on-lookers, many fresh from the O'Jays concert. Unfortunately missed the DJ; only saw him closing down the equipment at 2am.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it would be an 80's night if there is music from the late 70's and early 90's! This will be very disappointing to an avid 80's music fan like myself...there is soo much music from the 80's that the normal DJ plays and I very rarely hear the same mixes as the week before. There are some other so called 80's nights at clubs around town hat are real bad...music is mixed with new songs and even 70's stuff is played. It doesn't work at all...hip hop winds up being played after an hour and then its the same crappy night as every other.
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts are indeed appreciated and I understand where you're coming from.
ReplyDeleteRight or wrong, my thinking is more along the lines of recreating the 8TRAX experience and to do that one needs late 70's Disco. If there was one club at PI that always had a crowd even on dead nights, it was 8TRAX. The music's popularity spans multi-generations and that equals profits. Allowing early 90's differentiates it from 8TRAX which I know is a management concern. It also allows some early techno aka Classic Dance.
At the very least the DJ should have the freedom to play what he wants within a range and not be hemmed-in by the decade itself.
I remember going to The Groove after PI closed. We missed the dance music and we wanted another good night of dancing.
ReplyDeleteWe were so disappointed when we finally got there and we heard 80s music. We haven't been back since.
The groove doing 80s is an excellent example of trying to reach out to the PI crowd and has been incredibly popular. No, you won't find mannequins music at CW other than when the DJ is in a weird mood, but I fully support CW recreating 8-trax for the people. Disney missed out and now the Groove is enjoying the benefits of the 8-trax crowd. I really hope they expand to 70s disco. early 90s I can do without, but I'll put up with it.
ReplyDeleteI'm seriously considering making the Groove my one stop for entertainment on Thursday nights.
Moving from being a regular at Mannequins to being a regular at The Groove was pure culture shock for me! I had done my time in Motion so it wasn't entirely new music I was hearing but at least I could wander back to Mannequins when I'd had enough.
ReplyDeleteBut there was no place to wander at CW until I stumbled into Dance/House at Latin Quarter on Halloween night. So I'm surviving the whole thing. The Thursday 80's Night has been a great addition!
kingbob got a email address i want to send you some pleasure island photos so you can post here. photos to bring back memories
ReplyDeleteI will be running an article about Mannequins memories in early August. Your pics would be appreciated as many of mine are fuzzy or too dark.
ReplyDeleteE-mail: kingbobofthenorth@gmail.com
Anyone else can send photos too. Thank you!
Gotta second the strong 80s focus, but if we've got to throw another decade in there I'd much rather hear 90s than 70s. Give me C+C Music Factory over KC & the Sunshine Band any day. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL. C+C Music Factory is exactly the type of music I'm trying to avoid. Doesn't get much worse than that.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I really liked about FINAL NIGHT at Mannequins were the early Techno hits played that night. I think I still tear- up when I hear someone playing "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)", the emotional final song.
ReplyDeleteSo personally, I'd love to hear songs by C&C Music Factory, 2 Unlimited, etc. OK'ing the playing of early-90's opens up early techno.