I Be Cruzin'

Taking a break in the action to go on a cruise on Norwegian Gem. But don't worry....our roving reporters will report any PI news to me immediately and I'll be updating the Blog every couple days from the ship. And of course I'll let you know about night club quality on board.

If you are part of 65% of the population that has never cruised, you need to join the 35% of the population that has. You will get hooked immediately. The ports, the shows, the food, the clubs, the everything else! All an incredible value! KingBob's SUPERTRAVEL subsidiary can help you plan one! Bon voyage.

This Weekend In Techno Town

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE
This Friday you won't want to miss the closing of the McDonald's in Downtown Disney Marketplace. Say what you will about the McDonald's-Disney relationship over the years, this place was just about always packed. It closes forever April 30th.

Saturday night things improve for techno fans! Downtown at Bliss Ultra Lounge DJ Inphinity spins House, Dance & Techno. Even better, over at the Peacock Room, former Mannequins DJ Dave Cannalte joins DJ Robby Clark, DJ D-Xtreme and DJ Daisy for a night of House and Techno. Peacock Room is located at 1321 N. Mills.

PI: Disney's Best Kept Secret

Have you heard the best kept Disney secret? I bet you haven't because the best kept secret at Disney is what they're going to do with Pleasure Island. It's common knowledge that there are few secrets at Disney. If anything new is going to happen, there are leaks well before the official announcement. I mean, just think of the last huge announcement about the expansion of Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom. Didn't the Orlando Sentinel leak most of that beforehand? But you don't hear any leaks about PI. There are rumors of course but there are never any leaks. Ask a dozen employees, even those working on the Island, and you get a dozen different stories. I've said this before and it bears repeating. The reason that there are no leaks about what is going to happen to Pleasure Island is because there is nothing to leak. Nothing is coming to Pleasure Island. It's the only logical explanation.

PI Update: April Showers Bring May Flowers

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
Fierce thunderstorms rolled through Orlando during the night last night but the cold front brought clear skies behind it. So what better place to enjoy the sunny weather than beautiful Pleasure Island. Across the street from DTD one could see the damage caused by the high winds!

One of the advantages of living so close to the magic is the ability to attend Celebrate Tonight as often as possible. Tonight I got to witness DJ Hollywood Bob lead the fun at 5:30.

The PI Live Bar was packed. Over at the Marketplace I noticed that kids get a Dance Party on Friday and Saturday nights, but not us adults. Folks, I spoke to numerous Island employees this evening and no one has a clue as to what is going on. One person told me we should see some demolition activity in about a month and a half, another said August, another said no demolition until contracts are signed. Someone else said no contracts have been signed. Another said plans have finally been approved. Now keep in mind that I did not speak to any of my regular island sources. These were all basically the regular folks who are out of the loop....if there is a loop. Interestingly, two people told me they're going to build a new PI elsewhere on property but nothing is under construction yet. That might just be rehashed old rumors though. Sad.

Club Reports: Antigua, Bliss, Pour House, Independent Bar

KingBob returned to downtown Orlando last night to see what was happening. The streets were heavy with partiers early on but I'm not sure where they were headed because at 10:30pm I-Bar, Antigua & Tabu were dead. Antigua (pictured above) did get crowded by 11:30pm though so it was worth my first visit in about six months. I was happy to learn they had a new DJ on Saturday nights; DJ JayMac comes from radio station XL106.7 and the music consists of familiar Top 40, Old School and Dance Remixes, many of them mashed.

There was a good-sized crowd in Bliss but for the most part they just could not be coaxed onto the dance floor during my visit. DJ Mickey Bono (Radiodanz.com) played an awesome Dance/House mix. Dresses and supertall heels were prevalent here and in the other clubs! I came to check out the renovations. Well, they didn't seem to do a whole lot. The biggest change is that the red curtains by the entrance have been replaced with white curtains, lol. Well ok, there are new tables and they uncovered the previously covered side windows so patrons can watch the freight trains go by!

There really is no dancing in Orlando Pour House but DJ Beverlykills plays a mean mix of mostly hip hop to the very crowded bar/sports bar. The place is very popular. Not sure there really is any music coming out of those records since he had his laptop hooked up! But for our younger viewers, please note that those red discs are called records.


And of course have to end any evening at Independent Bar, home to 80's New Wave/Old Wave. The place is always packed. I did not make it to the Visage Reunion but I was told that it was crowded and the A/C could not keep up so it got really warm in there. If anyone went, please feel free to post a comment below. Have a good week!

Visage Reunion Tonight

In the past 6 months we've had an Aaahz reunion, a Pleasure Island reunion and a Club Firestone reunion. Tonight another reunion is taking place. It's a reunion for Visage Nightclub. Back in the day, Visage was a club located way north on OBT in the Rosemont/Lockhart area near Maitland. Here's how it is described on the reunion Facebook page:

During the day Visage appeared to be an empty warehouse. At night the building lived and breathed allowing a gateway to the area’s Alternative music scene. The crowd was very diversified , on any given night you would find local Punks, Dark wavers, Goth , Surfers, New Wavers and the common Joe gathered for a universal purpose. To hear good music and mingle with some of Orlando finest people. It was the premier Teen/ Adult progressive club in Orlando during the 80's. It hosted the best national acts from NIN, Flesh for LULU, Mighty Lemon Drops, The Ramones, PIL, Love and Rockets, Midnite Oil, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Book of Love, Front 242, Blondie, Xymox and Jane's Addiction to name a few.

Please note that the reunion is taking place downtown in the club formerly known as Cairo and currently called Lyrica. Doors open at 9pm and entry is just $5. I still want a Mannequins reunion!!

Club Reports: The Groove & Red Coconut

With Spring Break & Mardi Gras weeks finished, I was kind of expecting crowds at 80's Night at The Groove to be rather small. That was not the case last night; it was really crowded! Not like a Saturday night of course but crowded nonetheless. DJ Doc Wells (8TRAX, Atlantic Dance) played one 8TRAX hit after another. The couple pictured above were 8TRAX regulars and it was the first time I had run into them since Pleasure Island closed.

But Red Coconut Club was crazy packed, especially for a Thursday night. DJ Shawn played mostly Top 40 during my time in RCC. If you're off on a Friday, you all need to come down to CityWalk because this is where it's happening.

80's Night at The Groove Tonight

Good to see Universal advertising 80's Night again!

New Techno/Dance Venue?

Talking about restaurants two days in a row! Well, there's a new restaurant over near the Mall at Millenia called Crave that opened about a week ago. Why mention it? Because I caught a rumor that they're going to be featuring techno/dance music with a DJ on weekend nights in the near future. I believe it will be on Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights. I don't have a lot of details yet but I'll be checking it out. As you exit I-4 and head towards the mall, the restaurant is on the right before you get to the intersection with Millenia Blvd. Stay tuned.....this could be a great new option!

Support Your Local DJ

DJ Pete from Atlantic Dance Hall (and formerly of Motion) has opened a new sports bar called 2Max just over the county line in Kissimmee. It's been open for several weeks now but they're having their Grand Opening this Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Click on the flyer above for details. Disney CM's get 20% off all the time (present ID). The rest of us can get a 20%-off coupon from their website. The wings are large and delicious but they have a full menu too. From Disney or I-4 follow SR 535 south about 3 miles; as soon as you cross into Osceola County there is a Hess station on the right and 2Max is in the strip center right after Hess. Good luck Pete! Play some techno!

PI Update: Rain

It was a rainy night tonight, but what better place to spend it than beautiful Pleasure Island. The Spring Break crowds are gone and we're in that lull period now prior to Memorial Day weekend kicking off the summer tourist season. The rain doesn't help. Several Celebrate Tonight sessions were cancelled; not a stiltwalker in sight! Nothing to report on any of the clubs.

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Club Reports: CityWalk & Atlantic Dance

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
The Mardi Gras series of concerts wrapped-up last night at Universal with the famous band Chicago. A lot of concert-goers stayed over for the CityWalk clubs; every club was absolutely packed and the lines were long everywhere for those that didn't arrive early. DJ AJ was spinning a lot of Top 40 mixed with Hip Hop for the wall-to-wall patrons in The Groove. AJ did play a DJ Deadmau5 song so we did get some techno! It appeared to me that the crowds exceeded the night that Akon was the singer at Mardi Gras.

If you want to hear techno though at CityWalk you have to hope that DJ Leony (Sirius/XM BPM) at Latin Quarter is in one of his moods. Besides the normal assortment of Latin hits, he played an extraordinary number of House hits that not only kept the dance floor jammed but people were dancing all over the place!

Meanwhile over at Red Coconut Club DJ Smooth (radiodanz.com) kept an equally jammed dance floor moving with a mix of Top 40 and Hip Hop hits between band sets and after they ended at midnight. Smooth spins tonight (Sunday) at The Groove.

With everyone over at CityWalk you'd think that Disney would be hurting. Well yes, Pleasure Island was dead but Atlantic Dance Hall was full of partiers. DJ Pat, who tells me he has been the Saturday night DJ at ADH for around 13-years, kept the floor jammed here too with Top 40 videos and Hip Hop. ADH has been increasingly popular since PI closed and I'm not so sure Disney knows how to handle it!

Coachella Music Festival

The east coast has Ultra Music Festival in Miami, the west coast has Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California. Coachella is taking place this weekend but unlike Ultra which is completely dedicated to electronic dance music, Coachella has a much broader variety of music including Hip Hop and Alternative. Acts range from David Guetta and Tiësto to Jay-Z. Ultra lasts two days and when the 2-day tickets don't sell out, they offer 1-day tickets. Coachella is a 3-day festival and a big controversy this year is that only 3-day tickets were offered, significantly raising the cost to attend. I've read that several acts had to cancel because they were unable to leave Europe due to the volcano eruption in Iceland.

Mouseketeer Spotted at CityWalk

In an unprecedented display of cheekiness, this young woman appeared on a CityWalk dance floor wearing Mouseketeer ears. She told me that thought she was at Pleasure Island.

Club Reports: Red Fox Lounge, Why Not Lounge, The Groove (80's Night)

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
If you're married and want to take your secret girlfriend out to a place where you'll never be spotted, let me recommend the Red Fox Lounge at the Best Western Mt. Vernon Inn in Winter Park. This place has a huge following because singers Mark & Lorna having been doing their gig here since the 1970's! Yes, this lounge act is over 30-years old now and it probably hasn't ever changed. Even the lounge decor is 1970's. The songs are like Barry Manilow, Nancy Sinatra & Billy Joel folks. I only came because I was told a lot of Rollins College girls hang out here. Last night it was more like Rollins College alumni, class of 1950. Seriously, google "Mark & Lorna" or go to YouTube. This is something everyone must experience at least once. Pure kitsch! Awesome! Th-Sa nites.

While I was on the north side, might as well drop in on another classic, the Why Not Lounge located in the Magnuson Grand Hotel formerly the Clarion Inn formerly the Holiday Inn - Altamonte Springs. Of the bands I've heard during my various visits to the Why Not, this one called Never Never was the best by far. Moderate-sized crowd on hand; not as crowded as some of my visits. Every Thursday night is Ladies Night, the same as every Thursday night for over 30 years!


It was 80's Night at The Groove last night and on the 3rd Thursday of the month they have an 80's band and it's typically Switch. Of all the nights I've attended when they've had a live band, this one drew the largest crowd. I think club management is trying to draw fans of the band and at the same time draw those seeking 80's music. Last night it came together well. Switch is a lot of fun to watch perform; they do more than just sing. Between sets and after the band's final set DJ Doc (8TRAX/Atlantic Dance/Red Coconut Club) spins 80's videos. I spotted DJ Tony Z (Atlantic Dance) who was checking out the competition. He had been maintaining a low profile until one of his fans spotted him too!