DJ Peapod To Be Featured on Party95.com

Former Mannequins DJ Peapod is a featured DJ tomorrow night (Tuesday) on the DJ Jennifer Marley Show on www.party95.com. The show airs from 8pm to 10pm EST (0100 GMT) worldwide. Got to meet Jennifer recently and she really gets into the music and mood she's trying to create for listeners. Looking forward to hearing  what Peapod is up to! Be sure to tune in!!

Club Reports: Vintage, Bliss, Suite B, Beacham, Independent Bar

Talk about a Pleasure Island Reunion! DJ Talie from Motion & 8TRAX joined DJ Dominick Morrison from Mannequins in the booth at Vintage last night in downtown Orlando.

I'm pleased to report that bare midriffs are back for 2011 as seen last night at Bliss Ultra Lounge for DJ Cheyenne M's birthday party! The club was jammed listening to House music.

Suite B Lounge was also jammed for House music being played by a series of Tampa-based DJ's.

Even though Tabu is now called The Beacham, the Saturday night format has not changed and DJ Richie Rich still brings in huge crowds for 102Jamz night. A mix of mostly Hip Hop and some Top 40, it's one of the most popular clubs in town. Richie Rich spins House, Dance and Top 40 at House of Blues tonight for Service Industry Night in Lake Buena Vista.

And as you know by now, if I'm downtown on a Saturday night then I'm going to somehow end up at Independent Bar for DJ Indie John's mix of classic 80's Old Wave.

Sonia!

Spotted: DJ Icey at Independent Bar!

Club Reports: Mother's & Spybar (Chicago)

Checking out some clubs Friday night in the River North section of downtown Chicago. Visited Mother's but not just any Mother's.....the Original Mother's. The booth was filled with a half dozen DJ's at times taking turns but they were all into the House and Dance which made for a good time and interesting people-watching. Never got very crowded though but my waitress said January and February are slow months.

Much more fun was Spybar which was hosting DJ Oscar G (Club Space) who ironically had just played in downtown Orlando the night before at Senso. The club, located in the basement of another club, was jammed with people dancing to his pure unadulterated House mix. It was hard to move as everyone was jammed up on each other. He says his show at Senso went really well and I can tell you his show at Spybar was awesome too!

PI Update: RRBC Half Gone!

I am out-of-town for a couple days but that does not stop the news from getting published. Blog roving reporter William was on Pleasure Island to get us this picture of a rapidly disappearing Rock'n'Roll Beach Club. He says it's over 50% demolished with the part that's remaining mainly the part that is out over the water.

Just Slippin' On By On LSD

Quick trip to Chicago today included a visit to the "Top of the Cock", the observation deck on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center. Located almost directly against Lake Michigan, the views are pretty incredible. And stretched out below running north and south in both directions is US 41. No one around here calls it that though; it's Lake Shore Drive (LSD) baby!  And anything that special has to have it's own song.

Disney Trivia

It's a slow news day today plus I'm out of town, so it's time for one of my rare editions of Disney Trivia. Did you know that there are only 3 underwater road tunnels in Florida? And that 2 of them are at Walt Disney World? That's correct. The one pictured above is on EPCOT Resorts Blvd, the road that begins at the entrance to Disney's Boardwalk and loops back around in front of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels. The waterway above it connects EPCOT's International Gateway with the Boardwalk. The other tunnel in WDW is way north on World Drive near Disney's Contemporary Resort. That waterway connects Bay Lake with the Seven Seas Lagoon. Both tunnels allow Disney Transportation boats to operate unimpeded by road traffic. And where is that 3rd tunnel?  It's on US1 in downtown Fort Lauderdale and goes under the New River! So now you know.

This Weekend In Techno Town

 THURSDAY:  DJ Oscar G from Club Space in Miami is playing at Senso Supper Club in downtown Orlando tonight.

 FRIDAY: DJ Baby Anne will be at club ReMix in Merritt Island.

SATURDAY: DJ Cheyenne M celebrates his 17th birthday at Bliss Ultra Lounge along with DJ's Mickey Bono and ATM.

SUNDAY: This is where you'll find everyone on Sunday night. And special treat this weekend as DJ Richie Rich is on stage which means primarily House, Dance and Top 40!

A Look Ahead to Gay Days

The first weekend in June is always Gay Days in the Attractions areas of Orlando and the tradition continues this year. I think there's little doubt that the closure of Pleasure Island really through organizers into a loop a couple years ago because PI clubs....especially Mannequins.....were always a focus of some of the evening's activities. For the second year in a row, their host hotel is on I-Drive instead of near DTD. Looking at the official Gay Days website, there is only the basic framework of events currently posted with a lot more detail to come. If I see any impressive DJ announcements down the road, I'll post them here on the Blog.

But the promoters of Wonder World have wasted little time getting their plans out. They offer pool parties on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights of the event using the Buena Vista Palace Hotel across from DTD as their host hotel. I notice that on Saturday they have DJ Manny Lehman. Some of you will recall that he was the last DJ to play at Motion for an event that was available to the general public! It was during that time period after the clubs closed but Motion was still available for rental. Even more impressive though is the Dance/House duo Freemasons (GB) playing on Sunday! (Blog roving reporter Thommy contributed to this report.)

PI Update: RRBC Demolition Begins!

Look closely over the roof of Portabello and you can see the beginning stages of the demolition of Rock'n'Roll Beach Club! Yes, it has begun! CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Zooming in here but still allowing you to see the perspective of RRBC to the rest of the Island. With Motion 90% razed, views of RRBC never before seen have become available.

Zoomed in further, we see the far eastern side of the building has been crunched open!

With all the extensive glass now removed, dust barriers had to be installed to keep everything inside and not drifting out onto Pleasure Island or out into Village Lake.

The former junction of RRBC & Motion is the supposed site of Mahogany Bay Classic Old Boats and Great Food Restaurant, the only new venue announced so far for Pleasure Island/Hyperion Wharf. That's just the "working name" though; the retro-speedboat themed restaurant could get a new name before it opens but the concept will be the same.

Very little of Motion remains. But a lot of Motion debris remains laying on the ground! Free demolition boat tours are being offered every 15 minutes; simply board a Downtown Disney Water Taxi at Pleasure Island and head over to Marketplace.

DJ Laidback Luke Coming To Orlando

The #17 DJ in the world is coming to Orlando! DJ Laidback Luke (NL) will be playing at Senso on Tuesday, March 22nd. Tickets are $20 in advance on the Senso website. The world's best DJ's continue to include Orlando in their tours. Don't forget DJ Cedric Gervais (F/USA) tonight at Senso and DJ Oscar G (USA) this coming Thursday night at Senso!

Club Reports: Heat, Club 23, Bliss, I-Bar

Cold night in Orlando last night so I had my doubts that many people would be wandering around downtown Orlando. But I was wrong; downtown clubs were rockin' last night! Yesterday I did an article about the 70's Pub Crawl and I ran into them along Orange Avenue as they crawled from BBQ-Bar to Ember. OMG, there were 400 people taking place in the event and like these ladies above, many were dressed in the appropriate 70's attire! (Although isn't 70's attire pretty much the same as 2011 attire?) I'm told even more people participate when they do the 80's Pub Crawl! Awesome outfits, Ladies!

The much-anticipated new club Heat is open for business and it's a beautiful facility. Dinner tables were being removed during my visit as they shifted from early-evening restaurant to later-evening club.

Apology to DJ Ryan because your picture refused to upload to Blogger. Ryan says he'll be playing House music on Saturday nights and mostly Hip Hop on his Wednesday night gig.

The place reminds me of Blue Martini and Red Coconut Club with a band stage high behind the super busy bar. The DJ said they plan to move the DJ booth somewhere up there as well. This new venue should do well.

Had a difficult time finding the sign for Club 23 so had to settle for this dirty entry rug. Only my second visit to this club located at 23 West Church Street and up a narrow stairway.

DJ John Debo spins House music on Saturday nights to the small but packed club.

Like a lot of clubs downtown, it's hard to discern where the dance floor begins and where it ends so those that are dancing do so where they stand! Very smartly dressed patrons and the room's decor makes Club 23 a good place to bring a first date.

Well enough of that new stuff and time for the familiar. Bliss Ultra Lounge has the best Dance scene in Orlando on Saturday nights!

Problem was that an increasingly impatient crowd was gathering outside as Brazilian teens partied inside. They didn't advertise that the club had a private event booked until 11:30pm! And it was cold out there!

With the delayed start, it seemed that there was no more time to be wasted by DJ Mickey Bono (Beat Thrillerz, RadioDanz.com, Party 95.com, Vain) who went into the best set of House and Dance music I've ever heard from him!

The crowd didn't waste any time either. The usually slow to fill up dance floor was jammed within minutes of the club opening!

It was hard to move in there!

But move I must as it became time to head over to Independent Bar!

Saturday night means DJ Indie John spinning 80's New Wave/Old Wave from the booth high above the floor.

The songs come accompanied with their 80's video as seen on MTV back in the day.

Not sure if that was fog from Friday morning's cold front or just a lot of cigarette smoke!

Spotted: DJ Heavy Grinder's sister CJ (left) dancing with a friend down on the floor!

Like everywhere else last night, I-Bar was jammed!