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| A beautiful January afternoon in the 70's. And what better place to spend it than beautiful Pleasure Island! |
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| No progress on the outdoor amphitheater which is to be built in the foreground, nor on the new pathway to Downtown Disney Marketplace which is to be built in the background. Everything Hyperion Wharf related remains on indefinite hold with no announcements about what's to come. |
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| PI Live Bar was open for business. Spotlights remain on the top landing but does anyone know what's on the stairs up there? Are those more spotlights, or are those cameras? |
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| Business was brisk outside the Curl by Sammy Duval store for the possibly practical but decidedly unsexy Tom's Shoes which you can have personalized there. |
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Stroller Rental is operating outside the former Pleasure Island ticket booth. What's interesting is that they've tapped into an electrical outlet inside the booth but we recall the connections back to Mannequins being dug up in 2009, as shown in this file photo below taken in March, 2009. |
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| The now world-famous Swedish DJ Avicii brought his show into Orlando on Friday night, performing before a packed house at UCF Arena. |
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| Blog roving reporters Thommy & William were on the scene to bring us this report. |
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| The crowd went crazy for megahits 'Levels' and 'My Feelings For You'. |
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| Thommy reports that the crowd went completely out of control for the Dubstep version of 'Levels' which was the last song played! Sorry I had to miss this, but at least I got to see Avicii when he performed a one hour set at Studio 54 in NYC this past October! |
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| Taking care of business in Chicago on a Friday in January so why not check out a few clubs too. After all, House music was more-or-less invented in the Windy City. First stop Excalibur, a club that caters to tourists since they offer a free admission coupon in the This Week In Chicago tourist mag. The place is located in what appears to be a former church, very-much like The Castle in Tampa! |
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| This was my first stop and it was early so no dancers to the downstairs DJ playing mostly early 90's hits. Does anyone remember Lisa Lisa? But there had to be more to this huge building so I was sent upstairs. |
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| Another huge room upstairs designed a lot like Icon in Orlando. The DJ up here was playing an awesome progressive House mix that kept going and going. |
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| There were actually some people up here dancing and I'm sure it would get crowded later on. Excalibur is located on West Ontario Street at Dearborn Street. |
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| A few blocks west along Ontario Street is Sound-Bar. There are actually dozens of night clubs in this area of Chicago called River North, just above the Chicago Loop. |
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| There are several venues within Sound-bar; downstairs in the basement this DJ was playing mostly Hip Hop mixed with Top 40. |
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| In a small room on the main level a different DJ was playing Chill and House and the main room was to be all House music but had not opened yet. |
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| Directly across the street is Spybar, a place I visited last year during a Chicago trip. Unlike Eye Spy in Orlando which at least uses its "spy" theme, Spybar does not; it's just a name. |
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| The early DJ's playing more House/Progressive House before 16-Bit Lolitas were to come on. |
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| Some of the early dancers in this narrow basement club. An annoyance in Chicago and other northern clubs is the mandatory coat-check policy at most clubs; $3 here, $4 there. Adds up if you're club-hopping. |
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| Last stop of the night was Enclave, another large venue built into a former warehouse and entry is via the loading dock. Yes, that's snow falling. |
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| DJ Roger Sanchez (USA) was the guest DJ last night putting out an awesome mix of....House, of course! |
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| Everyone was really getting into the music! |
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| Unlike the other venues, Enclave was packed! |
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| While it was crowded though, people weren't very vocal. I mean, there wasn't a lot of cheering when a really good song would get played. |
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| There is definitely no longer a shortage of Electronic Dance Music in Chicago with multiple clubs playing House and competing for concerts by the bigger-name DJ's. |
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| Good to see Roger Sanchez. House has come home! |
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| A beautiful warm January night in Orlando last night and what better way to spend it than searching for EDM. The Prickly Pear is a restaurant/bar over in Orlando's Eola Square district. |
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| And on Friday/Saturday nights DJ The Reverend (Peacock Room, Bandwagon Roadshow, Funky Monkey) puts out an eclectic mix of music for the diners as well as patrons at the upscale bar. |
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| Rather empty during my visit but two large groups had just walked out as I approached. Beautiful facilities worth checking out for dining or chilling. |
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| I had been reading about The Abbey for some time but had never gotten the chance to check it out but it's right around the corner from Prickly Pear so I had to see it! It's a mixed-use facility that can be used for parties, theater productions, bands, etc. |
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| Last night the venue was rented-out for a private party who brought in their own DJ. |
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| A beautiful set-up with awesome lighting and sound systems from HTG. |
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| A full-service bar completes the location which was just beginning to get crowded. Pretty impressive. |
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| Suite B Lounge is always on my list when searching for EDM and good drinks! |
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| In general most Fridays here seem better than most Saturdays as far as crowds go, as last night there was just a dozen patrons in the place with no one dancing. The music by the three DJ's taking turns was a very Hard House mix. |
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| Another club committed to Electronic Dance Music is Vixen Lounge. |
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| A nice surprise was DJ Andy Hughes (Electric Daisy Carnival - Orlando, Peacock Room) in the cockpit! |
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| And people were dancing on the small floor beneath the booth to his House mix. |
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| Pretty good crowd in attendance. |
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| Saturday night.....downtown.....I-Bar. |
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| The dynamic duo of DJ Indie John and Lighting Tech Ernie putting out 80's New Wave & Classics! |
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| The club was really buzzing last night! |
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| The floor was filled wall-to-wall. |
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| Spotted: CJ visiting with Ernie! |