A Decade Of Dance - Part 1

The year was 2008 and Pleasure Island was closing. The Blog was created to try to "save" Pleasure Island but to no avail. As that fateful September date approached, friends at Mannequins began asking me, where was I going to hang out afterwards? So I made it the Blog's mission to go to downtown Orlando, searching for electronic dance music or as we used to call it back then, techno.

Our first discovery was Bliss Ultra Lounge where Phineas Phogg's Balloon Works once operated as part of Church Street Station. Featuring resident DJ Mickey Bono, you could always count on Dance music here at a time when EDM was just being discovered. I would say this place kept me from becoming depressed over the whole PI situation.

Another great discovery was Suite B Lounge on Magnolia Street. A small venue that later became Peek Downtown, it was all electronic music here that ranged from House to Techno to Breaks. And it was their dedication to that latter that we nicknamed it "Orlando's Home of Breaks".

Vixen Bar on Orange Avenue was where I discovered Breaks, with regular performances here by the NLP DJ Group. It was tiny but it would get packed!

The rooftop club Sky60 is now called Aero Bar and hasn't changed much. Then, as today, you'll find resident DJ's Cliff T and Dominick Morrison belting out House music.

 In the attractions area, Destiny Nightclub was located along Universal Blvd and brought international DJ's to town. A Miami-style club that even featured beds, it was just too big for the market and closed down way too soon.

None of these clubs equaled our departed Mannequins. No one had a revolving dance floor, no one had that amazing light wall, no one had the Mannequins Light Show. 
But they were all great in their own way and I'm fortunate to have experienced them.
Tomorrow we look at the current options in town if you're looking for electronic music.