This Weekend In Techno Town

FRIDAY: The new downtown club Vain (formerly Lyrica & Cairo) is having a "Halfway to Halloween" night. Clever idea, but half way was two months ago! DJ ATM. Admission.

FRIDAY: Lost In Trancelation returns to Bikurri Sushi Lounge featuring DJ's Cyberian Soundz and Agni. A lot of Trance and awesome lighting! Admission is free. 

FRIDAY: For fans of 80's, Electro, Punk, Nu Wave, Dark Wave, Ambient, Industrial, Synth, EDM, Goth.....Friday night is Venue 13 night at 11/12 Lounge. DJ Paul Vaine (Visage) in the Main Room and DJ Stephan (Independent Bar) in the not so sporty sports bar. $5 Very dark and very cool!

SATURDAY: This Saturday the new Churrascaria Brazilian Steakhouse opens to the public featuring all-you-can-eat flame-broiled meat selections and lots of sides. Located upstairs in Latin Quarter at CityWalk, the price is $36.99 + tax. The regular Latin restaurant, cantina and club downstairs at LQ remains open featuring DJ Leony (Sirius/XM BPM, RadioDanz, Heat, Club 23) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights!

SATURDAY: It should be all House, Progressive House and Dance this Saturday night at Bliss Ultra Lounge. DJ's Chad Andrew, ATM, Sebastian Paiza and Cheyenne M join resident DJ Mickey Bono. $1 drinks until midnight. $5.

SUNDAY: DJ KJ (K5, Tabu, Zanzabar) joins DJ Jimmy Joslin (Vixen) every Sunday night at Urban Flats off Sand Lake Road. It's all Electrohouse and Dance. Might be a good alternative for House of Blues.

Hip Kitty Is Coming to Orlando

There were two bands that were, in my opinion, synonymous with Pleasure Island. One was Frankie and the West End Boys and the other was Hip Kitty. Both bands were invited to play the final two nights of PI over on the Waterfront Stage. We still see Frankie from time to time DJ'ing at Atlantic Dance Hall. But we don't see much of the far prettier Hip Kitty. :) But Hip Kitty returns to Orlando for three nights beginning July 8th, performing at Sea World!

PI Update: Will New Pathway Construction Resume?

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE We're always scanning the construction permits/notices of commencement filed by Disney with Orange County. Many of these notices involve Buena Vista Construction Company as contractor. And many notices are particularly vague as to what they're for. This past week there were notices for unspecified construction work in Downtown Disney at Rainforest Cafe, Pollo Campero  and Days of Christmas. And then there was this one posted above pertaining to "Downtown Disney Planter Walls." This of course could be for anywhere in DTD however I am posting it because that new pathway could use some planter walls as it winds its way through the former homes of RRBC and Motion.  So if that's what it's for, perhaps we'll see some movement on that soon! But again, there are lots of planters throughout DTD so this could be for any of them. No drawings were included to give any specificity to this.

A Couple DJ Songs

No breaking new today from beautiful Pleasure Island, so how bout a couple of DJ songs!

INDEEP - LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE -  ©1982
Interesting video.


DJ EDDIE EDUL - 10 THINGS NOT TO SAY TO A DJ - ©2009
Interesting video.

Baby Loves Disco Coming To Orlando

Teach your children right! The amazing Baby Loves Disco tour comes to Orlando this coming Thursday afternoon from 4pm to 7pm at Universal's Loews Royal Pacific Resort. This is an opportunity for parents to go Disco dancing with their children ages 6 months to 7 years old. Disco music from the 70's & 80's is spun by real DJ's. Kids get to interact with other kids while parents get to interact with other parents. Tickets are $15 or 4 for $50. More details at: http://babylovesdisco.com/  A great way to get some experience in case 8TRAX reopens!

Club Reports: Bliss, Suite B, Whiskey Dicks, I-Bar

Great music but uncharacteristically small crowd before midnight last night during my visit to Bliss Ultra Lounge. Tons of people along Church Street as the concert by Taylor Swift let out of Amway Center but few came into here. Up the road newer clubs Heat and Touch had lines to get in.

Quick visit to Suite B Lounge to see if anything was going on. This DJ was playing some kind of Downtempo music which no one could and no one was dancing to.

People were just standing around waiting for the music to get better.

First time visit to Whiskey Dicks, a new venue located in the former home of Crooked Bayou. A huge bar dominates the room and this is another place going for the sports bar vibe. So patrons are more focused on the game than on the DJ's music. I miss the old place.

There was some dancing to Top 40 over on the far side but the place is not really conducive to it.

But DJ Indie John was making sure that wasn't happening at Independent Bar.

Originally came in around 10:30pm and it was pretty empty but after making the rounds of the other venues, I returned to a pretty jammed club!

The music is all early to mid 80's New Wave with videos. All classics!

Spotted: DJ's Dave Cannalte (Mannequins, AAHZ), The Reverend (Peacock Room, Bandwagon Roadshow) and Kimball Collins (Peacock Room, AAHZ). Don't forget the AAHZ Decade Reunion show by Cannalte and Collins on Saturday, June 18th at Firestone Live. Like previous AAHZ Reunions, it's sure to be incredible!

Spotted: DJ Dem Rok (Independent Bar) aka DJ Rob with friend.

And a good time was had by all.

EDC Fun Memories

One of the fun moments at last week's Electric Daisy Carnival - Orlando was when Ferry Corsten (NL) was finishing his set and Benny Benassi (I) was coming on. From the audience viewpoint we just saw the top of Benassi's head and his hands setting up his gear. The audience realized it was Benassi and started chanting, Benny!, Benny!, Benny!" He waived his hands several times and from the audience it almost looked like a puppet show. This video, taken from up on the stage, shows it from the DJ's perspective. See it as two incredible world class DJ's have fun with the Orlando crowd!

And other fond memories from the event:

Spotted: DJ Heavygrinder

Spotted: DJ Tony Z & Planet Hollywood crowd

PI Update: Early Summer On The Island

The heat and humidity that make Florida famous in the summer have taken control of our weather patterns and there's no turning back now. But what better place to sweat it out, than beautiful Pleasure Island.

Further demolitions appear definitely on hold as no new construction walls have been added on the Island. Soundstage Club and Adventurers Club remain open and obvious. We hope to see Soundstage renovated and repurposed to a new club format. But fresh reports that the few remaining items on the wall at Adventurers Club have also been removed (except for the yakoose) make AC returning there even more remote. However, please recall that the Blog reported more than a year ago that AC would return in the future at Disney's Animal Kingdom when they add a new Land there. Have never heard further.

That's the camera's eye peering into Soundstage Club (formerly BET Soundstage Club), stripped of everything including the downstairs rear stage. Won't be hearing any 50 Cent in here anytime soon!

Shows at the West End Ultra Lounge (formerly Celebration Plaza) begin later now as it's just way too darn hot out there at 6pm.

Work on the new service entry at the rear of Portobello has concluded but the new pathway itself as well as the new amphitheater remain on indefinite hold. I'm certain both will get built, but not immediately.

Large flowers have sprung up all over Pleasure Island.

The Mannequins elevator.....has been turned off. It no longer displays being on the 2nd floor.

The switch and buttons of the Mannequins side overhead door. Security locked it last year shortly after the Blog posted pictures of the inside of Mannequins, taken from this door.

Elsewhere on the Island, the Curl by Sammy Duval store is one of the few places in Orlando selling Toms Shoes. Apparently this is a new craze; saw plenty of them at Electric Daisy last week. You can have yours personalized here so get them while they're hot!

Across the bridge on the West Side, this Cars 2 mural is plastered on the construction wall surrounding the new Orlando Harley Davidson store location. Lot of people stopping to pose next to this. No plans this weekend? Put beautiful Pleasure Island on your list!

Club Report: Parliament House (PI @ PH Night)

Blog roving reporters William and Thommy were at Parliament House last night for their annual PI @ PH event which kicks off Gay Days 2011 in Orlando.

In the dance club, there were these strange human-looking forms hanging upside down in various places. I guess you could call these things......mannequins?

Laser lights streaming all over the inside moving to the beat of great dance music brought memories of one of the clubs that used to operate on Pleasure Island. Was it......Mannequins?

The comedy show starring multiple veterans from PI's Comedy Warehouse was popular. I recognize Mark on the far left. Is that Lisa next to him? I can't make out the other faces. I guess I need to try once again to put together a Mannequins reunion!

Club Report: Atlantic Dance Hall

Atlantic Dance Hall. Thursday night. Like the proverbial box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get!

DJ Tony B (The Groove, Motion, Rock'n'Roll Beach Club, PI Live) running the boards.

Several "clusters" of dancers spread around the floor. There were quite a few people in the building but getting them to dance was a separate matter. There was sometimes more people out on the smoking deck than on the dance floor!

Lighting Tech Alisa (Mannequins, EPCOT China NYE) dancing to the really good Top 40 Dance mix being played. No more bar tabs at ADH though. You have to pay for your drinks each time you order. Apparently a lot of people running up tabs and then forgetting about them and walking out!

One of the biggest DJ names who has not played Orlando (to my knowledge) is Kaskade. But he is coming to Tampa's Ford Amphitheater (I refuse to call the venue by it's shitty new name) on Wednesday, August 24th as part of the A Road to Ultra music festival. Other than Kaskade, Steve Aoki is playing. Dubstep fans have a large number of DJ's performing; Rusko & Datsik, among others. The rest of the lineup is rather weak, IMO. But tickets are currently only $50 plus fees and Kaskade alone is worth that!

Universal Summer Concert Series

No sooner does Universal's Mardi Gras Concert Series come to an end then they start gearing up for their Summer Concert Series. Admission to Universal Studios required.
11JUN GO GO's
18JUN NELLY
25JUN THIRD EYE BLIND
02JUL TREY SONGZ
09JUL BOYS LIKE GIRLS
16JUL DRAKE

PI @ PH Is Back

It's become an annual tradition: PI @ PH. This year they use that familiar green oval to give you a hint of which PI they might be talking about. And of course PH is none other than Parliament House. This Thursday, techno dance music and a laser light show. Free before 11pm.

And how about some Comedy Warehouse style comedy? Also this Thursday night, numerous CW veterans will be doing two comedy shows! So make a PI night of it, all at P-House! Thanks to Blog roving reporter William for this report!