Club Reports: The Groove, The Fifth, Vixen Bar

Overdue for a visit to The Groove on a Friday night to see how it's doing.

Friday nights with DJ ET (102JAMZ) continue at The Groove.

Upstairs is still closed until we get into the tourist season but the downstairs was packed!

His opening set was mostly Hip Hop plus old 90's songs you typically hear at The Groove.  He then announced a House set and played a great mix of Top 40/Dance songs that were big the past few years.  Unfortunately a lot of dancers were dumbfounded and he had to tell them that if you can't dance to this, go have another drink and then you can!

Mostly tourists, very few faces recognized.  I didn't care for ET's style of playing 20 seconds of a song nor his constant voiceovers.  When the House set ended and another Hip Hop set began, it was time for me to be moving on!

Long line for alcoholic slurpees over at adjacent Fat Tuesday.

The Fifth downtown has been open over a year now and is home to the famous Disco lunch!

DJ Leony (Sirius/XM BPM, RadioDanz.com, Latin Quarter) in the house, playing House!

It was a continuous awesome mix of great House and Latin House music!  They used to pipe in music from adjacent Vintage Lounge but they added their own DJ booth just a few months ago.

People were dancing wherever.

The club was packed!

With lots of eye candy!

Nearby at Vixen Bar there is always EDM!

Friday night resident DJ Pranksta.

The music was all House/Dance/Progressive!

With people coming and going off the small dance floor beneath the DJ booth.

This place was crowded too.  It will be triple-crowded tonight at the NLP DJ group will be spinning!

And a good time was had by all!

PI Update: Demolition Walls Are Up!

Looking for action?  You know where.....beautiful Pleasure Island!  Demolition walls are now up across West End Plaza!

Walls begin at the foot of the No. 4 Bridge from Downtown Disney West Side and wrap around to just behind Laffers Cantina.  The walls are in Disney Springs new pale blue with gray trim colors.

The feeling one gets standing here is reminiscent of the feeling one got standing at the Berlin Wall, looking over to the sad "other side".  In this case it's Laffers Cantina and Comedy Warehouse that are on the "other side", soon to meet their fate with the wrecking ball.

A short section of the wall continues behind CW, leading up to The Waterfront.  A few Curl by Sammy Duval employees were spotted coming out of 8TRAX which is still being used to store boxes of that store's merchandise.

At Mannequins Dance Palace there are some temporary barriers in place but these have been here for a few weeks and appear unrelated to the other demolition walls.

 Taken from behind Planet Hollywood, this view shows the wall then continues around the lower level castmember-only section, down below West End Plaza.

Elsewhere on the Island, more tables and chairs in place at the Lily Pad.

They had the taco truck parked here Friday evening.

And a tent to purchase some cold alcoholic beverages.  Looking for action?  Time is running out on beautiful Pleasure Island.  Come visit while it's still here!

Friday Funny

You, yes you, can become the 5th member of iconic 70's Dance band ABBA!  Be that dancing queen you've always wanted to be by checking it out at Abba The Museum that opened this week in Stockholm.  Adult tickets are just SEK 195.  Mama mia!

PI Update: Comedy Warehouse To Be Demolished!

The website Walt Disney World Magic is reporting that Disney has filed a Notice of Commencement with Orange County for the demolition of Building C17, better known as the Comedy Warehouse building!  Not really a surprise since the Disney Springs concept art shows a completely different looking structure in that location.  No demolition permit yet for BET Soundstage but it would be difficult to demolish both BET and CW at the same time if they want to still allow foot traffic to cross the area.

In addition, a permit was filed for the construction of a new service yard toward the area at the rear of this photo, approximately where club Motion used to stand.

Another permit was filed for the elimination of this existing service yard located between Raglan Road (left) and Portobello Country Italian Trattoria (right).  You'll recall the Blog has long-reported that the main pathway from Downtown Disney Marketplace will pass through this way before making the 90° turn to the left and heading past a lighthouse-style restaurant, the future outdoor amphitheater and the existing Paradiso 37 restaurant. Plans we previously published show one or two new shops added along the pathway within this current service area and presumably that has not changed.

This Weekend In Techno Town

An amazing weekend of EDM coming up!

THURSDAY MAY 9
The weekend begins at Amphitheatre in Ybor on Thursday night with the #1 DJ in the world, Armin Van Buuren (NL)!  DJ Suzy Solar (USA) opens for him as the revolving dance floor spins!
(SOLD OUT)

Closer to home, Dubstep DJ Borgore (IL) returns to Orlando after having been discovered by so many new fans at EDC-Orlando last November!  Firestone Live.
($10 ADV/$15 DOOR)

FRIDAY MAY 10
Turn that beat around with the monthly 80's Night at The Abbey event center over near Lake Eola.  Live band Sknn playing 80's, the DJ playing 80's, what's not to love? 
(FREE)

Playing with Afrojack (NL) last November at EDC-Orlando, DJ Sidney Samson (NL) brings his House/Dutch House style back to O-Town for the House Party at Vain Nightclub!
($15)

SATURDAY MAY 11
If it's the second Saturday of the month, you know it's NLP time again at Vixen Bar.  Always crazy, always jammed.  Lots of Breaks and Progressive.  With DJ's Matrix, K8, MX, JDub and more!
(FREE)

Suite B Lounge has DJ's Gerry LaBarge & Channels this Saturday night which means more Breakbeats and House music with a nice assortment of drink specials!
(FREE)

Making a name for himself nationally, Orlando's own DJ DallasK returns to town for the first time since EDC-Orlando for the Kontrol party at Roxy Nightclub. 
($10)

Last but not least, Hotbox Saturdays continue at Backroom upstairs in the back room of new club Native Social Bar, this week with legendary DJ's Leo Montoya, Chris Fortier and Fobia!
(FREE)

Concert Report: Star Wars Dance Party (DHS)

This past Saturday night was "May The Fourth Be With You" night at Disney Hollywood Studios and their dance party featured the Electronic Dance Music of Star Wars' DJ Lobot!  The video above from Attractions Magazine has some great footage of Disney and Star Wars characters dancing during the 6pm to Midnight event at DHS.  The music on the video was added afterwards.  But if you want to hear the actual EDM sets played during the event by DJ Lobot as played by DJ Elliot (DTD Waterside Stage, Stitch's Club 626 Dance Party, Disney Cruise Line), we've got them below off Soundcloud!  DJ Elliot says he hopes the party felt more like elecTRONica and less like Kids Dance Party! EDM is happening at Disney!


https://soundcloud.com/disneydj/may-the-4th-dj-lobot-dance
6:00pm - 7:00pm set

https://soundcloud.com/disneydj/may-the-4th-dj-lobot-dance-1
7:45pm - 9:00pm set

https://soundcloud.com/disneydj/may-the-4th-dj-lobot-dance-2
10:00pm - 12:00m set

PI Update: Island Offices Move Delayed Again

The move of Entertainment Department staff from offices located below West End Plaza (formerly Celebration Plaza) has been delayed another two weeks until Monday, May 20th.  They were supposed to move out last Monday but then that was pushed foward until today.  Now it's May 20th.  No reason was given.  However, the PI entertainment acts themselves are relocating effective today.  Bands from the Plaza's Green and Purple Stages will begin playing tonight at the Park Stage adjacent Bongo's in Downtown Disney West Side.  The Living Statues from the so called Red Stage will perform beginning tonight from Keith's Park in front of Pollo Campero, Downtown Disney Marketplace.

Club Report: The Lodge

First time visit ever to The Lodge.  I've had a number of people tell me what a great place this is but in my mind I pictured kind of a frat bar so it just was never high on my list.

But I was way wrong, as DJ Yardian at the controls played a mostly 80's Classics set that also touched on the 70's & 90's.  

I've complained about a lack of theming in most Orlando clubs.  This one does have theming; it feels like you're in a rustic mountain hunting lodge.  (Editor's Note: No animals were harmed to provide this snapshot.)

The place was packed and stayed packed!

No visibly defined dance floor, people were dancing in groups all over the place!

The birthday girl group I was hanging with all night.  Once we got here there was no "moving on"!

Spotted:  I-Bar gurl with friend!

 The music was played in clusters by genre; a Hard Rock set, a New Wave set, a Soul set, etc.

When the entire club sang Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" (1969) loudly in unison, it felt like an inspirational night in Jellyrolls or Howl At The Moon.  A good time was had by all!

Dance Remixes Still Exist

Keane (GB) is a band that has always had a unique vibe to them. Unlike most bands which use an electric guitar-based sound, Keane operates with a distorted piano-based sound, something that has allowed them to record songs that fit the EDM genre.  The song below, "Sovereign Light Cafe" ft. Tom Chaplin, went largely unnoticed in the United States last year.  Like a lot of their songs and unlike most typical songs, it actually tells a story:   


The waning years of Mannequins Dance Palace was during a time Hip Hop dominated the airwaves.  While EDM remained strong in Europe, relatively few EDM songs got noticed here in the United States.  DJ/Remixers thus took a lot of popular Hip Hop songs, sped up the beats per minute and recreated new music.  A lot of music played at Mannequins during the final years were Hip Hop remixes.  Of course we know EDM has broken through now but remixes are still being made.  This is the Afrojack (NL) remix of Keane's "Sovereign Light Cafe" and see how it's been changed.  The faster beat is immediately noticeable as are all the electronic additions. The song is now definitely danceable!



If you think Keane sounds familiar, perhaps you recognize this song that got a lot airplay at Mannequins back in the day, especially late in the evening:


Too bad Mannequins isn't still around to enjoy the resurgence of Electronic Dance Music!

AAHZ Legacy Tickets Now On Sale

What are you doing on the night of Wednesday, July 3rd?  Mark you calendar now for the final ever installment of the AAHZ Reunion series taking place that night!  Relive the early days of the Florida House scene as played at AAHZ in the old Beacham Theater in downtown Orlando.  Featuring the original resident DJ's Kimball Collins (QBAR-Bangkok), Dave Cannalte (Mannequins) & Chris Fortier (Backroom, Suite B Lounge)!  This year also featuring original MC Stace Bass!  Tickets for this final show are now on sale on-line at The Beacham or can be purchased in person without a service charge at The Social box office and Park Avenue CD's.  Admission includes a double CD.  One last time!

Friday Funny

Perhaps cuter than funny, DJ/Producer Tommy Trash (AUS) official video of 2011's "Monkey See Monkey Do" tells the story of Kal the Blue Monkey!

Last Look Inside: Mannequins Dance Palace

The imposing front entrance of Mannequins Dance Palace on a cloudy August afternoon, about one month before the place was shuttered.  When things were slow you could walk right in the downstairs entrance but on most nights an elevator ride was required.

During the glory years of Pleasure Island the elevator would take you all the way up to the 3rd floor attic from where you had to work your way down.  In the latter years the elevator would just drop you off on the 2nd floor.  While there were two full bars up there, they were rarely ever used.

Numerous mannequins were displayed around the club.  In fact, many of them still hang from the rafters to this day awaiting their fate.  The most infamous of the mannequins were the ones that hung upside down, lowered occassionally from the ceiling, green eyes glowing.  It was eerie.  It was incredible.

A neon mannequin greeted those coming off the lift.  Installed around six months before the closing of the clubs was announced, it was a typical example of one PI hand not knowing what the other PI hand was  doing.

The famous revolving dance floor.  Not only was Mannequins jammed with ceiling and wall mounted lighting equipment but the floor itself also had a system installed that lit it from underneath!  

Typical jammed scene on the revolving dance floor.  Some evenings the dance floor revolved in one direction for hours and then would suddenly come to a brief stop, and then continue revolving in the other direction!

Since walking out of Mannequins around 2:30am on that final night, I've never been able to get back inside.  In January, 2010 a reader named PI Fan provided the Blog with two pictures taken inside the club post-closure. Apparently the side garage door was open and these were snapped.  This one shows the revolving floor still there along with the side opening for going on and off the floor.  All of us have fond memories of watching newcomers walking up to the floor and realizing for the first time that the floor was spinning!  All of us have memories of watching the uninitiated trying to get on and off without falling!

Looking in from the side garage door, a view towards the main bar where fave bartenders Bobby C and Gordo used to tend.  After nearly 5 years, we should soon know the fate of Mannequins, once voted the #1 dance club in America!

This Weekend In Techno Town

THURSDAY MAY 2
Thursdays at SkySixty means Dubstep with DJ's Dominick Morrison (Mannequins, Vixen, Vintage) and Cliff Tangredi (Roxy), all out in the open under the stars.  Drink specials. 
($5)

FRIDAY MAY 3
Music fun at the new Fun Factory, Fridays at Tier Nightclub featuring DJ A-Rock! (Club 23, Rok Room).  House/Dance/Top 40.
($10)

Thee Grotto now has a full liquor license and they're celebrating with Techno DJ PatrickM (Club Space, Nikki Beach). (PRICE N/A)

FRIDAY & SATURDAY MAY 3-4
Backroom is a small room upstairs at the rear of new venue Native Social Bar and it appears they've gone EDM on Friday and Saturday nights. This week Decoded Friday features DJ Littlerok (Vain) while Hot Box Saturday has DJ Carlos Mendoza (Suite B) and Elias R.
(FREE)

SATURDAY MAY 4
For something completely different, Saturday night at Firestone Live has a "Tribute to Daft Punk", presented by HTG and Disco Donnie.
($10)