Club Reports: Lil Indies, Barbarella 3.0, YAZ, Oliv Bar

Saturday night in the city and we began our evening at Lil Indies located in the Mills/50 Distric.

We opened that door and walked into this.

And in the booth we found DJ Smilin' Dan (USA).

It was "Soulshake" night with Smilin' Dan playing nothing but 60's & 70's Soul hits.

And every song played off 45rpm vinyl. (For our younger readers, vinyl refers to those round, black disks that some people call "records". 45rpm refers to these smaller records spinning at 45 revolutions per minute versus the larger records which spin at 331⁄3 revolutions per minute.)

Lil Indies has a large well-stocked bar. Usually around 11PM those tables and chairs are removed to create a large dance floor.

They have a shiny disco ball (part of one, anyway) so you know the place is legit.

We heard some great classic tunes such as "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?", "(You're Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher", "It's Not Unusual" and "Build Me Up Buttercup". 

Music so good even the DJ was getting into it!

It would get more crowded later. A good time was had by all.

An Orlando institution for decades now, Barbarella is now located on Saturday nights at The Axe Trap on Lee Road in Winter Park.

We opened the door and walked into this.

Just as it should be on a Saturday night, DJ Indie John (USA) with Lighting/Sound Tech Ernie.

The Saturday night format is 80's New Wave and Alternative.

We heard songs by The Smiths (GB), The Cure (GB), The Cult (GB), Siouxsie and the Banshees (GB), all with accompanying original music videos. 

Spotted in VIP: Jeff & Karen

Spotted on the dance floor: Emily & DJ Gregory B (USA).

Barbarella has a shiny disco ball so you know the place is legit.

A good time was had by all.

Next stop was downtown and new club YAZ.

We found out that only their front room was open with the DJ booth all the way aft.

DJ Flashdrive (USA) was in the booth during our visit.

We were going to describe the music as Light House or Chill but he told us it was Easy Listening.

Just a handful of patrons in the room. They share a kitchen (and ownership) with super-popular Elixir Bar next door but have yet to differentiate themselves from their sister club.

Next on to Oliv Bar, located along Magnolia Avenue in Orlando's Uptown.

We've called it the little club with the big vibe inside and that was true again last night. We opened the door and walked into this.

We arrived just in time for the tail-end of a set from DJ 7th Circle (USA).

Mostly Breakbeats were the order of the evening.

Place was jammed!

At midnight, the headliner came on: DJ Tooltime (USA).

Lots of turn of the century Classic Dance in his set. Many of the hits from the early 00's were Breaks.

Bar stayed busy.

Dance floor stayed busy.

We ran into so many peeps we know from the Breaks scene.

Jody Marie shooting the shooter.

Close to 1AM, a surprise set from DJ Losman (USA).

He was not listed on the scorecard as playing last night!

Spotted in the booth: Promoter Pete Manos of P.M. Entertainment, flanked by Losman and Tooltime. You don't want to miss his big event in conjunction with Fully Loaded Productions this coming Friday, July 11th at Capital Room in Sanford. It features Breaks legends DJ Security (USA) and DJ Matrix (USA).

Last night, a good time was had.....

.....by ALL!

Club Reports: Palm Tree Club, Shark Bar, Sports & Social, Houndsmen Lounge, PBR Cowboy Bar, Ice Bar

Last night was the 4th of July and we wanted to stay as far away as possible from downtown Orlando. So we headed to Live! At The Pointe along International Drive. Having opened late last year, Live! is a complex of several nightclubs located on the second level of Pointe Orlando. We began the evening at Palm Tree Club which is all new construction rather than a replacement for a former venue.

They had just opened for the evening when we arrived so no one really here yet.

We found DJ Alfred Michael (USA) in the booth.

House music was the order of the evening. 

Palm Tree Club has a couple of large monitors up on the ceiling displaying various changing patterns.

Their large always-open windows assure a cool evening breeze passes through the open-ceiling venue. Last winter during our initial visit it was actually a bit too-chilly breeze.

People began to arrive and populate the dance floor. There is no cover charge on most nights unless a big name DJ is playing. For instance, DJ duo Cat Dealers (BR) played here Thursday night and that was a ticketed event. Upcoming ticketed events include DJ Danny Avila (E) on July 25th and DJ Mark Knight (GB) on August 1st. Advance tickets here. 

DJ Maha Fourar (USA) took over at 11PM.

Continuing with a House set.

As more people arrived.

Shark Bar took over the spot of former bar/restaurant Adobe Gilas'. 

It just wasn't very busy last night.

But we did find DJ ET (USA) in the booth playing light Hip Hop hits.

We first met DJ ET when he was a resident DJ at The Groove in Universal CityWalk.

Prior to Shark Bar opening it was advertised as being a retro beach bar playing Retro music. We don't think that ever happened so the place has little identity and we're sadly not really sure what niche it fills.

We did spot these beauties on the dance floor.

Sports & Social does know its niche. It's a restaurant and sports bar located where B.B. King's Blues Club was once located.

When customers are looking for live sports, they know they can come here. And it was jammed last night.

The Chelsea vs Palmeiras Club World Cup football match was being played. When Chelsea scored the initial goal, the place went crazy. After the match, a DJ did play Top 40 music.

Another new venue is Houndsmen Lounge which is located where Hooters once operated.

Lots of dark wood and dark lighting.

DJ Definite (USA) was in the booth during our visit.

He was playing some great EDM hits last night.

There was one large group over in the corner but the place was otherwise empty.

Although quite beautiful, this is another Live! venue that doesn't seem to have a niche. 

Notwithstanding Palm Tree Club, the most popular venue in the complex is PBR Cowboy Bar. It's located where Lafayette Music Hall previously operated and Lulu's Bait Shack prior to that.

It was the only club with a cover charge last night ($5) and a long queue to get inside. The music is American Country for the most part and girls get to wear their new cowboy boots. We didn't go in.

We ended the evening at Icebar Orlando. It's not part of Pointe Orlando but just a short walk away so why not.

Here we found DJ Ray Love (USA) in the booth.

He was playing a lot of 90's classics during our visit.

DJ Astylez (USA) would give Ray Love a break.

Team photo.

Admission to Ice Bar is typically free. They do have an actual frozen ice room with an admission charge. That price is as low as $15 including fur coat & gloves. Check the details here.

A good time was had by all.

Friday Funny

 

Club Report: It Makes No Senso!

This is the future home of Senso Beachclub, located near the intersection of International Drive and Central Florida Parkway in the Orlando tourism district. 

 

When we first visited Senso in May, 2024, this is what it looked like.

We never heard any further news about the project so we dropped by yesterday to take a look. About 14 months later, this is what it looks like now.

The portico/drop-off area on the side of the complex. This is what it looked like in May, 2024.

This is what it looks like currently. Not a single construction worker on site now and a source tells us there hasn't been any activity here in many months.

Concept art for the day club project. When we visited last May the venue website indicated a Spring, 2024 opening and we speculated at the time perhaps Fall, 2024. Currently, the website makes no mention of any projected opening date. The plan was to have large VIP areas overlooking the complex' swimming pools with international DJ's spinning, Las Vegas style. Doesn't appear that will be happening anytime soon.

This Weekend In Techno Town

And just like that, it's July!

THU    03JUL     PALM TREE CLUB     DJ duo Cat Dealers (BR)

THU    03JUL     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Misturada (USA) 

FRI      04JUL    CELINE ROOFTOP     DJ Caleb Dent (USA) 

FRI     04JUL     MONKEY BAR     DJ Yari (USA) 

FRI     04JUL     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Frankmatik (USA) 

SAT    05JUL     ELIXIR BAR     DJ Daniel Orpi (GB)

SAT    05JUL    CELINE     DJ Druski (USA)

SAT    05JUL    OLIV BAR     DJ Swagkerr (USA)

SAT    05JUL     YAZ     DJ Flashdrive (USA)    

SAT    05JUL     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Byrd (USA) 

SAT    05JUL    LIL INDIES     Soulshake: DJ Smilin' Dan (USA) 

 

 

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day to our Canadian readers and friends. Back when we used to have a physical office, we'd always celebrate Canada Day with some Canada Cake, from Publix, of course.