This Weekend In Techno Town

THURSDAY: Guest DJ Mark Knight (GB) will be spinning House music on  Thursday night at Senso in downtown Orlando. Tickets are just $10.

 FRIDAY: DJ Robbie Rivera (USA) will be playing a great stream of House and Dance music on Friday night at Vain downtown. Some of his hit productions include 2003's Girlfriend, 2005's One Eye Shut and 2008's Back to Zero. 2010 hits include Let Me Sip My Drink and We Live For the Music! Tickets $15. 

 SATURDAY:  Dance artist Kaci Battaglia is performing live Saturday night at Parliament House. You would definitely recall her recent hits Body Shots and Crazy Possessive which both made it to #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance chart.

 SATURDAY:  Also Saturday night I want to remind you that The Groove is bringing in a House DJ upstairs to the Blue Room as an experiment to see how it draws. If you want CityWalk to recognize the demand for House & Dance music, please support this event. No extra charge to enter the room.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY: Universal Studios famous Mardi Gras concerts continue this weekend with events both Saturday and Sunday nights. Saturday night it's the B52's performing live and then on Sunday night it's the classic KC & The Sunshine Band!

I'm With The DJ!!

Can you believe this song is 15-years old this year! A fun little filler on a slow news day! A refreshing reminder too of Valspeak.

Huge DJ Concert Coming To Orlando?

We hear so much talk about the Ultra Music Festival down in Miami and yes, it's one of the top electronic dance music festivals in the world. But what if you could go to one right here in Orlando? At a much cheaper price than Ultra? With the top DJ's in the world performing! The biggest EDM event ever in O-Town! This Memorial Day weekend. That's a story I'm working on right now. I'm hearing the chatter. I'll post once I am able to confirm the rumors and have more details. PUBLIC DOMAIN PHOTO BY CHRIS GENT FOR WIKIPEDIA

Club Reports: The Groove & Latin Quarter

When Universal Studios is doing concerts as part of their Mardi Gras series, you can count on packed crowds at CityWalk. Such was the case last night at The Groove which had the upstairs open, a long line at the door all night and a packed dance floor.

DJ King (RRBC, BET Soundstage, Motion) was in the booth and in addition to the expected Hip Hop and pre-packaged Mashups, he played enough House/Dance that even I was happy!

It was one of those hard to move around nights; lots of spilled drinks on the floor! The Groove manager Ian told me that next Saturday night they're putting a DJ upstairs in the Blue Room who will be spinning House music. It's an experiment to see if it can draw a crowd. Awesome idea!

Spotted: Marty & Phoebe (8TRAX)

Latin Quarter was no less crazy as DJ Leony (Sirius/XM BPM, Radio Danz.com) skillfully wove House/Dance music sets into the expected Latin genre's. 

The main dance floor stayed full all night but when the Techno came on, it really became jammed!

Spotted: Bachelorette party Mouseketeers are so frustrated with the lack of nightlife options at Walt Disney World that even they have made the switch over to CityWalk!

PI Update: Dock Removed

Included in the recent demolition at Pleasure Island is the dock that used to be alongside club Motion and just beyond Rock'n'Roll Beach Club.

Meanwhile, with demolition pretty much complete, debris removal has been the focus of workers.

Construction workers say there are no current plans to demolish the Soundstage / Adventurers Club buildings anytime soon. I guess we'll know in May which rumor is true.

This is the backstage area behind Raglan Road and Portobello. Plans show the main walkway from Downtown Disney Marketplace being routed through this area via the Lily Pad before turning west and heading towards Paradiso 37 and 8TRAX. Supposedly there will be shops lining both sides of the pathway through this area. It's not very wide though and I don't see how the restaurants will deal with waste removal.

Club Reports: Ritz, JJ's Cafe & Bar, Amphitheater, The Castle (Tampa)

Visited the Ybor City district of Tampa last night to see what was happening. Thursday nights can get pretty crowded but jacket-weather last night probably kept some partiers at home. Whereas much of Orlando's night life is located in its downtown, such is not the case for downtown Tampa. But just a couple miles away is 7th Avenue which runs through a historic Cuban cigar-making district called Ybor City which is now home to block after block of restaurants, shops, bars and night clubs.

Indigo Girls were in-concert at club Ritz Ybor.

It was karaoke night at JJ's Cafe & Bar. Dancing to karaoke allowed.

The club many of you have been asking about....Tantra....is no more. Originally called Amphitheater before it was called Tantra, apparently it is reverting back to its prior name with "Entertainment Complex" added. It must be under renovations because it was closed last night. Or worse, perhaps it already reverted and already went bust?

Signage inside mentions some of the club features including that revolving dance floor. Considering that revolving dance floors are rather rare in the world, it's ironic that one was located relatively close to the one in Mannequins. But don't get your panties in a wad that PI actually had nearby competition. This one is one-third the size of the one in Mannequins. I'm sure they will retain it though as it is something unique!

And then there's The Castle!!

Thursday night is always Pop'n'Wave Night at The Castle featuring DJ Mike Roehr. I believe the Wave refers to current New Wave/Alternative videos that gets played until well after midnight; much of it carrying 2010 and even 2011 copyrights. This is as fresh as it gets; I've mentioned previously hearing this really strange artist named Lady Gaga here a few years ago before anyone knew who she was!

I was proudly wearing my Independent Bar t-shirt last night which a couple people recognized. The club is very similar to I-Bar. Located in a former church, The Castle is a must-visit for anyone partying in Ybor.
For a broader tour of Ybor City clubs, see my article from last May on the subject: http://savepleasureisland.blogspot.com/2010/05/club-reports-ybor-city-tampa.html

Club Report: The Kennedy (Tampa)

Located in a rather nondescript building along Kennedy Blvd in Tampa, The Kennedy is one of the venues in the Tampa Bay area where you'll see visiting House/Techno/Dance DJ's such as Paul Van Dyk playing while on tour. It's pretty small overall but like Senso in Orlando, they are able to attract some pretty big names. They also put on fashion shows, Thursday ladies nights and improv comedy nights. So it's a little bit of everything. Parking can be difficult though. The club is located near the University of Tampa, just over the river from the highrises of downtown. If you're partying in Tampa, you should check to see what's happening here.

DJ Robbie Rivera Coming to Orlando

This is a big surprise because he just played at Roxy a few months ago! But he's back! DJ Robbie Rivera will be spinning at Vain in downtown Orlando next Friday night, February 18th. Vain continues to offer mostly House and Dance music on Friday nights with various DJ's but this is a big one!

This Weekend In Techno Town

CityWalk clubs usually get packed during Mardi Gras concerts at Universal Studios as concertgoers head over to the CW clubs when the concerts finish. And the concert season kicks-off this Saturday night with Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons! You can view the revised concert calendar above.

Orlando's own DJ Baby Anne is spinning at Element Martini Bar in Stuart. This is a special Valentines Day edition with an all female lineup including DJ Venus, DJ K-Tina and Pink Staxxx. This is something Space Coast and Treasure Coast readers may enjoy! 

Baby Anne is promoting her brand new album Bottom Heavy and  hopefully we'll see her promotional tour come to Orlando in the near future too!

Finally, don't miss new club Boss on Saturday nights with DJ's playing Top 40 and Dance. I need to get back over there to see how they're doing.

International Dance Music Awards

Winter Music Conference is next month in Miami Beach and the nominees have been announced for the annual International Dance Music Awards. YOU can vote. Simply go to: http://www.wintermusicconference.com/idmaballot/finalballot/
Choose from the nominees listed under each category. Skip categories if you're not familiar with the choices. You will need to give your email address and you won't get spam. However, once you submit your ballot, you receive an email which you must acknowledge in order to confirm your votes. You will receive email next year about Winter Music Conference and future voting opportunities. Vote for your favorite DJ's and dance music artists.

Club Reports: International Plaza (Tampa)

Over in Tampa for business this week so I'm going to try to check out some clubs and also expand my Tampa horizons beyond just Ybor City. Not a lot happening on Mondays of course so here are some happy hour options from International Plaza, Tampa's not as good version of Orlando's Mall at Millenia. The mall's Bay Street section has a number of bars and restaurants but nothing Orlando doesn't have.

Blue Martini is just like ours but it is an option for those looking for a night club band earlier in the evening.

Bar Louie is similar to the one in Orlando and offers DJ's and live bands depending on the night. So if you're stuck in Tampa sometime be sure to check out the options at the mall.

Club Report: Independent Bar

Anyone remember that late 60's soul hit by Brook Benton called Rainy Night In Florida? Well ok, the song was really about Georgia, not Florida, but it was a rainy night last night in Florida and not a night to club hop. So I did not get to experience the new club in Amway Arena called ONE80. Instead, I stuck with the tried and true, Independent Bar!

A lot of people had the same idea!

There's actually a bar upstairs. I need to wander more.

DJ Rob was up in the control tower for the first few hours spinning a great mix of mostly early 80's hits.

About half way through the night Rob gave way to I-Bar's Thursday night DJ Smilin' Dan. The parade of early MTV hits continued. So many memories in there!

The crowd in Independent Bar is always a great mix of everything and truly an eyeful!

These ladies were having a great time in the corner as I maintained my usual low profile.

If you haven't experienced this place on a Saturday night, you need to give it a try!