A night at La Covacha

April 7, 2005 10:13 AM
by

On March 11th 2005, one of South Florida’s premier Latin nightclubs “La Covacha,” played host to a different kind of sound courtesy of “Space on Tour.” House Music! From immense lines outside stretching as far as the eye could see, to a slammed House tent out back, the renowned Doral based venue delivered the perfect warm up for the upcoming Winter Music Conference.

Arriving early in order to catch Diaga’s special opening set, I first ventured into the main room of “La Covacha.” My senses were immediately overwhelmed by the hip shaking Latin beats and sexy Hispanic “mamasitas” passionately gliding across the dancefloor.

Wall to wall packed with couples locked at the hips dancing to the energetic beats of “La Salsa,” the Juanes concert official afterparty was in full effect.

The weather was picture perfect for an outdoor event. The stars glistened overhead in the nighttime sky. The temperature in the mid 50’s was cool and refreshing for the crowd in attendance.

Walking out into the House tent area, the first thing that one notices is the DJ booth/stage. Emblazoned with the familiar “Club Space” logo, the Ultra styled stage towered over the dance floor.

The DJ booth table bright red and futuristically styled contained a plethora of equipment. From two Pioneer CDJ 1000’s to a Technics SL1210 turntable and Xone 92 mixer by Allen and Heath, the four conductors (dj’s) that evening had a full orchestra at the palm of their hands.

To the left of the dj booth (if you are standing on the floor), was a full service bar serving up the crowd with some tasty ales. Beside the bar, was a large VIP area with tables (candles atop each creating a luminous glow). Smaller bars were situated at the far end directly opposite the booth and to the right as well.

Overhead, the lighting added that extra flash to the banging house sounds this evening. Controlled on the stage and also to the immediate right off the stage the multicolored lights and strobes were in full force.

A nitrogen based smoke system was also set up on this evening, enveloping the frenzied crowd at various times throughout the night.

Praised by Oscar G as “the future” of the Miami House scene on our very own forums, DJ Diaga took control of the decks and the crowd living up to Oscar’s expectations.

Though never banging it out for an extended period of time (as any opener should hold back to buildup the main dj’s), Diaga nevertheless was still able to showcase his incredible technical prowess.

From atmospheric and quirky sounding sounds to straight up House music, soulful house and Latin house, Diaga brought it all to the table.

As Diaga’s set commenced, the dancefloor was devoid of people still. Most were still huddled near the doorway between the House tent and the main room conversing. As the bombs started to drop though, the crowd quickly made their way to the center dancefloor.

Dropping such tracks as Praisecats “Shine On Me,” as well as an old school acapella 20 Fingers-“Short Dick Man,”(which he brought back again by the end of the set over “Dirty Filthy”), the crowd was loving it.

Diaga continued to exemplify his unique style when he dug out of his cd case Ralph Falcon’s “Pressure,” and mixed it in with a strange sounding “African chant.” The crowd at this point was getting into the groove, jumping up and down as the nitrogen machines exhaled blinding smoke throughout.

Taking it back a few notches, in order to let the crowd take a collective breath, Diaga pleasantly surprised me with some soulful house. “Whisper” by Juke Joint and Sean Benson reverberated through the cool breeze as Diaga was dancing on the decks.

Around 11:30 pm, he started to rev up the engines once more playing such tracks as Seal “Killer” (Lexicon Avenue Remix), and then a bit of Latin house with “De Canto” by Steven Mac.

Diaga then leveled the crowd with “Calinda” with an acapella of a Harry Choo Choo Romero track over it that went: “Why Must I deal with this s*** every f*****in day.” It was insane!

Around 12:15 am, DJ Lazardi took control of the decks.

Never having heard Lazardi previously, I was extremely impressed by his energetic set this evening. Coming out of the corner swinging with David Guetta’s catchy vocal track “Just a Little More Love,” I knew we were in for a wild ride.

Later on dropping Mylo’s “Pressure” and “Talk Like A Stranger” by Deepsky the familiar tunes had the crowd jumping up and down like it was ULTRA.

Adding to the crowd’s frenzy, a guy on the stage grabbed a nitrogen cannon and completely hosed down the crowd. From my vantage point on the stage, the entire dancefloor was completely covered with a dense smoke.

Around 2 am, I noticed a small crowd growing in the adjacent parking lot. Oscar G and Cedric Gervais had just pulled up in a van with a large group of gorgeous “Gervaittes.”

As Cedric and Oscar made their way atop the stage, the crowd up there grew exponentially. At one point, the couch behind the booth had to be pushed back in order to accommodate the crowd. From David Orth and Karin to our very own NickJunkie and Pod, everyone was hanging out, drinking and having a great time.

Throwing down a killer set right from the get-go, Cedric’s intention obviously was to annihilate both the Space regulars and those that were hearing him for the very first time.

From Rulers of the Deep- “The Last Survivor” (buick project instrumental mix), to Alex Neri & Federico Locchi’s “Aurora (Dub Mix) and Studio b’s “I see Girls” (Tom Neville dub), Cedric was dropping the bombs.

Becoming a tad parched from all the dancing on stage, I descended into the madness below to grab a drink at the bar. Much to my amazement, the bar had run out of many different liquors from the large demand on beverages. On his cell phone, the bartender was scurrying to get the bar re-supplied by the staff in the back.

After my unsuccessful attempt at obtaining a drink, I rejoined my crew on the stage as Cedric was dropping a trancier track entitled: Reflekt feat Delline Bass-“Need To Feel Loved” (fuzzy hair vocal mix).

Never straying too far from his House roots, Cedric then played Erick Morillo feat Terra Deva-“What Do You Want” (fuzzy hair crooked dub mix), and the always popular track “Tribal Shock” ( along with the “It’s time for a revolution” acapella).

For his last track, Cedric even had vocalist Dax lend his voice to the track “Let’s Party All Night Long,” as he sang in front of the booth.

Though the crowd was looking a bit weary at this point, Oscar G would have “none of that” as he made his way to the decks and kept the crowd dancing the rest of the evening.

Currently on a globe spanning tour, Oscar G’s appearances in Miami have been minimized to monthly’s at Space. Shortly after his gig at “La Covacha” this evening, Oscar was on his way to Acapulco, Mexico only to return next Saturday for his night at Space. A hectic schedule to say the least.

Starting off with the familiar booming voice Oscar G intro: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Space!” he began his set with the energetic Technotronic’s “Pump Up the Jam.”

Continuing with Deep Dish’s “Flashdance,” Murk’s “Dark Beat” followed up right after with the always popular Eurthymics “Sweet Dreams,” Oscar G was on fire!

Up on stage, many of us began to enjoy the bottles provided. The drinks were strong, the gorgeous women continued to dance seductively, and the vibe both on and off the stage was incredible.

Oscar then proceeded to drop my favorite track of the night: U2’s –“Where the Streets Have No Name” (Stryke and Ralph Falcon mix).

Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction” and IIO’s “At The End,” completed the house portion of his set.

As the crowd began to thin out as 5 a.m. rapidly approached, Oscar started to have some fun and threw down a bit of hip hop, reggae and latin. As I was making my way to my car down the block, I could hear “Oye como vas” by Santana off in the distance.

Once again “Space on Tour” at “La Covacha” was an overwhelming success. From the gorgeous women, incredible vibe, and killer sounds from some of Miami’s best locals, I can only hope that the “Space/La Covacha” partnership continues on with other events throughout the upcoming year.