Girl About Town: A WMC Preview

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home > nightlife&clubs > Girl About Town: A WMC Preview

March 7, 2008 6:49 PM
by chipi [email]

It’s getting to be that time of the year again. In the midst of a great club season here in Miami, the gargantuan Winter Music Conference looms just two weeks in the horizon. For those of you not obsessed with house music like the rest of us, this essentially translates into a week-long marathon of house music events, with a few hip-hop and latin music happenings sprinkled in for good measure. From the 26th of March until the 30th the most notorious and talented DJ’s on the planet descend upon Miami (along with half of Europe and South America) to strut their stuff and make history.

With a party line up that creeps into the hundreds, it’s essential to pre-plan and select your events if you plan on making it through the week. That being said, here are my picks for this years WMC.

Tuesday, March 25th

The Best Electro & House @ Mansion 10pm-5am
This event features the electro dance sounds of MSTRKRFT, Benny Benassi, Fischerspooner, Lazaro Casanova and more.

Wednesday March 26th

During the day the party is at Nikki Beach for “Welcome to Miami”. Nic Fanciulli, Murk, Audiofly and Cedric Gervais will be throwing down both indoors and outside on the beach. If you’ve got time to take a nap and show off your new spray on tan, make it a point to appear.

Nighttime revelry should be had at Danny Howells presents Dig Deeper @ Set 10pm-5am. Most of the early conference buzz has circled around Howells’ longest WMC set. Notorious for his unique ferocity, Howells will undoubtedly show up to Set wearing eye-liner and one of his mandatory vintage or thrift Paisley shirts, ready to kick ass.

Thursday, March 27th

Space’s Surfcomber Hotel sets will hold the torch for poolside fun on Thursday and sets by Richie Hawtin, Dubfire and Steve Lawler will keep the energy high until the sun comes down.

At night I’ll be bouncing back and forth between Get Physical Miami 2 @ Studio A and Steve Lawler’s Lights Out @ Parkwest. I’m a huge fiend for Lawler and the head count at Lights Out every year says I’m not alone in that. On the same token, if last year’s Get Physical party is any indication, I’d advise any claustrophobic house heads out there to stay at home. M.A.N.D.Y., Junior Boys and Heidi will definitely make for a slam-dunk conference event.

Friday, March 28th

While Ultra has become the most commercial of all WMC happenings, the monster of a house music festival is just that, a total beast of a production. Friday’s line up will be featuring Justice, Tiësto, Deadmau5, Carl Cox, Danny Tenaglia, Rabbit in the Moon, The Crystal Method and many more. If you can afford the ticket, this year’s line up is for both Friday and Saturday is worth your buck.

If Ultra isn’t your cup of tea, perhaps a quick stop over to Space can get you your fix. Starting at 9pm Paul Van Dyk will be spinning in the main room. Once the ungodly hours arrive, you can transition onto the Terrace for what promises to be a truly psychedelic early morning experience with Sander Kleinenberg.

Saturday, March 29th

Ultra continues on this Saturday with sets by Erick Morillo, Sander van Doom, Moby, David Guetta, Sasha and Digweed, Underworld and many more.

On Saturday night I’m thinking of stepping up the class and heading over to Mansion for Tiesto. While some complain that this international superstar DJ is overrated, in all honesty, he puts on a good show.

Sunday, March 30th

When the last day of conference rolls around, you can catch me lounging by the pool at the Shelborne for a day of hip-hop featuring the Windy-City poet himself, Common.

Sunday night I’ll be closing out the week on a cheesy but fun note with a visit to Bob Sinclar, Axwell & Friends @ Mansion.

Now before I sign off, a few pointers on dealing with Conference stress:

1: Pick up your tickets ahead of time. Some people believe that if they grab their tickets from will call at a club the night of an event it gets them to skip ahead in line. This is not the case. If you’ve ordered tickets to any event, make sure you stop by the Wanttickets lounge at the Shelborne and pick them up before you head out.

2: Drink lots of water. Keep the fluid going strong, dehydration is a literal killer.

3: Dress practically. Don’t kill yourself trying to impress other people that are busy hoping you’re impressed by them. Wear comfortable shoes and thick socks and you should be in the clear.

4: Keep a change of clothes somewhere nearby. It’s time to call that cousin’s cousin’s best friend that has a place on the beach. Your ultimate asset during conference is being completely mobile. Find a place you can crash , shower and change into a fresh pair of undies.

5. Cab it everywhere. Find a good parking spot on the beach and then either walk or take a cab to your destination. This not only gets you there faster without having to pay roughly $5 million for parking by the end of the week, but also reduces any drunk driving experiences you might have.

See you around the bend!

Peace love and music,

chipi

By chipi on March 18, 2008 6:34 PM

perhaps it would've been better to refer to it as "electronic" music. i choose to use the word house out of respect for the origin of the thing itself. yes, trance is different than tribal, different than minimal, different than deep, but they're all house. Van Gogh is different than Pollack but they're both painters. but regardless, this article is an account of what I think most people would have a good time at during conference, not a reflection on musical classification. i'm glad that you felt strongly enough about it to comment and maybe i'll be more specific in my word choice in the future. and Duran! thanks for weighing in. I'll definitely be stopping by Freakout on Saturday night, and also at Pop Tarts at Automatic Slims on Tuesday if you haven't made plans for that already. Doesn't mean I can't show some love to Tiesto too, poor guy, he's all out of street cred.

By Duran on March 18, 2008 4:48 PM

Tiesto IS overrated. How could you not mention Studio A's Fixed WMC Freakout with Erol Alkan, Simian Mobile Disco and Boys Noize. There is no competition, Studio A has the best Saturday night party.

By bryan on March 18, 2008 11:34 AM

Yes, you're right, it, at one point in time many years ago, all derived from the same root. However, that's like saying all paint starts from the same place. But by changing it just a little you might love one can and hate another. My point being that house and trance are very different. I personally enjoy both, with trance taking the top spot in my book. But most "house heads" I know don't care for trance. Not that you really care, I guess I just expected more from a club journalist. From Miami.

By Neel on March 17, 2008 4:20 PM

Given that your website is advertised on the Porterhouse party flyer - you might want to think about putting a word or two in about the highly anticipated party of the week at Ora!

By chipi on March 17, 2008 1:06 PM

so what do these DJ's spin, Country? I certainly see your point bryan and appreciate your opinion, but at least according to my perspective on "genre", a DJ might choose to define his or her self based on more specific terms i.e trance, minimal, deep or what have you, but it's all descendant from the same root, isn't it?

By bryan on March 16, 2008 7:57 PM

Good advice, but you should def. look into learning your music genres before you write about a music conference. Out of all the parties you're gonna be at, I don't think I saw one House DJ listed.

By chipi on March 11, 2008 10:05 PM

Hahaha I'll see you there John Bauer. boogie.

By John Bauer on March 10, 2008 5:45 PM

Baby. If all goes to sh!t and our phones both die... look for me at Rabbit in the Moon... we're dancing our asses off. Love.