The GrooveJet Ten Year Reunion

August 29, 2007 8:49 PM
by Dan Vidal [email]

If you're a regular reader and user of our ever-active forums, you've been hearing about this one for awhile now. On Friday, August 31st, get a chance to live it all over again.

From 1997 until the closure of the venue in 2000, the Bliss party at Groovejet was a staple in Miami nightlife from 1997 until 2000 when Groovejet closed its doors. For three years on the last Friday of each month, UK’s Dave Seaman and Miami’s Jon Cowan and Luis Diaz, joined forces to bring what Jon terms as "musical Bliss" to Miami Beach.

Groove Jet was already known for introducing innovative sounds and DJs to Miami when the Bliss events were kicked off. Introducing an element of consistency and dependability in terms of DJ talent, as well as not being afraid to be innovative, the trio of Dave, Jon, and Luis set the benchmarks early on, for the then-burgeoning progressive house scene on South Beach. At the time, names like Dave Seaman, John Digweed, and Sasha were only blips on the radar in the American dance scene, which was largely dominated by the New York house DJs, and in Florida by the (some say in-)famous Florida breaks DJs like Icey and Aphrodite.

Where the Bliss team came in, was to introduce the then-new sounds of progressive, melodic house coming out of the UK at the time. With Jon and Luis' journeys to Europe, and DJ connections, the Miami duo managed to secure the monthly residency of Dave Seaman, now regarded as one of the pioneers of the genre.

As time progressed, so did the party, initially being regarded as a locals-only event, and then expanding to a phenomenon that was talked about throughout the American dance music scene. The last weekend of every month became something special, with locals and travelers alike making a special point to stop in at Groove Jet for these evenings.

The winds of change proved unstoppable though, and even though the Bliss event was going strong, fortunes for the venue had changed, and with the closure of Groove Jet in the middle of 2000, the Bliss party was left homeless. Undeterred, Jon, Dave, and Luis kept the flame alive, with Jon assuming a 'one-man-band' role of coordinating, booking, and DJing at a series of Bliss events, which by then had assumed a traveling-party mode, with events at notable Miami venues such as Shadow Lounge, crobar, Space, the short-lived Nerve a mere block from the original Groove Jet location, and various other locations throughout South Florida and the world.

Though some say the sound of progressive is dated and has had it's time, the upcoming tenth-year reunion of Bliss, according to Jon, is promising not only to be a retrospective of those classic sounds, but also to show the 'progression of progressive' as a music form. And, like any reunion, to remember, or at least try to (clubland being what it is and all) remember the good times spent at 323 23rd Street.

The Bliss at GrooveJet Ten Year Reunion will be taking place this Friday, August 31st at Shine, the lounge/nightclub at the Shelborne Beach Resort, located at 1801 Collins Avenue on Miami Beach. Presale tickets can be had at Wantickets.com