The Winter Music Conference Log: Day One

March 26, 2008 1:08 PM
by Marcos Colón [email]

The time has finally arrived. Downtown Miami and South Beach have now been taken over by the electronic sounds provided by the best in the world. All the ladies are dressed to the nines while guys make sure that their stamina is at its best. Literally over one hundred parties will soon be in full affect, but with so much going on the Junkies had to pick and choose what events to attend. Attempting to hit up all of them is sheer suicide. Tuesday offered up some extremely interesting appetizers for the week, but it all started with Mansion.

Mansion: Lazaro Casanova, Benny Benassi, Fischerspooner, Boys Noize, MSTRKRFT

The line outside of Mansion had an extra special buzz this time around as the marquee lit up the night with the names Benny Benassi, Boys Noize and MSTRKRFT. Hundreds of visitors were trying to figure a way in, either through promoters, a friend of a friend, or sheer smart talk, but nothing was helping the cause since the venue was completely sold out for the night. Of course, this is never the issue for the Junkies. Starting up the night was Miami’s own golden boy, Laz Casanova. This was the best way to start up a night that would only get better.

The highlight of the night had to be Boys Noize. The German electro-tech producer had the crowd in the palm of his hands as remixes of Bloc Party and Justice blasted out of the speakers. The event attracted many of the so-called trendy, indie, hipster types that eat up the electro thrash sounds. As dance rhythms blasted out of the speakers, the beams of light sputtered around the club and illuminated the sweaty weaving bodies of those in attendance. Toward the end of his set, the MSTRKRFT duo, decked in full-on white apparel, crept up behind the decks, taking over the entire party with their supply of hits that featured tracks from their 2006 release The Looks. Although the Canadian duo hasn’t released too much recently, their agent made it known to the Junkies that everyone should look out for their ITunes release next week, which will most likely be the free download of the week.

This was definitely the place to be at and definitely the party to get things kicked up for the week. The rest of the Opium Group’s line-up looks extremely enticing to the Junkies, so be sure that we’ll be in attendance.

Automatic Slims: Pop Tarts 4 with Danny Howells

After coming out of Mansion the next best thing had to be everyone’s favorite Conference opener, Pop Tarts at Automatic Slims. Right across the way from Mansion, Automatic Slims was slammed from wall to wall as Danny Howell’s provided all the sounds. Now this wasn’t your ordinary Howell’s set, or the one that everyone is expecting at tonight’s Dig Deeper party at SET. The only tunes that were provided came in the form of 80’s and 90’s rock that ranged from Motley Crue to even poppier hits from Prince.

The no cover, no trouble, no dress code atmosphere was a great way to start things up for a week where the majority of the visitors will be taking out their shiny shirts and high heels. The checkered mini stage definitely added to the ambience of the night. At the end of it all, the people in attendance had to have left with the thought of what Pop Tarts had to offer the next year around.

All in all this was a good start for the Junkies. Although only a couple of parties were attended, this definitely will not be the case for the coming days. For tonight, SET, PawnShop, The Vagabond and Studio A are on the hit list. Not to say that we’ll veer off course and try on some other parties. Stay tuned!