We woke up around 10 a.m. and just stayed lazy for a little while before going to News Cafι for brunch. After that we decided to head to the Toes in the Sand pool party and catch Atlanta's own DJ Numinous and Habersham. Unfortunatly, we had a scary lost camera episode on the way (although we ended up finding it) which caused us to get there late, as the duo were going off. The lineup looked pretty good though, and we stayed. The first guy up was Kramer, who I have never listened to before, but did a really good job and gave out CDs after a short set. Next up was Tigerhook with Hito and Randall Jones. They were amazing. Pretty soon after they started playing it started to rain and the crowd wasn't bothered one bit. Everyone just headed for the covered sidewalks and kept partying, dancing and drinking. It was pretty funny to see everyone stacked up in the hallways of The Creek Hotel against the cleaning staff and other guests checking in. Tigerhook played some good stuff, especially a great Lawler remix of a Dido track and they had people rocking, despite the rain. Next up was Jondi and Spesh. We only stayed for the very beginning of their set as we wanted to go change and power nap before the rest of the night.

Round 2. After a quick dinner at the Ministry of Pizza(how could we resist?!) we headed to Rumi for the Balance 007 CD Release Party. Rumi is actually a restaurant, so we were curious as to how it was going to be set up/work. It would have been great for people who just wanted to lounge around and listen, with James Holden and Chris Fortier on the menu. Those people got a treat but I wanted to dance so we left to look for something else. Lights Out with Steve Lawler was next door at State, but they were still holding the presale line so we figured our odds of getting in anytime soon as general admission were pretty slim. Walking back down Washington, we passed JxL and the Ibiza Party at Crobar (another massive line) and finally decided on the Playstation Party at Mansion as we had received wristbands earlier in the evening by street promotion for the party. They were apparently giving these out to people by the droves, we discovered getting in line.

As we were waiting, this group of "Spring Breakers" gets in line behind us and sends one of the girls to the front to ask what's going on. She reports back that they're playing house and techno all night with no hip-hop at all, at which point they debate getting out of line. So it isn't just an Atlanta problem, hmmm. After we had been standing there for ten minutes one of the security guys comes walking down the line instructing people, and he pulls us out of line and took us to the front. Don't know why but it was really cool of him. Turns out the wristbands are for reduced admission, but we went in anyway because the lineup looked pretty decent, especially with Matthew Dekay.

It was AM Only's 10-Year Anniversary—we're talking DJ Dan, Dave Ralph, Doc Martin, Christoper Lawrence, Junior Sanchez and Matthew Dekay. We headed for the main room and it was very crowded. Mansion had converted the edges of the main room to sitting areas, for those really expensive "bottle service" charges, so everyone was stepping on everybody else. We went to the second room, with a little more room to breathe, and Loco Dice and Timo Maas were on the decks. The thirty minute wait at the bar, trying to get a drink, ruined the night a little and I finally gave up waiting for drinks. By the way, Miami has the worst bar service, they are slow everywhere we've been so far, but it was absolutely the worst at Mansion.

Loco Dice is an admirable mixer but what he was playing wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear, plus this really bad circle of wannabe break dancers (think You Got Served, except these people at Mansion can't dance) just made matters worse. So I returned to the main room, pushing through a packed dance floor hoping for some Dave Ralph. Unfortunately it was Bad Boy Bill, now. After some discussion, we left. We had planned to head to Angel Ultra Lounge to hear Satoshi Tomiie finish the night, but turned in early so that I can catch some rays at the beach in the morning.

A few more pictures from Wednesday...

a little rain...

Rob & Shana

   

click for more photos—gallery 1

gallery 2

gallery 3

Chris Fortier - Balance 007
Disc 1:

1. Global Communications – The Deep (40oz Re-edit)
2. Floppy Sounds – Entertainment (Carl Craig’s Blue Miniature Morph Mix)
3. Error Error – It Hits My Hair (Falling Deep)
4. 2Dollar Egg – 4 Rooms (Fahrenheit)
5. Alex Smoke – Pingu
6. PJ Davy – Sella Door
7. Agoria – Klub
8. Lindos & Moth – Break Free (Linus Remix)
9. Kobbe & Nitro – America (Kelly D / 40oz Dub-edit)
10. Rabbit in the Moon – Timebomb (Original Mix)
11. Slam – This World (Wighnomy Dub)
12. D Diggler – Raetselrausch
13. 1 Up – Yeah Dance To My Record Bitch (Kiki & Silver Surfer Remix)
14. !!! (Chk Chk Chk) – Hello? Is This Thing On? (40oz Re-edit)

1. HD Substance – Minimo
2. Vector Lovers – Futures in Plastic (Claro Intelecto remix)
3. Mathew Jonson – Love Letter to the Enemy
4. Jussi Pekka – Propaganda
5. Rene Breitbarth – Cooling the Plasma
6. Connors & Klingler feat. Fay Sephirah – Usage
7. 2Dollar Egg – Naxos
8. Nicholas Wood – Get Lost
9. Floppy Sounds Open the Door (Fan-Dancing Vampires Mix)
10. Patrick Zigon vs David Phillips – Con fusion (Dark Forrest)
11. Borut Margon – Sound of Ignition
12. Lucas Rodenbush – Atmos
13. Lucas Rodenbush – Submerged
14. Bent – As You Fall (Micah Remix)

1. Sinewave – Sinewave
2. Leigh Dickson – Praise
3. Anthony Rother – Synthetic
4. 2 Rare People – Ocean (Transparent Sound Mix)
5. Mathew Jonson – Behind The Mirror
6. Direct – Let It Ride
7. Hardfloor – Skillshot (Mr. Velcro Fastener Mix)
8. Pascal FEOS – Computer Controlled
9. Fraud Star – Work That
10. Eddie Richards – Dark 1.3
11. Effective Force – Illuminate The Planet (Diamond Bullet (Act 6: Virtual Power)
12. Funk Harmony Park – My Truth (Royal Sapien Main Room Mix)
13. Ramiro Mussoto – Raio
14. David Gilmour Girls – Crackhousewarmingparty (Rub n Tug’s Did Someone Say Crack? Mix)