Songs of the Conference 2005 (Personal Picks):
Blaze / Barbara Tucker "Precious Love" (King Street/Defected) - Barbara was everywhere performing the song and every night I heard the record at least twice.
Roman Fluegel "Geht's Noch" (Ultra)- Benny Benassi dropped this at the Juicy party and the people went nuts. Heard it several times more throughout the week.
INXS "Need You Tonight" (Static Revenger Mix) - the official remix approved by the label - heard several times.
Paul Van Dyk "The Other Side" (Mute) - his tsunami response record which invoked an incredibly emotional response when he played it at Space (or so I heard as I refused to enter that place) and at Ultra.
Kelly Osbourne "One Word" (Sanctuary) - Kelly was everywhere throughout the week - at the IDMAs, Club World Awards, and most noticably at the BBC Radio One Live Broadcast from Nikki Beach where she chatted with Pete Tong and remixer/producer Chris Cox.
Georgie Porgie "Sunshine" (Music Plant) - Because I am such a fan of Georgie Porgie's music and his incredibly energetic live performance, I was a little wary to list this as a pick, not wanting to be accused of being a fan. After hearing about it from so many other people - I knew my first intuitions were right.
Behrouz "Haunting Me (Lady)" - A tip from Farah from the UAE led me to the title of this record that I heard several times but couldn't figure out what it was.
Martin Solveig "Everybody" and Shapeshifters "Back to Bassics" - Both had big records last year ("Rockin Music" and "Lola's Theme," respectively), so two years in a row makes sense. The Shapeshifter crew were spinning at the It's All Gone Pete Tong/Positiva party at the Red Bull House when the cops shut it down (see obnoxious Miami below)
Audiowhores "Subject of My Affection" (Soulfuric) - Funky house record featuring the vocals of Alexis Hall, watch for this one to grow over time.
Robbie Rivera "One Eye Shut" - Robbie and Miami - what a juicy combination.
Flashback song
Nomad " I Wanna Give You Devotion" - Played by DJ Rap, Danny Krivit, and at the Juicy Party.
Other various superlatives:
Best unknown DJ
DJ Todd who played upstairs at Porterhouse at State from 12:30-1:30. His pumpin' set and energetic performance made me wonder why he wasn't on the main floor. Which leads to:
Most interesting trend
Second room DJs playing better than the main room DJs. Why was Seamus Haji playing upstars at the MN2S party at Amika? He belonged on the main floor, at least compared to the DJ who was spinning.
Best party location outside of clubs
Last year it was all about the pool parties and though there were some great pool parties this year, the rain and the overzealous police officers put a damper on the festivities - making the mansion/house parties seem even more desirable. Cielo/Armani Exchange sponsored a quite festive event at Versace's mansion with great sets by Blaze and Roger Sanchez. Sasha's Mansion party was plush with a unique tag team set by Lee Burridge and James Zabiela along with the finest westcoast US DJs in attendance. Though shut down by the cops, the Positiva/It's All Gone/Pete Tong party had great music and a wonderful atmosphere.
Best gossip
Why didn't Noctural open? By midweek, rumors were floating around ranging from sabotage (people breaking in and stealing equipment through the roof) to liquor license to fire codes. The real reason - Nocturnal had passed all inspections and had the required licenses. Then Monday afternoon, a plumbing inspector came in and said the urinals were 4 inches too high. The situation was remedied with demolition and rebuilding but the grout wasn't dry when the water was turned back on - leading to water damage and further problems. We look forward to partying at Nocturnal next year.
Best Dressed - Male
Hands down - Roger Sanchez. He always looks like the international superstar DJ that he is. Perfectly groomed and immaculately dressed, no wonder why he is spinning all the Armani Exchange sets.
Best Dressed - Female
DJ Rap. Starting off with the "boy beater" tank top at Nikki Beach and progressing with some of the classier outfits of the week, DJ Rap showed that female DJs can be sexy and classy at the same time.
Best T-shirt
Scumfrog (born Jesse Houk) sporting the Jesse "The Body" Ventura t-shirt in a different color every day. Apparently, he had 12 shirts in 6 colors to last him through the week.
Fashion Trend - Guys
Long sleeved thin white shirts that were nearly see through.
Fashion Trend - Gals
Really big, obnoxiously fake breasts. Maybe this is a South Beach thing.
