Most improved club
Mansion. Plagued by a lacklustre soundsystem in 2004, the club stepped up with a powerful yet clean system which represented well for both the New Order release party (with sets by Peter Hook and Arthur Baker) as well as live sets at the Om party (see Greenskeepers below).
Best Club
So hard to choose - just about every club was absolutely incredible with friendly door people, great sound systems and great atmosphere. CroBar, Bed, Bash, Twist, Mansion, Amika, Opium Garden, Yuka, Nikki Beach, and State were all great venues for wonderful events. Leaving only..
Worst Door Staff
Tied for Space and Spin. Normally, I wouldn't give this award but the sheer volume of eMails and complaints heard from a multitude of people warranted it. Especially disturbing is the number of people who bought the multi-day pass guaranteeing "no wait" who were allegedly denied entry. One night, I was on the guest list for Spin and saw my name on the list. Even when I pointed my name out to the woman at the door, she said I wasn't on the list. This shouldn't have been a surprise after watching her tell a guy who had a printed receipt for a pass that he had to take a cab to Space to pick it up there. Even people who got into Space told me that they were all crammed into one small room (Monday night) or manhandled. Expect to read about more incidents like these, especially from a journalist with a British dance publication who was allegedly manhandled out of Space as well.
Best Trend
Clubbers uniting for a cause. NextAid was in full force, raising awareness for African Orphans with AIDS (look out for a benefit CD on OM records - REBOOT, Notes for the Next Generation, due out this summer). The WMC summit featured a panel for "Music as a Vehicle for Social Change.” The Social Groove party at Macarena raised funds for Mercy Corps to respond to the SE Asia tsunami. Have a Dance For Me (HADFM.org) held its first benefit to fight against brain tumors and cancer. These are just a few examples...
Best Trend - Runner Up
DJs being nice. Picture this - an Ultra arena filled with clubbers going mad for the DJ playing the choons. In front of the stage, there is a young girl holding up a pen trying to get the DJ's attention. The DJ unplugs his headphones, jumps down, signs her autograph and a few others, and then rushes back to mix the next record. Yes - that's what Lee Burridge did and I have the pictures to prove it.
I also noticed that when stopped on Collins Avenue this year - big name DJs seemed friendlier and more likely to talk to their fans - DJ Sammy, Digweed, Peter Presta, Armin Van Buuren, Tracy Young, Lea Lorien were all witnessed doing such. DJs and divas returning the love of their fans - what a great idea!
Best Gadget that I wanted to buy on the spot
The Ion self-contained DJ/CD sound system. Two pitch control-CD players and a mixer contained in a boom box-sized piece of equipment. A great idea, brilliantly executed.
Best "Is that who I think it is" moment
DJ Lars from MTV Real World rocking the Pioneer DVD Turntables at the Remix Hotel. Mixing and scratching videos effortlessly, the Teutonic mixmaster demonstrated the next generation of essential DJ Hardware.
Disappointment of the conference
Overagressive noise enforcement by police officers. I remember last year at a National Hotel pool party watching Robbie Rivera get a ticket for playing too loud. In 2004, this was an isolated incident. This year, the police officers were everywhere - pool parties, hotel parties, private residences, etc. Come on, it's South Beach during Winter Music Conference and Spring Break - what exactly are people expecting?
Disappointment of the conference - runner-up
Rain - It hasn't rained during Miami in so many years. Some events benefitted from the rain, such as Laid (the raves.com free party at the Leslie Hotel) which gained a huge crowd of people rushing in from the rain who stayed and grooved to fierce sets from Noel Sanger and the Scumfrog.
Disappointment of the conference - second runner-up
No more Party 93.1.
Disappointment of the conference - third runner-up
Events starting late. Whether due to rain or last minute issues, it always stinks when performances get cut short. Yet it's always important to take things in stride. When Second Sun/Tiffany were cut from Ultra at the last minute, Tiffany returned to her roots - checking out the mall next to Bayfront.
