Winter Music Conference 2009 - DJ Mike Stier Wrapup

Tuesday, March 24th

My first WMC kicked off with the Sea To Sun Recordings daytime pool party held at the South Seas Hotel. The weather was nothing short of gorgeous and warm with clear, blue skies, and two top-shelf bars. The Sylvia Tosun-thrown soiree created such an impression on me just in terms of the intimate setting of the event coupled with the delectable pool that it was going to be interesting to see how the remainder of the week’s daytime parties would or could compare. Of course what’s a pool party without throngs of good looking guys and gals congregated around it as well as lots of people dancing below a large balcony that showcased several hot DJs between the noontime start and the conclusion at 8pm. I was able to see, hear and groove to the tunes of Speakerbox’s Anthony Fonseca, Anton Bass, and Sted-E; a great set by Mark Loverush in addition to a pair of equally delicious live performances from Sylvia Tosun and Freedom Williams (of C+C Music Factory fame).

That night, I checked out the mega-club Mansion and got to witness part of an incredible and beyond electrified DJ set by The Bloody Beetroots followed by part of Benny Benassi’s set. Walking into the massive Mansion was awe-inspiring and a little overwhelming yet felt like controlled chaos - nothing but wall-to-wall clubbers having the time of their lives. The Italian duo who make up the BB’s, Bob Rifo and Tommy Tea, were sporting black masks with silver eyelets that reminded me of the Spider-Man character Venom. With their throbbing techno beats and crazy sound effects, the 500+ clubbers in attendance were rockin’, err, dancing in a sweaty, heaping sea that I hadn’t been a part of in a long time.

After the Beatroots set, Benny Benassi was up next. A DJ/Remixer/Producer whose music I love but have never seen perform live, he began his set in the wee hours and damn, did he deliver! I was standing and dancing directly in front of the stage, trying to watch this craftsman work his magic but unfortunately I couldn’t see very much. I’m not saying that he doesn’t have his fair share of stage antics but they were less dramatic than the craziness that was the Bloody Beetroots. At the very least I was able to make eye contact with Benny—of course a lot of good that did! At any rate, I left Mansion later on that morning a little hard of hearing but more importantly feeling not on Cloud Nine but more like Cloud Infinitum.

Wednesday, March 25th

During the first part of the day, I went to check out Pacha’s Private Suite @ the Royal Palms (1545 Collins Ave.), where the Pacha crew—Eddie Dean, Pacha’s President & Betty Kang, Director of Pacha PR, were holding various artists meet-n-greets. Right outside and below Pacha’s private suite was the Welcome To Miami Party where I got to meet one of my favorite DJs out of Brooklyn, Cevin Fisher (“You Got Me Burnin’ Up”). This was one of the hottest places to be and be seen around such a gorgeous pool to boot! Between the view of the Atlantic through the palm trees in back of the hotel and adjacent to the boardwalk, the bodacious bods of she, him, her and he, it was difficult to leave that party when the groove was oh-so-good!

That night, I was graciously invited to a dinner inside one of South Beach’s legendary hotels, the billion dollar-plus renovated Fountainbleu at the impressive Italian eatery, Scarpetta. The Erika Jayne-thrown dinner granted me the opportunity to hang out and speak with some really cool and down-to-earth people such as Bruce Davey and Bill Hallquist, both Billboard Club DJs, in addition to Jim Robinson of Promo Only and a majority of his staff. Of the 25+ in attendance, a majority feasted on some incredibly delicious sushi, halibut, traditional spaghetti, and sirloin that was succulent and out of this world.

As soon as the Erika Jayne dinner concluded, I got to meet Darren Emerson, formerly of one of my favorite Trance/Techno groups, Underworld, as he and Nic Fanciulli tore it up at the Mynt Lounge for the Global Underground event! The venue was decked out with some of the most dazzling lights and light effects and some side wall-mounted LCD screens that showed all sorts of funky images. It helped that the ceiling was mirrored as the lights bounced off and reflected interestingly. There were also several large, clear balloons taped to the ceiling that added to the jovial mood everyone was in. The space also had one of the finest, deepest and tightest surround sound speaker arrays that I have ever heard and what a better way to harness and showcase the floor-filling artistry of these two mainstays of dance music!