Nocturnal Vibe by Doug Van Sant
|
|
A State Of Equilibrium
As we approach one of the biggest party weekends in Ybor City, let's take a second to reflect on last week's nocturnal slate. You'd figure the week after the Gasparilla day parade would be calm. But no such luck in our wonderful Bay area locale. Almost every club in town was bouncing off their foundations, as DJs Kimball Collins, Joshua Wilkins, JASK, and Santana tore up some vinyl at area hotspots. But the highlight of the weekend was sitting at The Rack and watching a valet drive a nice new BMW into a fire hydrant. Opps!
Now that you're up to speed on what you might have missed, or witnessed in some cases, let's go to our clubland agenda. Kicking things off this week, we gas up the vehicles and head across the Bay to St. Petersburg. On Thursday, Feb. 10, DJ Robbie Hardkiss will grace the decks of the brand new and very unique Bank Nightclub. The event is part of a Thursday night party called "Balance," and features local house music residents Andy Mara and Fonseca. Tunes will drop at 10 p.m. and carry house music lovers on a soulful journey until 2 a.m. There is a cover of $3 for ladies and $5 for the guys, but a small price to pay for the funkiness of a Hardkiss.
Speaking of Robbie, the supa-stah DJ -- late of the San Francisco Bay Area and now making his home in Austin, Texas -- is part of the notoriously vibey Hardkiss Brothers trio (with Gavin and Scott). Working in their hometown of San Francisco, the Hardkiss brothers were instrumental in developing the U.S. rave and outdoor party scene in the early '90s. Pioneering Hardkiss tunes such as "3 Nudes In A Purple Garden" and "Rainery" helped define the psychedelic West Coast breakbeat sound that continues to grow today. Their legendary status within the realm of electronic music was immortalized with the release of their double album, Delusions of Grandeur.
Since then, Robbie Hardkiss has gone on to remix songs (with and without his brothers) for artists such as Elton John, Freestylers, Spacetime Continuum, The Grid, Lords of Acid, The Sandals, Q-Burn, God Within (aka Scott Hardkiss), and Hawke. Now he brings his unusual hybrid of sparse Afro-Cuban breaks, ethereal female vocals, and rock guitar riffs to the creative and artistically intrinsic St. Pete. The Bank nightclub will challenge your stereotype on the typical nightclub and entertain you culturally beyond the Bay. The Bank is located at 1919 Central Ave. just to the west of downtown St. Pete. For more info, check them out online at AttheBank.com.
Knight Of Trance
Now, I'm sure you'll find some type of alcohol-induced party to carry you through Friday. We all know of the crazy happy hour at MacDinton's early Friday evenings, and Mangroves always kicks things up a notch. But my suggestion is to rest up and prepare for the chaos of the Sant' Yago Illuminated Knight Parade in Ybor City Saturday night. Like the Gasparilla Day Parade a few weeks back, there are some secrets you should know before roaming off course into this nocturnal spectacle.
I stress spectacle, because with 300,000 of your closest friends packed into the entertainment district, there's no other word for the experience. You can't get around it, you can't walk through the middle of it, you can only hope to ride the river of revelry to a balcony of choice. The experience literally swallows you up, and hopefully by the end of the evening, spits you out at your doorstep for some much needed recovery time.
So here are your secrets to success at the Knight Parade...
1. Get there early. I'm not suggesting dinner and drinks in SoHo before taking the trolley to the masses. I'm suggesting you arrive in Ybor no later than 5 p.m. The parade kicks off at 6, and once the pirates make their way along 7th Ave., you're either in or out.
2. Park downtown or away from Ybor. As I just stated, the trolley will be in action, but will be packed to the gills. Give yourself plenty of time to party and ride, and take a cab to return back to your vehicles.
3. Buy tickets to a balcony party. I like to look at the Knight parade like a boat ride. You're either in the boat enjoying the party, or in the water drifting along. The streets will be packed beyond belief. Most bars and clubs offer tickets to their balcony. You do not want to be stuck in the crowds getting pegged with beads in the head all night.
Which leads me to the party of the night. Last year, I had the opportunity to take in the Knight Parade experience from the balcony of The Amphitheater. We were handed more beads than we could hold, cold beverages to consume, and proceeded to toss the little plastic treasures to the throngs below. This year, the Amp took things up a notch and decided to book one of Tampa's own DJ treasures in Suzy Solar. Not only will you have a bird's eye view of the largest Ybor party, but also you'll get a taste of trance from one of Florida's true diva pioneers. The party is $35 per person and includes VIP Balcony access, beads for the parade and club admission for one sick dance party. So now you know the word of the day on the parade, but what about Suzy? What makes her so popular among trance addicts around the world?
Suzy got her first taste of electronic music as a budding young teenager when she used to frequent Miami dance clubs at the age of 13. She started DJing just a few years later and actually held down some steady gigs in America's biggest clubbing town. But then she was bitten by the Goth vampire and funneled her musical talent into singing for a death-metal band called Dead. Her love for this dark genre went so far as to push her into hosting her own cable-access TV show, The Morbid Underground.
It wasn't until 1997 that Suzy finally got back into spinning - and when she did, she really went all out! The past few years have brought her recognition and success beyond what many DJs could ever hope to obtain: She's played all over the United States, in Central America, Canada and Europe. She used to be the Playboy Channel's resident DJ for their Sorority Girl's show. She's been on various radio programs and has released some successful live CDs.
Suzy Solar has an innate ability to take listeners on a real trip. Even if you're not a fan of trance, which is Suzy Solar's main forte, it's impossible not to appreciate her skill and talent for churning out excellent music. After tossing beads to thousands of Ybor revelers, you'll no doubt enjoy the party and music going down inside The Amp.
|
