MMW 2023 Superlatives
Let’s get into the juicy details of all the hottest parties this past week.
- The ANTS Party at Oasis Wynwood – Wow. Who could of thought the power of Ibiza could infiltrate Wynwood like that. We were all buzzing around like little bees to the sounds of Hugel, Chelina Manuhutu, Solardo, and Cloonee. And as cooperative little worker bees, we were making honey!! It was the hardest party for me to leave. I felt compelled to meet a friend for the sold out Afterlife show. Next year, I’m not leaving this party early.
- elRow – Okay everybody…watch out. Because if you were at this party, you likely sustained some ear damage. LOL Maybe it was the Caution tape I was wearing – which apparently parking outside Factory Town is lined with Caution tape and people thought I randomly picked it up?? LOL no, darlings, that was planned. So maybe it was the costume that put me into a layer of FUN that was so appropriate for a Thursday night. The Music On party next door was a snooze compared to ElRow. If you wanna get into the vibration, get to this party.
- Paradise – Listen up. If you were at this party, you WON. Because Joseph Capriati followed by Jamie Jones took at least myself to another dimension. Now, I have heard from frequenters of the Paradise Party in Miami that it’s better at Club Space, but you know what, Space gets crowded! I need to dance, my people. There was so much space in VIP Friday night at Factory Town; I was kind of in shock. I was having so much fun I think I took about three whiskey shots with people between the hours of 5 and 6am. Yeah, it was like that.
- Mark Knight Pool Party – Who doesn’t like a little South Beach glam?! By Sunday, being able to dance in the pool was such a relief to my body. It was clean, too. Anybody remember Surfcomber? That pool would get dirty! lol So fresh and so clean. Rafa Barrios definitely blew me away with his 4pm set. I just really liked the crowd. I also felt validated this was the right move when I saw someone with an Ultra band also dancing in the pool lol. The phrase of the night was “Where Music Matters,” and that felt synchronistic to my passions about music. Some underground with a solid light and sound display, clearly advertising who’s DJing, was the secret sauce for us enjoying ourselves with cool South Beach wind flowing through the crowd.
- Closing Party at Space – Monday nights at Space are a rarity. We get them 2-3 times a year. I like to go when I can, especially if LOCO DICE is playing! Still King of the terrace, his set went from 50 to 100 once Marco Carola stopped playing b2b with him. Love me some Loco Dice. He went solo from 11p to 3am. I could only stay til 2:15am when my soul was ready to say goodbye to MMW 2023.
NOTE: There were MANY repetitive songs heard this MMW, more than any other MMW I’ve attended. This goes amongst all parties from all superlatives. To be discussed next blog post.
Honorable Mentions
- Swedish House Mafia at Story – It wasn’t as packed as I thought it was going to be, but alas it was Sunday night of conference. They put on a good show! It wasn’t the era of 2014-2016 that I remember; it had more soul, along with some classics from 2010 and prior. By the way, have you heard the new-ish SHM song, “Heaven Takes You Home?” It’s pretty good. I need some of this vibe in my life again. At 3am, David Guetta came on as a surprise guest to perform a Dirty South remix of his “How Soon is Now?” and I was sitting in my hybrid dress meets spandex shorts with converse sitting Indian-style on the block upstairs just praying with my hands, “How soon is now?” This was a TIGHT 2-hour set from 1:40am to 3:40am sharp.
- Carl Cox at M2 – Thanks to SHM’s tight set, I was able to catch an hour of Carl Cox at M2. OMG, the body odor was so real. Like, baddd. I can only imagine it was the people coming straight from Ultra. I have to say though, it was SO NICE to be back at the old Mansion, my old stomping grounds. I went along the corridor and just reminisced on all the good memories I’ve had there. When I went to the bathrooms, I felt 21 years old, again. It was a wild flashback of all good feelings. As for the design of the new club, i’m NOT IMPRESSED. It’s very plain looking. I suppose the foundation for an Ultra-approved club is there, but it lacks some imagination. Mansion at least had nets and circus-themed decor, red carpet. Oh! Also a dislike: regular attendees can’t go upstairs. It’s only for VIP. Boo!
- Tchami at Oasis Wynwood – I only saw Curbi for like 45 min, and I stayed until it got too womp-womp if you know what I mean, but I enjoyed his music before that! I had a feeling that leftover vibrations would be in the air after last night’s ANTS performances. I wasn’t wrong. This venue is a good starting point for the night, and I highly recommend checking it out next year.
Least impressed parties:
- Afterlife – For being a sold out show, let me tell you something…VIP was packed. GA packed, but comparing it to the intimate, magnetic vibrations of the ANTS party, it was not doing it for me. It was a bit lackluster, a bit dull. Also, I’ve never seen so many prostitutes in a bathroom line before in VIP. It was a bit disturbing because when I think of being a VIP attendee, I don’t think of that – but I guess that’s reality.
- Music On at Factory Town – Carola was weaksauce all week, including at the closing party when I saw him play b2b with Loco Dice for 2 hours. What I did like about the Music On party was that it was a nice counter-balance to ElRow, which at about 5am, I had been tapped out by the ElRow music and I was able to get into a more sultry groove with Carola b2b Capriati.
- Get Lost – Someone in particular doesn’t like it when I say that a crowd is “weird,” but I think such statements can be true. It was an unusual crowd that showed up. Since the stage setup was different from the past 3 days, it didn’t feel like the usual Factory Town stomping ground. And my VIP ticket didn’t get me much in terms of a view, just trailer-style bathrooms. I was impressed by Serge Devant, Carlita, and Gordo in the Time Tunnel. I also finally saw Josh Wink, who played b2b with Danny Daze. I was most excited for Skream, but the acoustics were way too loud for his set, so I had leave. I was so tired; I enjoyed Salome, and left the party by 3a I think.
As a recap, this was my MMW 2023 schedule:
Wed – ANTS, Afterlife
Thurs – Tchami, Elrow, Music On
Fri – Paradise
Sat – Get Lost
Sun – Mark Knight Pool party, SHM at Story, Carl Cox at M2
Mon – Closing Party at Space for Carola & Loco Dice
How did your week turn out? Do you agree with me? Talk to me. 🙂
