If you're lucky enough to take some vacation time or pass this all off as "work," Winter Music Conference's day parties are an excellent way to be totally, ridiculously indulgent and let it all hang out (literally, for some people). Anyone can party at night, but it takes the truly dedicated to get started in the blazing sunlight. No shirt, no shoes? Have some hair-of-the-dog afternoon bottle service. Why not?
Dennis Ferrer
Yesterday's DJ mag Recession Sessions 2 party at the Shelborne was a great, no-bullshit way to kick things off. The Shelborne may be swank, but the resort and the club are run, at least in part, by people who are about music, and not scene-y ridiculousness. And so advance tickets for this party went for just $10. The catch? The line-up was a secret -- but wise revelers snapped them up anyways, and the thing sold out weeks ago. Everyone who planned ahead was rewarded with a megawatt lineup that included huge names like Steve Lawler, James Zabiela, SOS, Nic Fanciulli, Joris Voorn, Will Saul, and Way Out West.
I showed up around 3 p.m., while Dennis Ferrer was pounding out some breezy, crowd-pleasing house. You could tell it was the beginning of conference: Ferrer still seemed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, dancing along boisterously to his own set and even singing along with the tracks' vocal samples. Although it was early, the crowd was pumped up in full force (although there was still plenty of room to comfortably move around). To be in anything more than a bathing suit, here, was to be relatively overdressed.
And while there was lots of serious fist-pumping, and at least one female partier bedecked above the waist in just pasties, the vibe here was totally friendly, thanks in large part, probably, to its populist pricing. People were dancing, not posing.
Of course some people were already getting started VIP-style, but it seemed more to get some shade, and the bottles of choice here were relatively economical vodka, not champagne.
The VIP
A sign a party's about the music: trainspotters.
