Love it or loathe it, the Miami Winter Music Conference is a fascinating window into U.S. dance music culture. For one week the city's clubs turf out the b-boys and let the jetsetting ravers take over. Imagine if it was like this all the time. Where else do candy ravers rub shoulders with Minus spotters? Where else (besides Ibiza) do you pay ten dollars for a bottle of water? Where else can you find more incompetent door staff? Every January we swear we're going to skip it, but every year come the last week of March we find ourselves at Miami International totally skint, battered and shattered (albeit with big smiles on our faces) having been awake for six days straight.

This year's WMC was as gruelling as ever, but perhaps the most rewarding yet (if you chose your parties wisely). Attendee numbers were down, meaning less crush, and the number of good parties was up. And as ever, it was all about the rooftops, the beaches, the yacht parties (even if they didn't sail) and the terraces. Like Sonar, outdoors is where Miami really comes into its own. But besides the thrills and the pills, of course there were the bellyaches, too. For every near full club there were two near empty ones. Lesson learned: You can come to Miami with decent records, just don't expect the world to follow you.

So did the WMC live up to the hype? We sent along five of our toughest RA soldiers to hit the pavements of South Beach and Downtown Miami on a reconnaissance mission.

Tuesday - March 25

First things first – we warmed up for the WMC with a bit of trainspotting. Tuesday’s question: Which classic tracks did you have to bring along to Miami? Simon Baker: "the Mat Playford Re-Edit of Josh One ‘Contemplation’ and ‘Curtains’ by The Youngsters." Nick Curly from 8Bit brought along ‘Throw’ by Paperclip People. But the big winner of our Tuesday morning mini-survey – Ryan Elliott and Mr. Curly both plump for Lil Mo Yin Yang’s ‘Reach’. Which we love.

Basic NYC Beach Plaza Kickoff at Beach Plaza Hotel

The WMC began with an odd scene outside of the Beach Plaza Hotel with Sleepy and Boo from the Basic NYC crew pleading with Miami Beach Code compliance officials to let them keep partying. Recent Cocoon signee Simon Baker had just finished up an excellent house set that included recent tracks by H.O.S.H. (‘Drums of Spring’) and Marc Romboy (‘Lost’), after which Sleepy and Boo entered into complex negotiations about whether they had the proper licenses—and what to do about a noise complaint. The latter was easy: Dean Muhsin, who had taken over from Sleepy five minutes into his set, simply turned the volume down, much to the dismay of dancers who were still vibing off of Baker’s set. The former, however, took hours to sort out (The duo were still talking to officials by the time I left.) Nonetheless, Muhsin and Baker shined in the middle of the confusion, getting a surprising number of people to dance in a hotel garden in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon. There was also a bit of interpretative breakdancing – when I caught up with Baker afterwards he confirmed that was definitely a first. All in all, disappointing for Sleepy and Boo, but a nice low-key opener for the week. -- Todd L.Burns

Cobblestone Jazz kicked off the first of many great nights at The Pawn Shop

Hallucination Limited & Wave Music at The Pawn Shop

The Pawn Shop couldn’t have asked for a better opening act than Cobblestone Jazz, who rocked a spirited crowd. Well, for a Tuesday, at least. The trio of Danuel Tate, Mathew Jonson and Tyger Dhula mixed new tracks into their set, providing a taste of what might be to come from their sophomore album. The group were visibly enjoying themselves: Tate at various moments would bounce around on his bench, while Jonson and Dhula rocked back and forth in tandem throughout the performance. And while the sound seemed to be giving them problems in the beginning, the sight of a sweaty and happy Jonson at show’s end told the story: overall, a stellar set of techno-jazz. -- Todd L.Burns

Photos: Pop Tarts 4

Pop Tarts rule number one: No dance music

Photos: Baldeelox&Centric

Time to pucker up to some soul and funk

Wednesday - March 26

A quick forty winks, then a bus ride from downtown to South Beach, which will save you exactly $23.50 in taxi fare (or 2 drinks and a very small tip). Then a Cuban sandwich and Corona at Playa Café. Our Wednesday survey question: “Is carbon offsetting the new minimal?” but not one DJ we ask seems to understand our joke. Don't you read www.m-nus.com?

Photos: Welcome to Miami

Put your hands up for Miami

Welcome to Miami at Nikki Beach

The place to be during the day on Wednesday was the Welcome to Miami party at Nikki Beach. The event was curated by Audiofly and, throughout, their taste proved to be an excellent antidote to the party in Area 2 at the same venue. Underneath the roof, you had Shlomi Aber, Sebo K and Pier Bucci rocking the up-for-it-in-the-middle-of-the-afternoon crowd, while anyone daring to step outside the sun was met with an unholy duo of tribal house and silicon-enhanced boobs. Indeed, the sight of women in high heels and bikinis wasn’t uncommon, which also may be why we saw Armand Van Helden lurking around. -- Todd L.Burns

Photos: Freak n'Chic

Jamie Jones: Deffo the chic half of the equation

Freak n'Chic at Townhouse Hotel

Freak n'Chic lived up to their label name at their Wednesday rooftop soiree at the Townhouse. The chic portion was provided by the elegant and minimal house set by Jamie Jones. (Perhaps the most outwardly emotive track he played while we were there was an as yet unidentified new remix of Inner City’s ‘Good Life’.) As the storm clouds moved in and threatened rain, Shonky took over and mixed a collection of ebullient house tunes, mining in the old school for a bit of inspiration. The crowd seemed to enjoy both in equal measure: there were more people dancing around the red sofas than sitting on them. -- Todd L.Burns

Photos: Ovum vs Poker Flat

A small but appreciative crowd turned out for Steve Bug's showdown with Josh Wink

Ovum v. Poker Flat

Of all of the clubs in Miami, Vagabond gets the balance right between what a DJ wants and what a crowd needs. The smoke-filled main room made you lose all sense of space, while the raised DJ booth let Shlomi Aber see exactly what effect his tracks were having. Too bad, then, that this was a Wednesday and the Vagabond suffers from a removed location in downtown Miami miles away from South Beach. The club was 1/3 full when Aber shut down his banging tech-house set around 1 a.m. – we didn’t stay to find out whether Steve Bug would be able to fill the floor further. Such is WMC, though, if one party doesn’t suit: there are plenty more to go explore. An hour later, we were grooving away to Audiofly and the Vagabond was forgotten. -- Todd L.Burns

Photos: SAW Recordings Saw

Audiofly lift the roof off at Shine. Garage vs. prog on the menu

SAW Recordings at Shine

After charming my way past the buxom blonde on the velvet rope, I arrived at the Shelborne Hotel just in time to catch Spencer Parker warmed things up for Audiofly. Soon Hector Romero and then Satoshi Tomiie arrived, before Audiofly and Tomiie were instantly swept into back to back interviews with long-legged ladies in short skirts, while hordes of makeshift paparazzi snapped digital pix. Romero, meanwhile, was running amok in the DJ booth, flashing spotlights on Parker. The floor filled and the party started jumping with the arrival of Romanthony's ‘Let Me Show You Love’, which brought some New Jersey garage to this progressive party and reconnect SAW to its origins. The pool at the Shelborne may have been empty, but the SAW crew was making enough of a splash indoors. -- Jorge Hernandez

Danny Tenaglia at Pawn Shop

Let's suppose for a hot New York minute that there's any validity to a NYC/Miami rivalry in clubland. If the question is who can unite these disparate cities, the answer is clearly Danny Tenaglia. Brooklyn's favorite son, steeped in Paradise Garage lore, was embraced by Miami in the late '80s and his base in the city remains loyal, despite his move back to NYC in the late '90s. The double city love comes from Danny's preference for smaller, stripped down venues reminiscent of Paradise Garage. Though Miami's Pawnshop sprawls over what feels like two giant auto garages, the simple lighting, including Danny's own handheld beams that he shook like maracas, kept the vibe intimate. Our phone, camera, ears and feet were about to give up, but we hadn’t had a dose of Danny since NY's Vinly closed shop in 2004 so we were on a mission. We walked in to the sounds of Dajae wailing ‘You Got Me Up’ and suddenly sunrise didn't seem so evil. Even if we wound up with some strangers lollipop stuck in our hair. -- Jorge Hernandez

More photos: SAW WMC

Garage classics met progressive at SAW

Photos: Dig Deeper

Danny all night long

More Photos: Dig Deeper

Eight hours later...

Photos: Strkye

Stryke's album release party upstairs at SET

Thursday - March 27

The morning after. A bit of ringing in the ears, but equilibrium intact, no blisters. Overcast skies clearing. Our Wednesday survey question: What’s the wrongest thing you’ve encountered so far at the WMC? Shlomi Aber: “That carbon-offsetting question!” Ryan Elliott: “Shirtless dudes dancing to Kate Bush.” We ask Justin Drake from Peace Division, whose new The Lab record on Tsuba we like very much. He points to a dude in the corner. “That,” he whispers. “Behind you.”

Photos: Dirtybird Afterhours

Claude VonStroke: The early Dirtybird gets the worm

Dirtybird Afterhours at Studio A

Afterhours parties present an intriguing question: do you go straight through the night or take a nap? This time around, I chose the latter and got to Studio A around 10 a.m. to catch Claude VonStroke deliver a set to no more than 60 stragglers who seemed to mostly have been up all night. As a result, VonStroke was busting out the jams, and two girls even responded by climbing up the speakers in front of the DJ booth to dance. Like on many of his greatest tracks, the EQ was abused liberally, but with so few people around by the time we got there, it pounded almost too hard. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) -- Todd L. Burns

Buzzin' Fly vs Compost Black Label at Shine

The Shelborne Beach Resort’s club Shine played host to members of both Buzzin’ Fly and the Compost Black Label on Thursday night. By the time I had made my way over from the RA vs. Kompakt party, though, only Buzzin’ Fly was left to move the 2/3 full club. Ben Watt tried valiantly to do so, mixing bass-heavy tech-house that seemed about as faceless as could be. The sole outlier in the set was The Streets’ ‘Blinded by the Light’, which got some adventurous revelers dancing about as awkwardly as you can imagine. Points to Watt, though, for a clean mix out of the track, which is no small feat. Justin Martin followed and, true to his Dirtybird heritage, hit the EQ hard and banged throughout. I even spied some uniformed policemen in the back moving to Martin’s set. -- Todd L. Burns

Photos: Minus 10 Year Anniversary Minus

Richie Hawtin's hair: Minimal to maximal

Minus 10 Year Anniversary Showcase at Nocturnal

Richie and his Minus friends ended their ten weeks of silence in style on top of Nocturnal on Friday morning. The party seemed to be one of the most hotly tipped soirées of the conference thus far—it took us nearly an hour to get in the door. Once we ascended to the rooftop, though, we were met with a subpar soundsystem and an uninspired set by Heartthrob. It was hard to tell whether it was the system or just a lackluster mixing job of his own tracks, but Heartthrob seemed content to let the kick drum do all of his work. (It wasn’t up to the task, for the most part.) The crowd, however, was into it, cheering every time the bass dropped. You could tell, though, that people were ready for something else, judging by the response when Magda took over. She injected life into the minimal template, proving that kick drum and bass sometimes need a little help to bring things off. -- Todd L. Burns

DJ Heather at Om: A bumpin' slumber party. With a moat.

OM Records at Y Lounge

Earlier in the day, while Collette was saying "The good/bad thing is that there's so much to do, but at least you get to see a lot of people you wouldn't usually see," I got a text from someone I wasn't expecting, adding yet another party to my agenda – OM at Y Lounge. Among the platter masters on tap at OM were Collette, DJ Heather, Mark Farina, DJ Sneak, Metro Area, Tiefschwarz, Marques Wyatt, Andy Caldwell (who just moved to L.A.) Nickodemus and Rich Medina. It was an exciting gig – when my friend and I made our way into the sprawling, multi-room and garden club, it feel like a bumpin' slumber party where the last thing on anybody's mind was sleep. Even though we were kept from storming the garden DJ booth by a sliver of a moat, a footbridge and Men in Black, we happily anchored ourselves at the water's edge for Heather and Farina's sets until early morning, jumping and writhing to that jazzy California-filtered deep house that OM has got on lock down. -- Jorge Hernandez

Photos: RA vs. Kompakt

Surely you were there. RA's very own party

Photos: Get Physical

M.A.N.D.Y: Not a girl after all

More Photos: Minus

Minus: Gaiser and Richie

Photos: Juicy Beach

Hugeness at Nikki Beach

More Photos: Earlybird

VonStroke at his controls

Photos: SOS

Tiesto lookalike at SOS

More photos: SOS

Demi, Desyn, Omid's pyjama party

Photos: This Is Hollywood

Sander and Droog at a private fashion show.

Friday - March 28

Okay, it's starting to hurt now. Sunday morning seems forever away. What day is it? Where are we going? Where's the rest of our money? Outside - it's hot, hot, hot. Thongs and stilettos as far as the bloodshot eye can squint. No questions today, just dancing.

Photos: Cheap Sunglasses

Konrad Black at Cheap Sunglasses: Who needs Miami Space when you've got some dude's backyard?

Cheap Sunglasses at PS14

To my mind, outside parties in the afternoon are really where all the fun is to be had at WMC. The weather is warm, the folks are usually friendlier, and the doorman will let you right in. Cheap Sunglasses had all these elements plus a free pair of, well, cheap, plastic sunglasses! P.S. 14's interior was a bit like a dive bar, with a pool table and dark seating, while the exterior was like someone's unkept backyard with palm trees and kitschy items strewn about. But the soundtrack to the afternoon kept everyone going with Konrad Black laying the foundation followed by Glacier, better known as Pier Bucci and Crazy Larry, doing their laptop thing, and Magda finishing up. I felt bad for Droid inside playing to the bar staff and the washroom queue, but that's the way it is when the weather is sunny. Moment of the party had to be getting a chance to meet Lee Burridge's platypus. Yes, it was that kind of party. -- Chris Thomarios

Nic Fanciulli: still awake on Friday

James Zabiela + Nic Fanciulli at Studio A

The décor at Studio A is lacking as the room is rather large, with high ceilings, and chandeliers spread about. However, what it does have is sound. Lots and lots of sound. A nice setting for James Zabiela and Nic Fanciulli, who have been a breath of fresh air in dance music – the pair are both young, energetic, and keen going about things in their own way. And their joint gig at Studio A showed the Miami masses just how well their concept has evolved. Fanciulli went first and did a decent enough job of getting the crowd going. However, as soon as James stepped up, everyone was whipped into a frenzy. The master of technological disaster did not take long to start absolutely destroying the place with scratched and EFX-laiden build-ups and mighty crescendos. I was in attendance with a few people that had never seen him before, and I simply explained that not everyone likes what he's about, but there is no doubt he is an incredible talent at doing it. Unfortunately, my night was cut short as someone unilaterally decided my friend no longer needed his valuables. Ah, Miami. -- Chris Thomarios

Photos: One Night Only

Adultnapper and Alexi Delano back to back. One of the many tagteams at AM Only

One Night Only at Karu & Y

I was initially skeptical of this party. With a lineup of 30+ artists and a heavy dose of cheese on the bill, I was worried that the event would be a logistical nightmare full of fist-pumping trance fans. And at first it felt like it might turn out that way. A few of my friends were held up at the door and it quickly became apparent the staff were clueless. We ended up lost and listening to DJ Dan, and while his set was surprisingly good and filled with (shock!) solid electrohouse, we had not come to WMC to hear DJ Dan. We wanted imported, cutting edge deep house and techno. In the end, we finally found room three, which was actually the lush, outdoor terrace. Steve Bug was just opening his set with Sebastien San's phenomenal 'Rising Sun' (C2 Edit) – a massive track which we would end up hearing everywhere at WMC. His set was housey but intense, full of drawn out build-ups and driving basslines. Then there was Guy Gerber, who you have to give props to for not being afraid to deviate from the current mnml and deep house trends – his set was composed mainly of very 'ravey' and in-your-face techno. Waiting for Richie and Magda to start, however, ended up being too much for us. At around 9:45am we decided to head home and recharge batteries. All reports, however, indicated that the M_nus duo played a pummeling set which easily carried the party to noon. Overall, logistics aside, AM Only delivered fantastic music in beautiful surroundings and ended up being one of the best parties of the conference. -- Bernardo Arrospide

Photos: Ultra - Day 1

Carl Cox at Ultra: Tent nearly collapses with excitement

Ultra Day 1 at Bicentennial Park

Roots and youth collided full force at the 10th Ultra Music Festival at WMC 2008. On day one, the audience at The Crystal Method's afternoon set on the Rabbit Hole stage looked like a casting call for the latest Larry Clark flick. A plethora of ravers roamed the grounds decked out in neon fishnets, flashing rainbow pacifiers, sparkly butterfly wings, and fuzzy Pocahontas boots. It was like the Summer of Love had never ended. I am seriously considering moving my stocks from eco-energy to glo-stix.

Elsewhere on the grounds, every other DJ had one or two classics ready at hand. On the main stage, Eric Prydz threw the already hyped crowd into a tizzy with a reworking of New Order's ‘Blue Monday’, and a mashup of Eurythmics' ‘Sweet Dreams’ and Nina Simone's ‘Feeling Good.’ Later in the evening, Justice unleashed a brutal electro-grime set, including their own ‘We Are Your Friends’ and Prodigy's ‘Smack My Bitch Up’. Justice were all fist-pumping revelry until the finale when they closed with ‘Modern Love’ by Bowie, which sent me scampering to the Amnesia Ibiza stage where Lee Burridge, and earlier James Zabiela, were both dropping chugging, Balearic sets that seemed almost designed to make me forget about the Justice finale.

The place to be hands down on day one, however, was the Carl Cox and Friends tent. Carl, if you're reading this, you owe me a new pair of pants because I crapped my old ones. From the second Cox took over from Danny Tenaglia, the tent nearly collapsed in excitement. Earlier in the day, Josh Wink had jumpstarted the rumble on Biscayne Boulevard with an acid-laced tech-house set that segued perfectly into a takeover by Ritchie Hawtin. By the time Tenaglia showed up, Hawtin was tearing through a retro conclusion, mashing up the Track’n The House mix of ‘House Nation’ by the House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House, ‘Reach for Me’ by the Miami-homegrown, Murk-produced Funky Green Dogs, and UK acid queens Wee Papa Girl Rappers' ‘Heat It Up.’

Not to be outdone in the classics department, master of ceremony Cox looped Giorgio Moroder's ‘The Chase’ through Ian Pooley's Hyperdisco mix of Dave Angel's ‘This is Disco’. When he got around to Inner City's crossover hit ‘Big Fun’, Bicentennial Park was seconds from becoming Atlantis. Cox's undulating, spine-snapping rhythms and steel-toed backbeats kicked relentlessly. Was it tribal, Italo, techno? Were we in Detroit, Berlin, Manchester? By the time I tore myself away, blissfully deaf, dumb and numb it didn't matter.

Bouncing around under glitter confetti beside an electric android on stilts and witchy-poo go-go wenches, I was so out of sorts I even drank from the communal water bottles which were coming around without even thinking about cooties. Cox and friends had ripped open a wormhole in Miami, we all gladly drank the Kool-Aid and like randy time bandits, jumped right in. For the sake of my own ears and sanity I even checked in on Tiesto and the rest of the festival – all of which seemed suddenly underwhelming. Feeling born-again, I felt like testifying "Take the needle off the record, y'alls and take some notes!" So, go ahead, call me a Cox sucker – I'm the smilingest sucker this side of the emergency room. -- Jorge Hernandez

Photos: Drumcode

Big Swede Adam Beyer

Photos: One Night Only

Madge vs. Magda back to back

More cheap sunglasses

Lee and his platypus

Even more cheap sunglasses

Just cheapness really

Photos: Badrutts Place

Dinner with Marcus Worgull

Saturday - March 29

T-shirt of note on Saturday: “Lesbians Love Cox”. We pester DJs for answers to the $64,000 question: What was the standout track of the WMC? Marcus Worgull chooses Henrik Schwarz’s remix of Omar’s ‘Feelin’ You’. Christian Prommer says the Peter Kruder Remix of Mike Monday’s ‘Zum Zum’. Ryan Elliott plumps for Prompt ‘Elephant’. Never heard of it.

Ralf Kollman from Mobilee cooling off. Never this hot in Berlin

Listed Loves Mobilee

For years I have heard friends drone on about how great Mobilee is, which of course I’ve had to take with a huge pinch of salt. But being the open minded chap that I am, I joined in on seeing label head, Ralf Kollman, play early on Saturday afternoon. The party's location on a rooftop could have doubled as an inferno with a view. Hot isn't the word. Broiling is closer. In between everyone huddling for shade and dashing for cocktails, Ralf played a really solid set. He's one of the first DJs I've heard in a while play proper, venue appropriate, tracks. If you've been to enough parties, you understand what I'm talking about. After seeing Ralf on this day and Sebo K the next, I can no longer hold out. Pass me my Mobilee fanboy card – I've joined the club. -- Chris Thomarios

Photos: Ultra - Day 2 Ultra

On the grass at U.L.T.R.A

Ultra Day 2 at Bicentennial Park

Day two of Ultra kicked off earlier than day one but I’d made a pit stop at the Hi-Tek Soul party so I arrived in the afternoon, just in time to catch Layo + Bushwacka at the Rabbit Hole stage. The duo had the afternoon crowd gyrating in the sun with their breakbeat mashup grooves, wrapping things up with their monster jam ‘Love Story’. But things really started popping when Pete Tong showed up for a quick set. He was due at the Main Stage in an hour and a half, so he didn't waste any time, diving into a set full of major trance chords. Back in the Carl Cox and Friends tent, again, I stumbled in as Moby was jumping on the table, pumping his arms in the air, flashing his belly to the crowd amped on a reworking of his techno classic ‘Go!’.

Then to the main stage, where Erick Morillo was getting a rise out of his fellow Colombians and Latinos by giving shout outs in Spanish before he turned things over to Tong. Mr. BBC/Essential Mix launched into a set that was somewhat like the one he had just played at the Rabbit Hole, but this time with a righteous message: a video reminding people about the global warming Lights Out event taking place that night around the world. Soon, it was time for Underworld, one of the many live acts scheduled for that night. (Paul Van Dyk, who played after Underworld, also incorporated live elements into his trance set.) Underworld opened with ‘Cowgirl’, which threw the throngs into a nostalgic frenzy, but the biggest money shots were in ‘Born Slippy’, during the synth breakdown and the chorus that had the crowd chanting ‘Lager, lager, lager’ at the top of their lungs into the Miami night. Whether or not "you had chemicals, boy", it made Trainspotting seem like yesterday. Sorry rockers, thanks to acts like Underworld and events like the WMC and Ultra, House Nation, now twenty years old, is clearly not fading away anytime soon. -- Jorge Hernandez

Innervisions crew Dixon, Ame and Marcus Worgull spin outside at Aquabooty

Aquabooty feat Innervisions at Opium Garden

We arrived at the posh South Beach club Opium Garden at around 2 a.m, and first headed upstairs to the Privée lounge where West-Coast DJs were ruling the roost for the evening. Miguel Migs spun track after track of old-school, jacking house – which definitely impressed the crowd, who spent the duration of his set bouncing up and down and howling with approval. Marques Wyatt turned the tempo down a bit for a slightly more soulful vibe, which felt solid enough, but my friends and I were wired from Miguel’s beats and wanted a bit more action so we headed outdoors for Dixon. He kicked off with Villalobos’ ‘Enfants’ and continued with a set full of very current deep house records, but unfortunately the mix never really gathered a ton of momentum, which was reflected by a somewhat uninspired dancefloor. That said, the soundsystem seemed much weaker than the one inside and the oddly arranged set-up with intrusive columns and a high-up DJ booth certainly did not help. Still, with the option to choose between classic, soulful house inside and more contemporary beats outside, most clubbers seemed happy shuffling between both areas and shaking their proverbial aquabooties wherever the music moved them most. -- Bernardo Arrospide

Minimoo at Secret Location

Infamous New York underground party Minimoo turned up at the WMC on Saturday night. The party made no concessions to Miami’s more glamorous clubbing tendencies – it was held at a warehouse in a grimy neighborhood north of downtown. Unfortunately all of their efforts went somewhat to waste as I entered a largely empty space at around 5 a.m. The sound system was monstrously powerful and the soundtrack was dark, minimal techno courtesy of David Squillace, but unluckily for the revelers, several Miami fire brigade officers decided they would spend their morning patrolling the main room, therefore taking away the ‘liberties’ Minimoo regulars have come to expect. All in all, a party with solid music hampered by a difficult choice in venue and some unwanted visitors. -- Bernardo Arrospide

Photos: The Odyssey

Matthew Dear & Kate Simko. No the boat didn't go back to pick up Hawtin!

More: The Odyssey

Ryan Elliott & Konrad Black spin the shortest boat cruise ever

Photos: Fixed WMC Freakout

Moby + beer = fun

Sunday - March 30

Last men standing. After days of debauchery, you’d think most WMC people would want to take Sunday easy. But we didn’t. And you’d think Sunday in Miami was all about the Degenerates party, but if you went home straight after that you are officially a wet blanket. We stayed until Monday. We stayed until the bitter end.

Photos: Sunday School For Degenrates Sebo K

Sebo K at Sunday School for Degenerates: The master of business administration?

PS 103: Sunday School for Degenerates at Pawn Shop

We arrived just in time for Dixon’s 10 a.m. start, heading straight to Miami’s version of the DC10 terrace. The space had change quite a bit given it had lost two of its three surrounding walls (the neighbouring building had been knocked down) but the vibe was definitely still there. The day began getting lairy at the bar with the Innervisions guys, Kristian from Âme, Alex from Toyko and Marcus Worgull were all up early to enjoy their final full day in Miami. Dixon’s set? One highlight was a new Laurent Garnier B-side on Innervisions – definitely one to check.

One disappointment was the no show of [a:rpia:r], aka Romanians Pedro, Raresh and Rhadoo. Turns out they were booked to play Ibiza on the same night as SSFD, and what happened with their Miami date no one seemed to know. Visas? Booking issues? More money? Who knows. Nevertheless, the day played out exceptionally well, getting blurrier and more sun stroked as every hour passed. Buttrich performed well live. Big Swede’s Adam Beyer and Joel Mull threw it down. Guy Gerber let nothing slide. Sebo K played harder than he probably would have liked but it was a great thing to experience. Clubbers passed beach balls around and licked courtesy popsicles during Loco Dice’s set, who ended up running through the crowd unfurling a giant sheet of bubble wrap and throwing confetti in the air. The rain came down (lightly) between six and seven o’clock during Steve Bug, but it was really a relief to the burnt crowd.

As darkness emerged, Matthew Dear took over with a dark, glitchy live set. Not much truly new for Dear fans, but the crowd lapped up the rolling bass and crunchy snares. Overall, you could say it was a great party – top marks especially to the cheerful crowd, who seemed particularly happy goofing off and dancing away the final hours of WMC. -- Bernardo Arrospide

Matthew Dear & Ryan Elliott close out Miami at family-friendly bash Volatl meets Auxetic

Sunday Beats Miami Edition at Sixx Lounge

The last night of WMC is only for the strong. It is a time when all of our senses tell us to get back to the hotel, gather our things, and prepare to face reality (and the dreaded flight home). Fortunately, a group of us decided not to be sensible, making our way to Sixx Lounge for one last dance. Ryan Elliott was touted as the headliner but it did not take long after my arrival for an Audion and Elliott double feature to commence. The fellas certainly work well together as their one for one records kept everyone there smiling and grooving. Occasionally, the volume was lowered for a short sing-along before the bass returned with a thunder. It turned out to be a familial affair as all of the Spectral crew and their friends were in attendance. As I looked around and saw the smiles, one could easily tell no one wanted to be anywhere else – especially packing. -- Chris Thomarios

Photos: Sundae Shakedown

Yachting with King Britt & Rich Medina

More Degenerates

More laughs than your at your average Sunday School

Photos: We Love Techno

Techno soldiers unite for Adam Beyer, Paco Osuna & Misstress Barbara