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Reprinted from www.thecircuitdog.com.
A Report from GD2K, Orlando Florida
Review By www.thecircuitdog.com
Circuit Dog Rate-A-Party: 2 Glowsticks, 1
Water Bottle, 2 Popcicles! (that's one higher than their scale goes)
"This is a Mickey Mouse operation,"
announced DJ Victor Calderone to the 4,800+ crowd at Disney/MGM Studios after
stopping the music during Saturday's One Mighty Party. And how right he
was, but not in the unpleasant/cheesy sense of the expression. This Mickey
Mouse operation was nothing short of brilliant, and this year Jeffrey Sanker,
Johnny Chisholm, and a host of other promoters took full advantage of Orlando's
unique party venues. These are fully functioning theme parks, so there's
no need for promoters to import much outside talent when with just the push of a
button, an entire street or stage can be detonated; with the simple flick of a
switch, an array of colorful lasers can overwhelm the senses; and with the turn
of a knob, one hundred pounds of confetti can plunge to the ground, showering
party revelers in a psychedelic snowstorm. I must say, Gay Day 2000 came
dangerously close to changing the face of the "Circuit." Three
solid days and nights of prestigious parties presented a picture-perfect 72
hours of remarkable amusement that will surely raise the standards to which
future party weekends will aspire.
The Hyatt Orlando played host for the "Party Boy" slice of the
estimated 120,000 gays and lesbians who descended upon Orlando, Florida during
the first weekend of June. TheCircuitDog.com and his pack of pups lapped
up one of the 600 hotel rooms that were reserved for the circuit crowd at this
"official/unofficial" circuit party hotel. The fantastic pool
area highlighted the talents of live DJs who generously donated their time to
keep the fun and fleshy crowd jumping poolside. DJ Jon Herseth, Roland
Belmares, Joe Gauthreax, Monty Q, Rob Davis, and Don Bishop all went beyond the
call of party-duty by lending their talents to keep the boys grooving poolside
throughout the weekend. Although there are many people who helped make
this a reality, special acknowledgments should go to Brian Bottorff and Rob Iles
of Reunion3. After all, it would be unforgivable to let ourselves be
blinded by the glitz and glamour of the parties without recognizing the glue and
foundation that linked all three nights of festivities together. Reunion3
was created not for profit, but for the sole intent of uniting all of the
weekend's parties. KUDOS boys! YOU and the many other unselfish
spirits at Gay Day 2000 are helping redefine the circuit.
Jeffrey Sanker and Johnny Chisholm of Oz teamed up on Friday night to bring us
"Muscle and Sweat" at Downtown Disney's House of Blues, with the
brightest star of the turntables, DJ Manny Lehman, providing the steamy
soundtrack. This was indeed a fun night, but it could also be considered
the weekend's weakest contribution. Despite singer/performer Amber's
booming library of dance hits, she chose to speak during most of her
performance, and did everything but submit her resume for public viewing.
"Honey, you're hired! Enough already." This regularly
would not have plucked me so much, but being under constant surveillance by the
House of Blues ubiquitous security staff created an air of anxiousness that left
me and many other patrons feeling more paranoid than pleased. This jook-joint
sells liquor which impairs peoples judgment, but you better not whip out a laser
pointer or a camera. My guess is that the extra lighting and flashes make
it difficult for the dance floor Gestapo to communicate with the police who
probably have a paddy wagon backed up to the rear door. It seems ironic
that the House of Blues uses the slogan "Unity in Diversity" in their
advertisements. Hmmm....
Like a weight being lifted off of our shoulders, we suddenly felt stress-free and relaxed upon entering Mark Baker's Magic Journeys late night
party at Arabian Nights. DJ Don Bishop knew exactly how to entice the
"restless crew" to the dance floor, and I was fortunate enough to make
my way to the hidden DJ booth to finally meet Bishop. He went on to play a
superb set, which I suspect is the direct result of having spent plenty of time
on dance floors himself.
On Saturday, we didn't have to venture any further than the other side of the
sliding glass door of our hotel room to witness an exceptionally handsome and
exuberant crowd. Reunion3 was hosting a pool party reminiscent of those in
Palm Springs. After taking in a bounty of sun and making new friends
during the day, we scooted over to MGM Studios later that night for Jeffrey
Sanker and Johnny Chisholm's "One Mighty Party." I had mentioned
last year that this event would have to reinvent itself in 2000 because its
constant, non-changing setting had become all too familiar. Well, the
creative forces behind this mega-bash did just that. The dance floor
engulfed more of Hollywood Blvd., and along with the Tower of Terror, we were
able to ride the brand new "Rockin and Rollin Roller Coaster"
throughout the evening. Different lighting was also apparent throughout
the party. The highlight of the evening definitely had to be when a Tinker
Bell-ish Kitty Meow performed Whitney Houston's "I Learned From The
Best" while suspended in front of the Chinese Theater. Pyrotechnics
were choreographed to the music, and the number ended with the fiery explosion
of the landmark theatre. It was nothing short of fabulous, and was
definitely a moment that could only happen in Orlando. This cutting-edge
type of entertainment is what they do best at Disney, and it is quite a
delectable recipe when mixed in with the circuit. How can any other party
weekend measure up to this? Musically speaking, DJ Victor Calderone not
only persevered through some tough technical problems, but he once again proved
that his passion is to spin pure magic.
Late night found us back at Mark Baker's Magic Journeys, featuring the talents
of DJ Mark Anthony. This was THE night for the late night alternative, and the hiring of Montreal's Anthony was ideal for the Saturday
version of this event. The exhilarating open space of the new afterhours
venue, along with the refreshing sounds of this master of the turntables,
created an afterhours experience that boasted the same energy found earlier in
the evening. Mark Baker and Magic Journeys put the unadulterated delicacy
back into staying up late, and make no mistake -- this was THE night to bask in
it.
We spent some time on Sunday at the Reunion3 pool party, but Mother Nature
reminded us via a late afternoon shower that we should probably leave to get a
little sustenance and relaxation before Sunday night's massive contribution to
the weekend. And it's a damn good thing we did, because The Colosseum
Party at Hard Rock Live made circuit history, firmly securing Orlando's place on
the world party map. Over 3,000 people packed into the Universal Studios
at City Walk concert hall for DJ Abel's musical voyage into the record books.
Not one written or spoken review has failed to call this "the best circuit
party in the history of the circuit." This type of advertising can't
be purchased, however, it can be secured through hard work and an inspired
creative vision. Promoter Mark Baker has harvested his years of
entertainment production and focused on producing the best party that man has
ever seen. From the very first moment, superstar DJ Abel let us know that
it was "Party Time," and we revelers were continuously assaulted and
bombarded with breathtaking light and laser shows. Entertainment included
a delightful Circuit MOM Las Vegas review, and a Power Infinity choreographed
dance number that turned it out, and then wrecked you by turning it out again.
An awe-inspiring sound system and an in-house dazzling display of pyrotechnics
engulfed the stage in fire. Finally, right when the level of excitement
couldn't build anymore, the sky inside Hard Rock Live opened up and swallowed
the crowd in 100 pounds of confetti that acted like a million towelettes, wiping
and cleansing the sweat off of the thunderstruck revelers. We exited The
Colosseum Party on the newly confetti-carpeted floor......silently. There
really were no words to describe what we had just experienced. As Vizcaya
is to White Party, or Black & Blue is to the week-long Montreal festival,
Mark Baker's Sunday night extravaganza has solidified Sunday night during Gay
Day Orlando as THE anchor event of the weekend. If I may quote myself from
last year's Disney review: "The 'bar' of expectation has been lifted,
let's just hope you were there to witness it." Who would have thought
that party promoter Mark Baker could raise that bar on himself?
Orlando's Gay Day Weekend was a tremendous success not just because of the
fabulous parties, but because of the diverse energy that was thrust into the
weekend. Whatever formulas were followed by the various promoters paid off
in a BIG WAY! Several etched-in-your-mind, hard-to-believe parties were
created. Change is good, but competition is better. All of this
fabulousness was the pay-off from countless people working incredibly hard to
create such a memorable experience. I'm not sure if there was a hidden
agenda for one promoter to outdo the other, but if so, then it worked. The
end result was a glorious weekend that may very well go down in the history
books as THE BEST CIRCUIT PARTY WEEKEND EVER! DJ Victor Calderone might
not have known how right he was. This was definitely a Mickey Mouse
operation, in every over-the-top-delightful-spectacle sense of the word.
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