Yes that is me in the hoodie on the beach…yeah I know. And yes that is Blaqstarr wearing an Ed Hardy sleeve tatoo shirt. Killin it. Here we are at the Scion party in Miami, watching Calvin Harris sing his adorable little heart out.

Miami is like summer camp for DJs. You all wind up on eachother’s flights, excited to see each other even though you see each other all the time. “Where are you staying?” is asked over and over again. You make new BFFs and bond with new people that live in other places. You room with your best buds. You make out with your peers. You get absolutely no sleep at all even though you have to be somewhere early in the morning. HA! Good luck with that! I was usually still awake while the real world was getting up. 4AM Jess in full effect.

I am no newbie to WMC in Miami for it is my hometown. I remember being 16 years old and thinking “Wow there are so many parties this week!” I am never one to miss a good party. Every year I do my best to go to events that I am not able to go to in NYC. I find that a lot of people just stick to where there friends are, what guestlists they are on, and where they are comfortable. But I do not go to Miami to do things I can do at home. This year I probably went harder than I have ever gone because there was SO much great stuff going on. I couldn’t say no to any of it and I took every opportunity that I could to see DJs, even if it was at the Apple Store for an hour. Here is my full recap.

Me and the girls arrived early on a Tuesday so we could lay in the sun but it was cloudy and cold, go figure. We got some rest before the party, kicked off our night with a DJ set by Ewan Pearson at the Apple Store. You know the music is great when you are dancing in a retail store.

Then went to see Trash’s own Local Hero, and Drop the Lime play at the JAKUL8/Dust Traxx party. I have known Local Hero since last WMC and I have never seen him DJ before. It was quite a treat. He is great DJ with great taste in music. I don’t need to tell you that Drop the Lime killed it because you already know that. Then we headed to the DFA party at Rok Bar to catch Rub n Tug and JDH throw down! The night was pretty full for a Tuesday. Usually it is really empty but there were definitely a decent amount of people.

Wednesday I woke up early (noon) to catch DJ Craze at FYE. I needed a Miami Bass fix and I needed it quick. I wound up shopping around and buying an old Lords Of Acid CD. Then I went through so much old Florida dance music….oh memories…I am so glad I live in NYC now. That night I went to the Dubsided party, caught Drop the Lime and Annie Mac, then headed over to Bass Sessions. Here are Local Hero and I at Studio A. I’m still wearing a hoodie.

Drop the Lime giving some love to the camera.

When I got to Bass Sessions Mr. Mixx was playing and it was awesome. The most Miami Booty Bass you will ever hear. I really thought I had never heard of him but then I was informed that he was the DJ from 2 Live Crew. DUH! Sooooooo fun, I am so glad I rushed up to the rooftop to catch him when I did because he made my entire week. Then there was Craze. We all know I love Craze.

We left Bass Sessions and somehow wound up at a strip club across the street with several other DJs and tastemakers (I will protect the innocent by not revealing names). Did you know that strippers dance to blog house? We watched some girls take their clothes off and then headed over to the Early Bird party where Justin Martin absolutely destroyed Miami. I am telling you this man is a beast. He played one of the best DJ sets I have ever heard and the dancefloor was packed at 630AM. We had so much fun and didn’t get home until about 10:30.

Thursday I was an absolute genius because I woke up and immediately started drinking champagne (my head loved me later). I walked to the Scion party. Got there right as Boys Noize was going on. Another pleasant surprise. He played only a little bit of the obvious including that Michael Jackson song that goes on for about an hour, but he also played whatever the F*&% he wanted including some crazy gabber and bassline-ish tunes and everyone was really impressed. I kept hearing “Is this still Boys Noize?”. I have always been a fan of his Dj sets but this one definitely made him a favorite.

Thursday night I passed out from the champagne, woke up at 3AM and since I am 4AM Jess….I went out. I went to the Minus party to see Richie Hawtin but it was so packed that they weren’t letting anybody up on the roof. I was so bummed so I went next door to the Get Physical party. M.A.N.D.Y. was top notch. I am glad the night worked out the way it did. We were just about to go back to the hotel and then I realized it was 8AM. Hmmm maybe the rooftop of Nocturnal wasn’t so packed anymore? So I went back to Nocturnal, walked up the stairs only to find I was able to go up on the roof and it was full of German techno fans rocking mullets and streetwear. Magda was just getting on and everyone was wild. It was the craziest part of my trip and of course I did not have my camera. Go figure. There is nothing more awesome than a good minimal techno party at 8AM…outdoors.

Friday I was so dead that I missed my appointment at the gifting suite but I somehow managed to make it back to the Scion party at the Raleigh again. Calvin Harris is so awesome. No one seemed to know who he was when he and his band were on. I had a bunch of randoms ask me “Is this a band?” “Whats this guy’s deal?” “Is he British?” “I like this”.

Friday night I headed over to the Fools Gold party which was absolutely insane. Check the pictures here. Some ultra epic moments and several surprise guests. The place was packed and the crowd was wild. I was able to catch Nacho Lovers and LA Riots before I headed over to the Mad Decent Vs. Turntablelab warehouse party. That party was in the hood. I grew up around. When I was little my mom used to tell me that if I was ever driving around there at night I should run the red lights. And there we were dancing around with a cowbell to House Music.

When I got there Cosmo Baker was bringing it, as per usual, but I have to say the highlight of my night was when Eli Escobar unexpectedy jumped on the decks and brought the party to a whole new level, with Blaqstarr on the mic.

It was cool to see Bart Bmore DJ and Spank Rock performed really late at night. Then around 4AM Drop the Lime and Star Eyes showed up to DJ. I am kind of sad that I missed Sabo. I heard his set was unreal.

And for Saturday. I woke up, checked out of my hotel and basically had to sneak into the Beatport party to see this guy.

It was my mission of the week after that Minus party got all messed up. Once again a bunch of techno heads going nuts during the day. I couldn’t ask for anything better than that. At this point I was also exhausted and danced out. I had to go to the Stones Throw party for a bit to escape the rave.

I have to admit I am pretty dumb for not going to the Fixed party. It was too much of a mission and we were on an hour of sleep. We kept it local by going to Purdy Lounge for yet another Scion party and another epic DJ set from Drop the Lime, who tag teamed with Jokers of the Scene. So fun.

But the ending to my trip could not have been more perfect. The Rub really made my entire WMC. Here is Cosmo Baker and DJ Ayres. Dj Eleven is not pictured. And yes Ayres is wearing an airbrushed shirt that says “Tiesto 2008″.

This was what the crowd was doing at 5AM

I am going to leave out my airport experience and make you think that was the ending of my night. I also would like to add that on top of the pictures I received from the lovely Susan Holland I also stole some pictures from Ian Meyer at Crewcial.org,Oxycottontail.com and Fools Gold.