Dancegiving after turkey day in Ft Lauderdale

            So after Thanksgiving there isn’t a lot to look forward to except for Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays. I’m not a big shopper so my brain is always somewhere else and looking for a party. Thank goodness that the Electronic Dance Music scene lives for the holidays and time off from work. Last year I was smart enough to listen to my young friends and head down to Ft. Lauderdale and club Revolutions for the 1^st annual ‘Dancegiving’. Ravers love catchy names if you haven't noticed. Last year was amazing with the club driving the music with incredible high res video along with some top ranked DJ’s from my world. The club capacity is 13,000 in the main room, with 2 addition rooms and a large outdoor patio stage. The success was solid with a sold out attendance, no problems ( this is important in my world because incidents cause promoters to feel unsure about their liabilities for certain events) and pre-sale tickets for this year were very high. So what does Revolution LIVE do this year for their 2^nd annual ‘Dancegiving’? They decide to close the street in front of the club and erect 2 large stages on either end of the street (one more around the corner to not clash sound wise) with a really nice lighting and video package at each stage. They also extended the hours to a 11AM till 11PM ‘street party’, and then the continuation party from 11PM till 4AM inside the club. This is a very smart idea, because the day festival was 18 and up with the night-time after party being 21 and up.

             Now the only problem with these super clubs is I very rarely can get anyone to talk to me about what’s in the lighting rig. I must admit that I go to these festivals 100% as a patron for the music and the lifestyle. So I dress the part because I enjoy dressing up. So when I approach an LD and I have blinky stuff in my hair, with big foamy jewelry, and crazy clothes, I can see why they don’t give me tech specs. So I figured out a way to still give my readers something for them to come back to my blogs. If I don’t have tech specs I will double my pictures for the visual tech as compensation .

            Revolution Live is like a House of Blues in regards to putting on rock shows, rap show, and different genre music events. The club can open just the main floor and balcony or open all rooms and outdoor patio to allow the larger groups to move about freely. One thing that is different about Revolution Live is they advertise that they accept new bands demos for future performances. The new band doesn’t need to have a record deal or need to be on a record label. When’s the last time you heard such a big venue be that open to new talent?

            Another niche night that the club provides is the pre-cruise live show. Ft Lauderdale hosts a cool cruise line that does theme cruises every few weeks. For example, I am going to the Holy Ship cruise in January that is 4 days of electro, dub, drum and bass, and house music and has some of the best DJ’s from my world. Well because this cruise is so high profile, Revolution is smart and knows there will be a ton of people flying, driving, and traveling to Ft Lauderdale the day before. Well why not provide a party the night before everyone goes on their cruise? A few weeks after my cruise, the same theme cruise line is throwing a jam cruise with rock artists. So Revolution is throwing their pre-cruise party as well. Brilliant, I say! The parties will also include a hair band 80’s rock cruise with pre-cruise party the night before. Someone in marketing knows how to look around and see a market to grab without alienating any music genre group of people.

            One thing that made this festival different was that I had the privilege to hang out with Nick Altavilla from the company Pure Dance. Dancegiving was their soft open for their company and I can say it was a big success. When asked what Pure Dance is, Nick responds "Pure Dance is your place to go when your interest in the music, life, and culture of Electronic Dance Music arouses. We are one hundred percent devoted to the EDM fans: in fact, our organization is ran and made up of nothing but fans that will provide information that will keep growing and changing with the progress of EDM." Pure Dance represents a trend of people who want to connect with other music lovers who live the life of travel, music, and dance. Eric Johnson is a partner of Pure Dance as well. 

              Please enjoy the pictures, they are thanks to Nick and his wonderful camera!

Grand MA console ran the inside of the club.