Wednesday, March 22
Upon arriving at The National, I have to say that the evening was shaping up nice.
The environmental artwork on canvas that surrounded the stage promoted Beatport and Remix Hotel perfect, and the visual design was very well done. 
It was very muggy, however, and we were not looking forward to the long journey to Tantra for the Bargrooves Miami Sessions. Not to mention, when you have Carl Cox walk by you and say the music is ‘rave’ it only reaffirms the fact that it’s time to go. So onto the Bargrooves party, which was the perfect blend of ambiance and vibrancy that intimate gatherings should all have.
They had congas set up, which always amps up the dance floor. The agencylife press team was out in full effect, and only after a good time dancing and the slow progression that would soon come to be known as ‘pacing ourselves’ we ended the evening a little after midnight and only about three drinks in.Thursday March 23
The rain was not very forgiving so most of the OM Records BBQ was rained out, but it was good timing to revisit The Surfcomber (homebase of the m3Summit) just in time for Giant Step’s Opening Night Celebration around 6pm.
Gilles Peterson, a great producer and DJ was the host for the evening and he did a great job keeping it seamless throughout the night. He set the tone for the acts to come, bridging the music from deep house following Peter Kruder to funk and nujazz before J*Davey and then Bugz in the Attic. 
Kruder played a pleasantly unusual deep house set, considering the last time I heard him was with the Rainer Truby trio and it was completely broken beat. 
I had never seen J*Davey live, but had read much about how she is going to throw Kelis off her post, and boy did she deliver. Not only is her voice like a soulful satin, her presence is strong. 
By the time that Bugz came up, the stage was warm and the crowd ready. They were referring to Daz-I-Kue as the Black Wimbeldon, and you can see why.
We continued the night at an industry party held in the Oval Room at The National. 
Kaskade and King Britt were great, and I will make note that I did not see one record… it was all digital mixing. Let’s just say that open bar and a private event with food is always a good thing, and it certainly got us ready for the ESL party.Miami Eclectique 2006 was great music, and set out to promote Thunderball's new album. Ursula 1000, Jon from Fort Knox Recordings, and J-Boogie really know how to throw down. Not to mention the fact that they are genuinely nice guys, too.
We teased J-Boogie for playing his “Miami Set”, but he was un-phased. He probably wanted to deviate from his normal genre that he is always expected to play at the OM parties. Alex (Ursula 1000) is very personable, and just the type of person we here at agencylife like. Jon, also, was really open and took our sarcasm well (did I mention we had just come from an open bar?). It was about 3am before we got out of the venue, and my feet were exhausted.Friday March 24
The Sunset Session surprise this night was the Chicago's Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, playing live by the opposite end of the pool, and Jazzanova warming up for their next event. A short trip to the Delano to visit Kruder again, proved my theory that he is moving back into house again.But the icing on the cake was the BBE and Rapster Records party, Real Music for Real People, at The Shore Club. This is, by far, one of my favorite settings. Who can beat Jazzy Jeff by the pool and Jazzanova in the Red Room? Great stuff.
The line outside of the Red Room was hectic because people coming to the party did not know they had to be on a separate list for that part of the event. Good thing we were on or else we would have sat at the door for literally 2 hours. Besides Jazzanova inside, the pick of the night goes to DJ Language, who I briefly talked to before we left. A very nice guy, and someone who has great taste in music.
