The Missouri River isn’t exactly the Pacific Ocean lapping at Miami Beach, however last weekend a little piece of Miami rolled into Kansas city in the form of DJ Irie.  Irie is a Miami club scene staple and while he’s not club hopping he’s the official DJ for the Miami Heat to boot.  This time around, serving as the official DJ for the Jamie Foxx “BLAME IT” tour, Irie certainly brought the Miami feel with him.  The party rolled into Lucky Strike Lanes in Kansas City’s hip Power 7 Light district.  Lucky Strike is an experience unlike most other night clubs, in that, in reality it’s a bowling alley.  Not Just any bowling alley but one of the hippest, swankest bowling alley’s you’ll come across.  With low slung furniture and your choice of adult beverages on tap, in a bottle or a glass there are no guarantees your bowling average will go up but you can’t help but have fun.

Local DJ Mike Scott, got the crowd warmed up for Irie.  Scott’s blend of house infused with a little bit of a midwest flavor (think classic rock crossfading over the latest urban tracks) couldn’t help but get things started for the local crowd.  The transition between Scott and Irie was seamless but from there Irie took the tempo up and the crowd went with it.

Irie spins a heavy blend of hip hop and pop then melts it into a tight house mix.  None of that crunchy herbal raver stuff here.  The crowd proved to be an eclectic mix of the old and the young, but the decided best dressed of both.  At one point I even saw a man dancing with girls certainly young enough to be his great granddaughters…and we can’t be sure they weren’t!

The bowling lanes were in use seemingly throughout the entire show (which shines a different light on the term “rollin’ with the homies”) and the bar was stacked 3-4 deep all night long. Even with ample wait staff, supply outweighed demand. Irie infused the Kansas City nightlife with a little Miami flavor, and for that maybe we honestly are his favor stop on this 3 month tour yet. Either way, when the lights came up at 3am…we felt like South Beach natives shining in the sun.

Words and photos by Justin McBee