Miami’s like a ghost town, populated by a handful of zombified veterans, delaying re-entry as long as possible. Tales of old conferences have been told; reasons to return discussed. And good-byes, some with an air of possible finality, were exchanged.
But so were reasons to return, like the boat party, Sunday School and John Digweed’s throw-down at the Vagabond. At least in Digweed’s case, that has as much to do with the club as it does the DJ.
The Sasha and John Digweed boat party may have upheld an annual tradition but tweaked another. In the past, the party was on a Friday, the night after they played at the Mansion. This year, you had about two hours to get from the boat to the South Beach super club, and the process was jarring.
Writing about the Sasha and John Digweed boat party is a thankless task because the truth is no words, no pictures and no video can adequately approximate the magic of being there.
Not that the details can hurt. Imagine a yacht, the kind where polite people welcome you to the party as if they were happy to see you. Then glance around the deck and see people like Dj Dan, Hernan Cattaneo, John Graham, Nick Warren hanging out, catching up on things. Eating a prime rib dinner, making as many trips to the open bar as you wanted. Oh, and sailing across Miami with a bunch of your favorite people, who you haven’t seen since the last party, while Sasha and John play the perfect, sexy “backyard” set of the year. Throw a circle of good energy around the enterprise and it’s suddenly like maybe there really is a reason to believe in Santa Claus. Because this party, if you are lucky enough to be there, is the ultimate gift.
Even more to the point, it is probably the last of the Miami traditions left standing. The Masters at Work Party, Danny at Space, all are barely memories now. But the boat party, which began back in the days before the dot com boom had burst, is alive and well. And, for me, it’s still the real reason to make the trek to Miami.
Words by Neil Feineman, Photos by Jipsy
Photos by Jipsy for Nefariousgirl.com