The Juice Box

Rating: 4 (and a capfull) out of 5 bottles of water.

by Jim Hauck and Steve Kleine

We arrived at the Main Event for White Party Palm Springs at about 10:45 for the White Carpet arrival. It was a thrill as we approached the Convention Center. You walked right by the new site of the Sunday T-Dance. The new rides and the dance floor were lit up, almost beckoning us to come over. The lines moved into the event smoothly. The White Carpet arrival space was set up for the “Circuit Royalty” and others to have a “see and be seen moment” with an appropriate back drop. However, one should note that the White Carpet arrival was not very big, and not much for carpet. It looked like they had white towels stretched on the ground instead of carpet – but it actually worked.

Timing of our arrival could not have been more perfect. We were able to quickly assemble our team; all dressed in wonderful white vests and bow ties, fabulized with appropriate glitter and sparkle things by the JOY Tribe! As we all assembled, the doors to the main room were opened and we dove in to build our home camp for the night.

The convention center was built out with a large stage along the far wall, and thankfully no runway up the center, giving us one VERY large dance space! In fact, the dance floor was the largest it has been in a number of years. Noticeably missing were the private riser areas along the sides of the dance floor, but instead these were open to anyone. The VIP space was still at the entry to the convention center with the lighting and lasers team in front of it. The other most notable change was that the DJ was now on the stage at the front of the space, flanked by columns of color changing bars of light and a couple large LED screens. On the sides of the dance floor between the public riser areas were two large white scrim boxes with large horses, reared up inside of them. No one knew how fit into to the Electric theme. Missing was any type of disco ball.

Manny Lehman was playing the opening set as we walked into the main hall. He had a nice pumping beat going on. Within minutes the crowd swelled and it was pleasantly packed with boyz and a few chicks ready for a fun night. Attendance was clearly up because the dance floor was full and it was full early. Manny played a mix of lighter music, happier and more bouncy that what we have recently heard from him. It showed us the older style of Manny. The style we all used to love..the one that propelled him to superstar DJ level. Certainly being the opening act for the Freemason had a big impact on the music he was playing. The most amazing moment of his set was when he brought on Kelly Rowland’s “When Love Takes Over.” As you can imagine, everyone had their hands in the air, dancing to the sweet sounds of an anthem that has clearly gone from the just a summertime fling, to a new classic for the gay dance scene.

The Freemasons came on promptly at midnight with minimal fanfare. There was a slow down and quieting of the music, but they kicked the party into gear with Beyonce’s “Ring The Alarm” getting the entire crowd on the floor, dancing and jumping and going absolutely nuts. From there it was a classic Freemasons set of anthems to raise your hands up and sing along with tracks like Kylie’s “The One”, “Love on My Mind” with Amanda Wilson, and “Uninvited” with Bailey Tzuke (and for your tavern fans – I taught everyone around me the appropriate finger moves for this song). Following the amazing set by the Freemasons (which is our first time seeing them live), Ke$ha, the headliner for the evening came on with her rap-hip-hop sounds. While she changed the energy a bit, it kept the crowd dancing and that works for us.

The combination of the music and energy in the room had us ready to give the White Party Palm Spring 21, a full 5 bottles, but alas, it was not to maintain. Following Ke$ha, Manny Lehman took over the decks again, and sadly was hit immediately by some technical difficulties. The music started, following the performance, but it dropped out, and stayed out. The room went so quiet one could hear a bottle of water SLOWLY emptying. Everyone who was just in the pinnacle moment of being happy and enjoying the evening, found themselves standing around wondering what was going on. Finally, Ke$ha came back out and played another number. When she was done Manny was able to kick the music back into gear. It was more like what Manny has been playing recently – harder late night music that DID get the crowd moving. Overall, the set kept us dancing until nearly the end of the party, but did not charge us up with enough energy to continue on to the after hours.

Overall, Jeffrey Sanker restored the event to its previous luster. The White Party Palm Springs Main Event is now a “must do part of the weekend.” Last year’s Lady Gaga show certainly had them lined up for another year of fun. After this year, I think more people will be making a point to come to the Main Event again.

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Tags: Chi Chi LaRue, freemasons, Manny Lehman, White Party