FTLC sponsors an EPIC NYE Party at 1921

It’s easy to call a party EPIC. It’s another thing to actually back it up with colossal over-the-top antics, a quality lineup of local musicians, and a quartet of dance crazy DJs. Want the scoop on FTL Collective’s end-of-the-year spectacular at underground club 1921?

  • 3 local bands, playing on a roof (yes, outside on the roof!).

  • 4 DJ’s inside the club, spinning the best in indie, electro, and the classics.

  • 1 custom-made live ball drop. Plus, the official Times Square drop projected on a giant wall.

  • 1 Xbox Kinect projected on that same giant wall, plus multiple fire pits strategically placed throughout the outside area to keep everyone toasty.

Now that I have your undivided attention, here’s the rest of the gritty details:

The trio of local acts gracing the rooftop will be punk rock enthusiasts Mute Issue, the always entertaining supergroup Travalonia, and experimental rockers Manifest Test Subject (you might remember them from our launch party). Spinning the greatest in indie, electro, new wave, and classic tracks will be JAM’s very own Esoteric and Damask, Stereo Synth’s Andie Sweetswirl, and future Fort Lauderdale mayoral candidate Mig (me).

The club is located 1921 S. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 . Here’s a link to the official Facebook event page. $10 cover charge at the door. Throw in another Hamilton if you like, and you’re well on your way to drunken bliss — unlimited beer till midnight. Not too keen on carbs? The CASH ONLY bar will be fully stocked.The party starts at 9 ‘o clock.

Anyone who came out to the last FTLC sanctioned event in June knows that we don’t joke around when we insert “FTL Collective” on a flyer. The party’s other sponsors, JAMS and The Malcriado, feel the same way. Tell your friend to cancel his lame house party and migrate over to 1921 this Friday night for what’s sure to be an event of epic proportions.

It can be a little tricky trying to find the club (it is an underground club after all). Check out a helpful YouTube video and makeshift parking map after the jump.

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Light It Up This Christmas

By Strawberry Jam

Coral Springs North Pole from sunsentinel.com

When I was young, just a couple years ago, one of the biggest highlights of my Christmases was to drive around and scope out all the awesomely decorated houses and Christmas lights.  Anyone remember the entire BLOCK of houses near the turnpike overpass and Taft Street in Hollywood in the 80’s or 90’s?  Every single house on this street would get together to create one elaborate Christmas display- they even had postcards!  Sadly, it seems each year it becomes harder and harder to find such holiday enthusiasm.  Thankfully, Sun-Sentinel put together this little gem which maps out all the houses in your area for your viewing pleasure.  It even includes pics and descriptions.  Here are a few addresses to get you started.  Happy hunting and Merry Christmas.

  • Davie– 9904 W Tree Tops Court- Thousands of lights, Santas, Frostys, trains, elves
  • Ft Lauderdale– 1131 SW 9th Ave- 200,000 lights, helicopter on roof
  • Hollywood– 5200 Thomas St- A show every half hour, lights synchronized to music
  • Hollywood– 5424 Cleveland St- 25,000 lights, 35 hand-made, hand-painted displays
  • Plantation– 11480 NW 26th St- 250,000 LED lights synchronized to music, 85 inflatable displays

Sun-Sentinel Holiday Lights:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/holiday/decorations/

This is what ALDI hype was about?

ALDI Deerfield Beach

by Strawberry Jam

With the arrival of ALDI in November, came much anticipation for the discountgrocery chain which would be the first in South Florida of their thousand plus stores across the country. With their “honest to goodness savings” motto and German roots, could this perhaps be the IKEA of food?  Or, dare I say, the answer to our Trader Joe’s prayers? We did the investigating and are here to report this is sadly not the case.

With most non-perishables around just a few bucks, there’s no denying the store is significantly cheaper than your average supermarket.  However, my dreams of neat little European aisles stocked of quality products pretty much dissipated upon taking a closer look.  More than anything, ALDI is probably most comparable to a deluxe Dollar Store of food, with the addition of produce and meat.

The store itself is smaller than expected and largely full of processed and packaged goods.  Naturally, most products are off brands, with the exception of a handful of items like Ghirardelli brownie mix and Kit-Kats.  Maybe some spending-inducing music (there was none at all) would help minimize the Twilight Zone feeling.

The store will undoubtedly be a saving grace for those on a tight budget or even those willing to make separate trips to collect their weekly goods.  Grape tomatoes at 99¢ a container is hard to beat. But for the health-conscious and those still hoping for a Trader Joe’s  or its equivalent, we’ll have to keep holding our breath.  If you are still curious enough to venture out, BYOB (bring your own bags).

ALDI Deerfield Beach is located at 3825 W Hillsboro Blvd.

You are…..the WEEKEND’S links

Does the post's title make sense now?

A word of advice to the weekend warrior — don’t over indulge on Friday night, lest you might miss the slew of great events on Saturday evening. Here are 3 events that we hand selected:

Santa-Con: FTL

Judging from the enthusiastic barrage of Facebook messages, 3 different event pages with numerous attendees, and multiple online write-ups, this heavily anticipated Santa Con FTL Beach bar crawl sounds like a blast. The FREE party starts at 5:00pm on FTL Beach by the volleyball courts, then progresses to Parrot Lounge around 6:30pm. Make sure to don some kind of Santa gear to take advantage of the drink specials. For more info on the charity connected to event or list of participating bars and drink specials, go to Santa Con FTL’s official website or read What Lauderdale’s event preview.

Anyone want to take photos of people’s costumes for the blog (or let us steal photos off your online photo album)? mig@ftlcollective.com

Travulous & Friends Spread Cosmic Cheer, Holiday Market & Intergalactic Musical @ The Bubble

Travulous & Friends

Our favorite warehouse The Bubble is throwing a holiday bash. I’ve seenTravulous perform before, and let’s just say, it’s as eccentric and entertaining as the event’s lenghty moniker. In addition to the usual antics of all-you-can-drink keg beer ($10 a cup) and art on display, there will also be a holiday craft market (perfect timing for Christmas), vegan egg nog, and live performances by Chris Horgan of local band Sweet Bronco, The Green Mantles, Radar, Retrocities, and The Intergalactic Band. For more details, read the New Times’ event preview.

Toy Drive @ Radio-Active Records

Unfortunately, I could not find a proper link for this charity event; however, I was able to scrounge up some details via DJ Skidmark’s Facebook profile. Live music by Scrap Kids (ska/dub/punk from PA) at 6pm, the Rat Opera at 7pm, local punk band To Be Hated at 8pm, and Boise Bob and His Backyard Band at 9pm. DJ Skidmark will be spinning in between the bands sets. Bring toys to give to Kids In Distress

I’ll leave you with an excellent local music post by Miami super blog Beached Miami, The Top 15 songs by South Florida . Have a stellar weekend.

UPDATE: Creolina’s returns to downtown Fort Lauderdale

We reported last week that long-time downtown favorite Creolina’s is returning to 2nd Street, taking Porterhouse’s old spot. Today we appear to have received official confirmation via Facebook and Twitter that this is true. Although the new restaurant will not be named Creolina’s (it will be named Bourbon on 2nd), it will be run by Creolina’s owner Mark Sulzinski and promises “Favorites-Creolina Style!” It will be very interesting to see how Bourbon on 2nd differs from Creolina’s. I expect it will have similar food to Creolina’s, but because the space is so much larger than Creolina’s old space and one would think they would keep Porterhouse’s huge bar intact, I predict more of a New Orleans-themed party atmosphere rather than the small purely food-focused establishment that was Creolina’s. That sounds great, as long as the food does not suffer. Because when the food suffers, we all suffer. And indeed we have been suffering since the old Creolina’s closed shop. Facebook says the soft-opening will be December 17 (tomorrow!) and encourages people to stop in and say hello. This FTLC correspondent will do just that.