If you ever blacked out on Saturday, maybe you blacked out at the Club Firestone. 

On Saturday, Melanie and I checked out Blackout Saturdays, located at Club Firestone, on Orange Ave.  At first sight we knew this was the place to be when it comes to super premium drinks, the hottest music and the best party crowd Orlando has to offer.  The party begins at 10 with some of the best talent from around the world.  $7 gets you in the door with drink specials all night long.  The lines are long, so get there early!

To help out all you OCB'ers searching for a new "Poison of the Week" Melanie and I polled the crowd to find some new and old favorites.  Be sure to check out the video from Saturday and to see what we uncovered and for more ideas check out the "Poison of the Week" drink photos and recipes on OrlandoCityBeat.com.  My favorite poison is the Starry Night Martini.   What's yours? 

Until next time Orlando - AMANDA

And the first. And the second. Damn that little bird sure knows her stuff (see the blog below)...BackBooth was indeed the place to be on Saturday night. Or any of the 15 stages where the bands featured in the Florida Music Festival played, for that matter. FMF kicked major a$$ this weekend. If you weren't there- well, why the heck not?! Yes, that's right. I said it. Heck.

If you missed Flogging Molly on Thursday, riverdancing may not be your thing. That's ok. For some reason, if you didn't make it to the Social to be stampeded by Big 10-4 fans, we might be able to forgive you, but it's going to take lots of time. And presents. Shiny, expensive ones. If you ignored our warnings for day 3 of FMF with 7 Mary 3, well- it's over. We're through. Don't call me anymore. It's not me, it's you. Clearly.

Not only were there some big name acts at FMF like the above mentioned, but there were some really hot (both music and looks-wise) local bands as well. Noon Blue was absolutely amazing, as were Cori Yarckin, Of Truth and Stories, Woodale, and many, many more. If you missed one of the performances, well, there were 250 bands, so if you DIDN'T, I want to know how you clone yourself ASAP. We came, we saw, we flashed, and we introduced the newest member of the OCB Shock Squad powered by MetroMix, miss Megan. She's a hottie according to FMF fans who actually waited in line to take pictures, so check out the video.

Good times, great music, and gorgeous people, as always. I L-O-V-E you Orlando. You rock. Especially at FMF. See you at Destiny and Bike Night. Check the main page for our whereabouts. XOXO- Dina

So there's a little thing we like to call the Florida Music Festival happening right now, in case you live in a hole.  And to top that off we have the great privilege of getting to boast that the main act tonight originated from our fabulous O-Town.  Who is it you ask? Well duh!  Its the Big 10-4!!!! Thats right its not a typo.  Last night at the social the line went around the block as people waited for their chance to see the band.  At some points the building was at capacity and we had to wait for people to leave.  Everyone in the building was there to see the local favorite and show support.  The lights went down and as they came on the opening song was a Big 10-4 classic that made everyone join in and sing right along. Im sure there are some songs from Big 10-4 that turn out to be some peoples personal anthem.  We talked to Gary and Courtney and found out what songs and music describe them.  Check out the video and see what they said. If you weren't there you definitely missed out. But dont worry because your Shock Squaders made sure to check out other FMF events as well. Wall St was just as packed and there were people jamming out to both stages of live performances there.  There is one more night of FMF left people and I highly suggest you get out there to experience it.  Suggestions you say.....well a little bird tells me Backbooth is the spot for Saturday so don't act like you didn't know. Till the next Flash Orlando!

Is country more your scene? Maybe Rock? Blues? Pop? Irish Jigs? Whatever you're into, the Florida Music Festival is sure to please. Your OCB Shock Squad powered by MetroMix was at day 1 of FMF- oh and day 2, and soon to be day 3- to see the start of over 250 bands on 15 stages at the hottest venues in Orlando.

Flogging Molly was the main attraction down at Wall St Plaza- host of 2 of the main stages for this weekend's performances. Fans packed the streets, the bars, the balconies, and anywhere else you could squeeze your booty into empty space. Any space that wasn't occupied by FMFers (Fl Music Fetival goers or Flogging Molly Fans) was reserved as a Crazy Irish only zone- where some talented steppers showed us their Riverdance skills, or lack thereof.

Since we have tons more to see and do over the next few days for FMF, I'll keep this short and sweet. If you didn't make it for Flogging Molly or Big 10-4, come out tonight for the finale of FMF. We'll be at BackBooth, the Club at Firestone and some other favorites flashing YOU. Check out our main page for some sweet concert tickets. See you tonight!!!!

XOXO- Dina

It is music mania this week at Orlando CityBeat powered by MetroMix. We're all over the place covering some of the best bands around- both local and national. This weekend we rocked it out at the Orlando Sentinel's THISISMYMUSIC CD Release Party 3. What is THISISMYMUSIC exactly? Eight of the hottest local acts all on one CD, with a huge party and concert taking over BackBooth inside and out on the street to celebrate.

The bands included Mashlin, the Runnamucks, the Oaks, Country Slashers, Cori Yarckin, Skip, Mobella, and the Wynn Brothers Band. The crowd had their own favorites for personal reasons...you know, my brother's friend's uncle's step-sister had a monkey who had a friend who was in band with Cori Yarckin's brother. Now I don't know if Cori has a brother, or if he was ever in the band, but regardless, you get the point. All the acts were great, and even the fans who came out for one specific group agreed that they were loving the other songs and performances.

Amanda, EJ and I chatted up some of the locals and discovered that Florida acts are some of our favorites- go figure. Oh, also, you all LOVE to drunk dial- and have some very interesting pick-up lines when doing so. Now I am a big fan of the drunk dial and texts, but I don't think I'm quite as creative as some others out there. I'm also not as blunt- or graphic- but hey, if it works for you, do it. For tips and tricks next time you may be making a drunk dial or booty call, check out O-Lens (http://orlandocitybeat.metromix.com/bars-and-clubs/olens/orlent-bars-olens-hs,0,5229593.htmlstory?coll=orlnatent-top-promo) to see what some of the more daring drunks do. Don't forget to leave your input on what you say or do when you're dialing those magic numbers at closing time (you can add a comment at the bottom of any of our blogs: http://metromix.blogs.com/the_shock_squad/).

To see some more hot bands, get your tickets NOW to the Florida Music Festival. We've got 3 days of bands and booze. Your OCB Shock Squad will be out flashing and adding to the list of best drunk dials ever. Look for us if you want to provide your tips and tricks on the best lines you've gotten or given. We also want to hear some drunk karaoke, so get out those microphones and Bon Jovi tunes. Dance moves are also appreciated. Bring your best and maybe you'll end up getting flashed by our cameras soon.

XOXO- Dina 

So here's how it all went down...we've got a tent, a bunch of great free stuff-including some killer concert tickets, a diverse assortment of mexican beverages, and enough drunk college kids and kick $#@ bands to have yourself a nice little fiesta. Don Pablo's, or DPs, as I like to call it, throws one helluva Cinco de Mayo bash. The O-Team (Orlando CityBeat powered by MetroMix and O-Rock 1059) co-hosted the 12 hour celebration.

Sombreros and panchos aside, DPs, OCB and O-Rock know how to have a good time. Over 20 local bands and DJs performed, including some favorites like Noon Blue, Dirty Shannon, Last Winter and Oh Romeo! The guys from Noon Blue were nice enough to let us flash 'em with both our O-Lens digital and video cameras, providing some insightful commentary on the history of Cinco de Mayo- which, according to one of our own, is actually a spanish holiday...hmmm....who knew.... (kidding, love ya!).

Mel Taylor and Drew Carr were out introducing the bands and encouraging trouble and drunken antics. While I'd love to tell you what went down, if you weren't there, not only did you miss out on a good time, you missed...wait, that's right, I can't tell you. Check out pictures and video of the event for some of the action, but you won't see the explicit stuff here. I know we're the Shock Squad, but I was pretty shocked by the things people will do for some free stuff. Speaking of free stuff...

Check out our main page (www.orlandocitybeat.metromix.com) and add us as your myspace friends (www.myspace.com/orlandocitybeat) to score concert and movie tickets, among other great giveaways. This week, the OCB powers that be are nice enough to hand out passes to see the Artic Monkeys at the Hard Rock, THISISMYMUSIC 3 CD Release party tix, and...I'm way jealous...FMF (that's Florida Music Festival for the newbies) all -access 3 day passes. For those of you that didn't see the performances at DPs, sign up to try to win the tickets. Not only will some of the bands who played Cinco be hitting the stage again, but Flogging Molly, Big 10-4, and Seven Mary 3 are headlining too. See you at our next event, amigos.

XOXO- Dina