Fighting the glossy, spray-on tanner attending, overpriced Winter Music Conference for five years now is the all-night party known as Infiltrate. Infiltrate 5.0 went down this year at the Soho Lounge (what didn’t go down there?) in the Miami Design District on Saturday night.
On the flyer it proudly boasted, “no VIP, no badges, no bullshit.” So, while one could pay an exuberant amount for VIP status at Ultra before sundown, you couldn’t buy that status here, let alone find a glow stick.
Dozens of acts representing the local and national electric underground scene were all present and accounted for in one of four different performance areas. Outside, an airy patio area was constructed where DJs spun an eclectic array of music. Inside, various upcoming DJs spun in the blue room to a sparse, relaxed crowd. In the orange room is where you found acts like Otto von Schirach, Doormouse, Vector Weirdos (Phoenecia and Dino Felipe), and $ki-Mall. Upstairs, the largest and most packed area, was reserved for the hip-hop lineup.
Back downstairs in the orange room, where the smell of cat urination filled the air from the week’s multiple parties, is where some of Miami’s favorites could be witnessed. $ki-Mall, host of WVUM’s “Electric Kingdom,” performed an exciting set that tied in samples of classic rock and metal bands. T
The crowd danced with giddy excitement as they threw up their arms and bounced around. $ki-Mall’s actions reflected the crowd, playing air-guitar and jumping around behind his blipping laptop, making for the highlight of the night. Orlando native Randy Garcia, who offered a mellower set that gave way to Doormouse’s bomb-dropping digital assault, followed up his set.
Dan Doormouse, dressed in a Slayer t-shirt and cowboy hat, screamed until his veins were popping out of his neck. He literally took off his pants and started doing jumping jacks and push-ups during his performance. Doormouse put on a visually stimulating performance. Everyone cheered him on as he spit up into the air then caught it back in his mouth. He frantically danced, as if hoping for a heart attack.
At the end of his set, Doormouse shared a critical poem with the crowd that connected dots between Miami’s music scene and a fashion show.
Security was tight and police were patrolling the parking lot. T
he party raged on clear until the wee hours of the night. The resistance to the Winter Music Conference is alive and well. As the WMC and Ultra get bigger and bigger, expect Infiltrate 6.0 to do the same.
– Kira Wisniewski