I went to go see Armin van Buuren @ Bar Rio with Lina, Mike, BPK, Stormy, Jamie, and others. Blake Jarrell opened up and played until 12:40 (!). I was a bit disappointed with his set – it went up and down, and much of the tracks seemed filler-ish.

Then, Armin came on the stage and the mood changed. It wasn’t that packed, so we were able to make it up to the front and stayed there for close to two hours. Being up front makes it so much more personal and you can actually see Armin’s facial expressions and reactions. It’s hard to describe, but it’s a great feeling. Among the tracks he played:

• Perpetuous Dreamer – Sound of Goodbye (Nic Chagall Drumbeat Re-edit)
• Paul van Dyk and Starkillers and Austin Leeds – New York City
• Ronski Speed – The Space We Are (with, amazingly, the lyrics being displayed on the projector to the exact timing of the song)
• Markus Schulz – Cause You Know
• DJ Shah – Who Will Find Me (!)

Throughout the night, I was hoping he would play John O’Callaghan – Big Sky. By 2:30, I was exhausted and headed out. Two minutes later, Jamie called me and told me that he was playing Big Sky! Ah well… 

And Armin acknowledged my red Amnesia – Ibiza shirt at least a couple of times.. it was a fantastic night!  

Although the people at rent @ union bar are friendly and nice, I think I’m going to have to pass up on “paying rent” in the future.

Part of the reason is because of the fact that when you’re inside, it feels as if the air conditioning isn’t even on. Oddly enough, the warm, muggy, humid weather of Houston that greets you when you enter the patio area is even more pleasurable than that of inside the venue. Apparently I’m not the only one that thinks this because it is extremely difficult to navigate your way around the patio area, and there are more people outside then there are inside.

Also, parking always seems to be an issue (some crackhead tried to get us to pay $3 today for a parking spot I know was free). For people that aren’t on the email list, the $10 cover can probably be spent better elsewhere (such as Red Star, or some other large club)

All in all, I think I’ll have to reconsider my plans on going to Rent in the future. It’s a shame, because the place really does have a nice vibe to it.

Shame, get it? How’s that for bad puns?! HA!

View the photos from tonight’s rent and the ones from March’s Rent.

• Park my car at the interpre-parking lot.
• Go with Lina to the Betsey Johnson fashion show at Opus Club.
• Drink.
• Get free cigar (So that’s where my $20 cover went)
• Drink. Close $60 tab.
• Go next door to some place called Jones.
• Drink.
• Pictures anyone?
• Drink. Close $40 tab.
• Go to Elli’s house.
• Drink.
• Leave at 5 am. Pick up car at interpre-parking lot.
• Follow Lina home to make sure she’s okay.
• Get home at 6 am.

Usually, when you arrive someplace early enough that you are the first person to park, you would be led to believe that you will be one of the first people in. That’s not the case at Shame, where the number of “bills” you’re willing to pay the doorman/bouncer is more important then your actual position in line.

I find it incredibly messed up that the supposed “best after hours club in Houston” is all about who you know and how much you’re willing to pay. It works out great for those of us that actually know someone, but for the first time visitors, it’s a pain in the ass.

By the way – we didn’t get in.

In other news, I hung out with Filiz, Asli, and Asli’s boyfriend Shaun yesterday and today. Pictures will be up as soon as I get home.

I’m leaving tomorrow after the panels. I like this whole living alone thing I had going on for a few days. Now I have to go back home. Fortunately, it’s spring break so I can spend some time relaxing (read: sleeping).

And as a side note, the reason for the lack of posts is that I seem to be getting some rebuild errors with Moveable Type. I had to manually edit the (X)HTML for this entry. More updates coming soon, I promise.