Miami takes three-day weekends to the extreme.
But it's Labor Day! Why wouldn't we? The union workers of the 19th Century went through treacherous strikes to get us this extra day of freedom every September. To celebrate, let's just jam-pack a whole month's worth of parties into 72 hours and glorify the fact that we don't have to work on Monday.
From SoBe to downtown, this Labor Day weekend will be a boogie marathon shitshow. No joke ... Make sure to stretch your ass-shaking muscles before heading out. Because with some of the biggest talents in house and techno music, you'll be sure to sweat off some pounds.
See the cut for Crossfade's five best Labor Day dance parties in Miami.
Luciano and Robert Dietz at Arkadia. Friday, September 2, 5 p.m. till 5 a.m., Arkadia, 4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; arkadiamiami.com. Tickets cost $60 via wantickets.com. Twelve hours of Cadenza might seem a bit overwhelming. But this will only be your warmup, so face it like a champ. Making a fourth appearance at the Fontainebleau this year, Luciano will be sure to set the place off. His sets know no boundaries. He'll pull out some vocals by Prince or Björk and lay them down over some hard beats. This show is a definite must this weekend.
Ambivalent & JPLS. Friday, September 2, 9 p.m., Treehouse, 323 23rd St., Miami Beach; 305-674-7447; treehousemiami.com. If you're down for something even harder, and maybe less posh than the Fointanebleau, Ambivalent & JPLS at Treehouse might be the party for you. After a canceled show in July because of an unforeseen power-outage, Ambivalent is back to redeem his set and establish the switch to LINK Fridays at Treehouse. It'll be a powerful, yet sexy storm of minimal house and techno.
Saturday:Guy Gerber. Saturday, September 3, 10 p.m., Electric Pickle, 2826 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-456-5613; electricpicklemiami.com Cafeina, 297 NW 23rd St., Miami; 305-438-0792; cafeinamiami.com. Tickets cost $20 via wantickets.com.
Expect a full house at Electric Pickle this Saturday for the return of Israeli DJ Guy Gerber. Gerber is sure to whip out some tracks from his new collaboration album with P. Diddy or whatever they call him these days. An unlikely couple making sick tunes. Rad.
Joris Voorn and Nic Fanciulli. Saturday, September 3, 11 p.m., Mansion, 1235 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-532-1525; mansionmiami.com. Tickets cost $20 via wantickets.com. Saved and Rejected Records have been having a dirty affair this summer with incredible productions and back-to-back sets by Joris Voorn and Nic Fanciulli. Get some serious action at Mansion on Saturday with filthy tech house from this season's hottest and heaviest tag team.
Sunday:Loco Dice and Guti. Sunday, September 4, 11 p.m., Space, 34 NE 11th St., Miami; 305-375-0001; clubspace.com. Tickets cost $30 to $40 via wantickets.com.
By Sunday, you'll need a surge of adrenaline for this party. But it's gonna be the grandest of grand finales. Last time Loco Dice was at Space -- don't quote us on this -- he played for a bajillion hours. Expect to stagger out of Space like 4 p.m.-ish. Opener Guti is quite the performer too, playing a live set of all his own music. If you can only afford one party this weekend, this is the one to splurge on. It's a monster booking.
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