@ Large

The Deal: Bestfriendz, Dynasty 5 and Pinkies Up Productions present TIP-OFF Thursday at Whisky River.

The Good: Pinkies Up Productions, Bestfriendz and Dynasty 5 collaborated last night to kick off the CIAA party weekend, and what a kick-off it was. It was immediately clear upon walking in that the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd had arrived with just one focus: to have a good time. No standing around trying to look cute here. Whether you were walking to the bathroom, trying to order a drink or relaxing in a chair at a reserved table, everyone was head-bobbing, shoulder-bouncing and arm-waving to the backdrop of DJing prowess on display by DJ Skillz. He mixed it up, playing a nonstop, body-rocking variety of current hits like the ubiquitous "Empire State of Mind," old school hits like "PYT" by Michael Jackson, and older school hits like "Candy" by Cameo. Despite the somewhat cramped conditions, which actually were decently navigated with just a little bit of patience, there were no attitudes, no altercations and an all around air of good vibes. And for those looking to rip it up on the dance floor, you weren’t out there long before you had a dance partner joining in with you.

The Bad: Major drama at the door is not unusual when you have large demand and limited space for any event. However, we could have easily been spared wasted chunks out of our lives if the doorman, albeit a nice enough guy and the self-proclaimed guardian of “the list,” had just implemented one simple idea: communication. It was evident that the confusion was not the fault of Pinkies Up, Bestfriendz or Dynasty 5. They knew what was going on and who was supposed to be where. All the doorman had to do was ask them — preferably with haste. From several reports, similar confusion lasted well into the night. Though I did not get his name, a big shout-out to the gentleman with one of the party promotion companies who was standing inside the lobby area and worked to clear up the issues and offered a concession. Additionally, Whisky River seemed short-staffed and a bit disoriented, perhaps not ever having dealt with such a massive crowd before. Well, they have a whole year to figure it out. And please, chill the champagne.

As far as the partygoers themselves, the occasional arm grab by those trying to get your attention as you minded your business walking through the club got to be quite annoying, and the apparent butt grope, as experienced by my cousin, was unreal. (Yes, unfortunately at least one person thinks that is acceptable to do). However, most of the people were polite and acted like they had some home training.

The Pretty: My sorors sure know how to throw a party. In addition to those “pretty girls” of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the place was full of beautiful, fashionable people rocking sport jackets and scarves, stilettos and skirts, sweaters and slacks. Although the failed attempts by women in skinny jeans at riding the mechanical bull was, in fact, not so pretty, it was cool that so many dolled up ladies were at least good sports about trying it. All in all, this party was a great way to jumpstart the weekend of festivities still to come. Should Pinkies Up Productions, Bestfriendz and Dynasty 5 repeat this event next year, I suggest you fall through it. Good music. Good people. Good times.

I can honestly say that Suite Dreams (at Suite at the EpiCentre, if you didn't catch that) saved my night last night.

It's always a good sign to see fairly cute girls in line at the club ... that usually means the hot ones are already inside (and probably stalking professional athletes). There were a few familiar faces from Madden, including the Panthers Tank Tyler, rockin' to Durham's DJ Bro-Rabb. (None as big at Terrell Owens at Luna last night though.)

The party, sponsored by The A-List & The Sol Kitchen, was a beautiful blend of the up-and-coming and middle-aged and accomplished, but it somehow meshed well. Bro-Rabb made sure that nobody felt left out. There was old school, Maze, Prince, Michael Jackson, new school, Drake, Trey Songz, along with West Coast hits, House and Go-Go. He had energy like Martin Lawrence in House Party — I mean literally dropping a record, doing his dance, doing his scratches and even making it rain his mix CDs!

Heated tents let people enjoy the rooftop without freezing their balls off and  the hostesses were hustling with those bottles.

More ironic to me was the fact that no one really seemed to mind being extra close to the person next to them. The dance floor was JAMMED PACKED!

It was probably the darkest Suite has ever been (feel me?) and you know what, I could kinda get used to this.

Let's hope they don't start bullshitting on the dress code after CIAA is over — I'm pretty sure my jeans and Nike Blazers won't be up to snuff afterward.

Wednesday kicked off CIAA week/end in Charlotte but no one seemed to be shaking off the party rust last night.

After leaving the Chrisette Michele show at The Fillmore, the first stop was Alive, (actually I stumbled into Prevue first) where Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. and Fourth Elements had plenty of room to move around. A crowd of all ages, generally older, came to the mix and mingle, but DJ Phalse iD came to party. I was in for a dope old school set but I don't know if the crowd was really  was into it.

Pop Life at Luna was the next stop and like every week, the keyword 'free' assured that shit would be packed. (See photos here.) Add Skillz The DJ + 9th Wonder to that mix and things got dumb packed! Even with an added tent area for overflow with two full bars, capacity was met and exceeded.

Saw a couple of fresh "CIAA weaves" ruined as the ladies waited in the heavy rain (that turned into a wintry mix) in line. Skillz The DJ was on fuckin' fire! I've seen Pop Life rock before but not like this.

Things got kind of out of hand, though, after the Fire Department came through and announced 280 people INSIDE needed to be OUTSIDE for the party to continue — only about 30 left.

In the confusion, more like a clusterfuck, by the door, a Grammy winner had to go get someone to tell the security guard who the fuck he was, among other things, and some dude got jacked up by security and carried out. There was my cue to move on. But everything before that, except for the crowd being packed like the subway, was AWESOME.

Last stop of the night was Dharma Lounge. It wasn't a CIAA party but like all the best things in life, it was free and poppin'. One of the cool things about Dharma is even in the winter the patio is packed and on the inside people dance like nobody's watching.

A couple of people followed me from Luna to Dharma and after adding a little color to the party, literally, they blended seamlessly into the mix with Buckmasterrr blending electronic and hip-hop hits. Cheap drinks ($1.50 High Life, $2 Tallboys + $3 House Liquor) meant even the most budget-conscious partygoer had a drink or two.

Good times.