Scene in the Tropics

Big Shot: Billy Joel's surprise performance at the Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show

From hip replacement to hipster, Billy Joel showed up on his bike Saturday at the Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show, where he thrilled the crowd when he got up and sang with a local band, The Whipping Post. Said event organizer Clare Frost, "He walked through the crowd without people really knowing who he was and looked at the over 230 vintage bikes on display and talked to a few of our vendors and out of the blue, he walks up on stage and stood there facing the lead singer, Bob. Bob did a double take and Billy asked him if he could jam withthem. Only about 25 were around them at first but I guess with Facebook, about 100 more showed up, and when he got off the stage after about 3 songs, (none of his), he signed autographs and had pics taken. He then got about halfway across the field, got lost in the crowd, got on [his] bike...and left." How Eddie and The Cruisers of him.

Dwyane Wade receives $229k+ 2012 McLaren as 30th birthday gift

[Photo/Bob Metelus]

In keeping with the whole 1%, and the rich just keep getting richer thing, for his 30th birthday, Dwyane Wade received a brand new, 2012 McLaren MP4-12C from Ken Gorin, president and CEO of Coral Gables luxe car dealership The Collection, who was not so surprisingly a sponsor in Wade's multi-sponsored birthday bash last night at The Setai (see: Hennessy, Belvedere, Dom Perignon--who gifted Wade with a 1982 vintage, Hublot Watches--who gave him a King Power Unico Gold Pave watch worth some peoples' annual salaries, and many more), attended by his Heat pals, Usher, Flo Rida, Rick Ross, Common, Kelly Rowland, and T.I., among others.

The custom ordered car was actually designed by Wade in "Fire Black" with two tone "Saddle Tan/Carbon Black" leather interior. The one-of-a-kind 12C boasts custom alloy wheel center caps with Wade’s signature logo as well as a specialty “WADE” emblem for the rear, WADE Limited Edition side badges and dedication plates on the inside door panels that read "Hand assembled in the United Kingdon in recognition of Dwyane Wade's 30th Birthday."  

We asked Christy Cartaya, The Collection's director of PR, whether the car was actually a gift or a purchase, to which she replied, "It was a gift – Dwyane is our brand ambassador and spokesperson. We consider him part of our 'family'." Apparently so do many other companies as well.

LIV possibly partnering with Amnesia; Chris Paciello staying put at Delano (for now)

Buzz on the Talk Nightlife blog is that LIV has bought 50% of Amnesia, which would have made sense before its opening with all the hype about superstar DJ partner Bob Sinclar, but beyond the one time J-Lo sighting, Amnesia has kind of been, well, forgettable. As for Sinclar, he's allegedly out.  Rumor also had it that Chris Paciello, who was hired by The Light Group to consult on their projects FDR and Bianca at the Delano, will be jumping ship and heading over there. Not so, says Paciello, who tells us, "My sole focus right now is launching Bianca and FDR at Delano with the Light Group. Any other rumors are premature and have no basis." Emphasis on right now, as we have it on excellent authority that Paciello is, indeed, looking towards a LIVely future. We contacted LIV's David Grutman, who told us they are "Definitely looking at future partnerships in 2012 but nothing is done yet."

LeBron James makes it a New Year's 'rock'-in eve, getting engaged at Shelborne

 

LeBron James is no longer a free agent. The Heat player proposed to longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson with, says our spy, "a huge pear-shaped rock" at a New Year's Eve dinner at the Shelborne hosted by Remy Martin V, Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

While the dinner started three hours late and appetizers were still being served at 11:45 p.m., guests including model Jessica White and Nas, enjoyed "plenty of Remy" while waiting for their food, leading to one unfortunate guest losing her balance and the creation of a new catch phrase "Blame it on the Remy."

Following the engagement, James, who turned 27 on Friday, was surprised with a tremendous birthday cake with "LJ" on the top. While making her way through the crowd, Queen Latifah stopped to give James and mother Gloria a "quick group hug," ultimately causing a "huge traffic jam." Latifah along with Shelborne's New Year's Eve headliner Lauryn Hill, sang happy birthday.

Also in attendance, James's kids, eating French fries in between one on one time with daddy, who "immediately picked them up and swung them around right after the proposal." Following the dinner, James and crew headed to the massively crowded SL Nighclub pool party where they conducted the New Year's countdown. Nothing like the romantic backdrop of a South Beach New Year's Eve party to propose. Then again, it was a private dinner within a public party. Nonetheless, we wish James and Brinson a major mazel tov.

Birthday cake by Divine Delicacies

Beyonce dumps Jay Z's dog houses and three Miami Beach condos

You have to wonder what the purpose was for that tiny little studio Beyonce sold at the Green Diamond on December 12---shoes, weaves, Jay-Z when he was naughty? Whatever the case, that so-called cabana was nothing, y'all. Turns out the expectant mother unloaded 3 direct oceanfront units combined to make a total of 5,520 square feet and two cabanas in the Green Diamond. Though she paid $2.395 million back in 2002 for all three units, purchased directly from the developer, she sold 'em all for $2.9 million, according to Kevin Tomlinson, vice president of ONE Sotheby's International Realty. The cabanas were sold to two different buyers who own condos at the Diamonds, and the condos were bought for $2.7 by Miamians Martiniano and Sofia Perez after just two months on the market, Tomlinson said. Contrary to TMZ's reports that Beyonce paid $465,000 for a 190 square foot studio she then sold for $110,000, Beyonce cashed in bigtime, adding to her ever growing net worth. As for the reports of the Z's purchasing another place in Miami--not so says an inside source, not so at all.

Big hair, big egos & Miami posing as Hollywood: typical day or Rock of Ages trailer?

Here's the official trailer of Rock of Ages, the Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Paul Giamatti, Russell Brand, Mary J. Blige, Catherine Zeta-Jones and more movie filmed in Miami, which, in not too big of a departure, masked itself as gritty '80s Hollywood, CA for a bit. We had a grittier, more surreptitious trailer from the set of the movie, but Big Brother--er, Warner Brothers blocked it. Enjoy or something.

Celebrity magnet Beacher's Madhouse honing in on permanent Miami location

Big things come in small packages, indeed, especially when it comes to the celeb-packed Beacher's Madhouse, the bawdy sideshow currently housed in Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel, where anything goes--especially height restrictions. We have it on excellent authority that the show's creator Jeff Beacher, has been taking meetings in Miami for the past couple of months with several local hotel groups, looking for a permanent location for his madness. His partner and creative director Kelly Osbourne was in town a few weeks ago to scout locations. The theatre in Los Angeles has attracted every celebrity from Johnny Depp and Sandra Bullock to the young stars like Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, both who recently celebrated their 19th birthdays there. Following his breakup with Courteney Cox and prior to his breakdown, David Arquette was spending lots of time amongst the show's burlesque dancers and dozens of little people performers including Mini Nicki Minaj, Mini Rhianna, and a mini mixologist making "Mar Tinys." Small folk and enormous egos. Sounds perfect for Miami. We'll keep you posted.

Name droppers & eavesdroppings: #ArtBaselMiamiBeach

Photo/Manny Hernandez

For real running Art Basel commentary, follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/lesleyabravanel. For party wrap ups, this would be the place if you're into the bold faced sort of thing. Speaking of bold faced, there are plenty of those down here with more on the way. Among those, Robin Thicke, who is performing at a private Basel party Friday in the Design District and, for those longing for the Art Basel of 10 years ago, we hear the Hilton sisters are on some guest lists as well. What follows is a dispatch of sorts from the trendy trenches. Enjoy or something.

• On Tuesday night, (BELVEDERE) RED joined Ferrari and Interview Magazine in celebrating Art Basel 2011 with an exclusive bash in the parking garage at 1111 Lincoln Road.  Guests enjoyed music by DJ Solange Knowles and a surprise performance by singer Janelle Monae, who took over the stage and performed her top hits. The see and be scene set also previewed Ferrari’s signature car models, which were strategically placed around the 7^th floor parking lot. Guests in attendance included Peter Brandt, Stephanie Seymour, Wendi Murdoch, Mia Moretti and Caitlin Moe, Dasha Zhukova, Damien Hirst, Brett Ratner, Aby Rosen, a very robust Val Kilmer and other art world influencers in town for the week’s events. Overheard at this party: "After what he said [a gay slur and TMI about his alleged sexual partners], Brett Ratner will have a hard time getting a date with one of those Ferraris over there."

• The DEWAR’S-hosted MOCA North Miami/Vanity Fair Art Basel kick-off bash Tuesday night was like an old issue of W Magazine--when it was all loose papers, with NYC heavyweights including Donna Karan, who debuted her pop-up store, proceeds from which benefit charities in Haiti, Calvin Klein, Blaine Trump, Julian Schnabel, Ingrid Sischy, Sandy Brandt, Tamara Mellon, Bruce Weber, Nan Bush more. Honorees were Sischy and Brandt, of Vanity Fair and ardent Art Basel supporters. Said Sischy, "There is no doubt that Sandy is my better half." Brandt, for the uninitiated, was once married to mogul Peter Brandt, who has had a rocky marriage to supermodel Stephanie Seymour-all of whom are in town. The haves then left the have nots for a private dinner at the manse of philanthropists and NFAA trustees Sandra and Stephen Muss. Eavesdropping of the event: "There's Christian Slater. He used to be famous until he moved here and dated a local. Now he's just one of us." 

• Wednesday night proved chaotic, with the fire marshalls shutting down the entrances to the Art Basel Vernissage and the Shelborne Hotel grand reopening and Real Housewives of New York City's scene seeking housewife, Ramona Singer stopping to pose for pix. And while a slew of random celebs turned out everywhere---Luke Wilson at Vernissage once the flood gates were reopened and Alanis Morrissette with artist James Rosenquist at the Shelborne, the A-list seemed to convene at The Raleigh for the Maybach dinner and the Jeffrey Deitch MOCA LA party, including Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Parasiting off their A-list glow were Paris and Nicky Hilton. Also there: Naomi Campbell. 

Photo/Meg Pukel

Photo/Seth Browarnik, duh

• Art of Night at the Shelborne celebrated Seth Browarnik's celeb photos. Among those spotted there were Ivana Trump and D. Wade's main squeeze Gaby Union.

Photo/Meg Pukel

• But back to Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas. The couple was seen once again Thursday morning at the PULSE VIP brunch at the Ice Palace, and in the afternoon at Wynwood Walls, Goldman Properties’ outdoor street art park, featuring 40 of the world’s most famous urban artists. Jessica Goldman toured them throughout the walls for 45 minutes. Director Brett Ratner and art collector/photog Jean Pigozzi joined them. While Douglas looks fantastic, Zeta Jones, we're told is still chain smoking ciggies all over town despite her hubby's recent bout with throat cancer. The couple was also seen having a late snack at Joe's Stone Crab Thursday.

Photo/Meg Pukel

• As for Real Housewives of New York's Ramona Singer, she's in town with her hubby Mario (and photographed at left with her number one fan, Miami Herald biz writer, Brett Graff) and will be attending the Rock-n-Art Basel event tomorrow night at The Catalina, where cameras will be capturing the madness for an upcoming episode of the retweaked Bravo show.  Also spotted at The Catalina, actor Adrien Brody, who was also at WALL at the W Wednesday night, as were those Hilton sisters.

• Brody was also seen late Thursday afternoon at Pulse as were, most randomly, Jane Seymour and Diddy in  a sling--separately--we think. 

• At the uber A-list Dom Perignon dinner at The Dutch at the W South Beach Thursday hosted by W developmer Aby Rosen and his socialite shrink wife Samantha Boardman, we witnessed all walks of life, from Vanity Fair's Bob Colacello, Work of Art host China Chow, socialite Blaine Trump, and Andre Balazs, to the very ubiquitous headband sporting Paris and Nicky Hilton. Incidentally when those two walked in, the men standing with Pat Riley and Micky Arison started snapping photos with their cells. The Hilton star quickly faded when Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones walked in and schmoozed and eventually sat with Arison and Riley, among some other heavy hitters from NY. The party later moved to Wall at the W, hosted by, among other folk, ex Paris Hilton beau Stavros Niarchos. Among the eavesdroppings we caught at this very loud, crowded event included the fact that Twist was the de rigueur spot for NYC elite to after party during Art Basel and this little gem from a dandy looking man wth a British accent, "So many ****ing ***ots on South Beach and not one has hit on me. It's ok, though, they're only after money." Not at the dinner but at the after party at WALL: Sean Penn. As we exited the dinner we saw actress Gina Gershon schmoozing with W hotel staff.

Photo/Manny Hernandez

The following photos of the Aby Rosen dinner at The Dutch are by Billy Farrell/BFAnyc.com

•On Friday, it was back to the W for a party at Mr Chow hosted by gallerist Andy Valmorbida, record exec Jimmy Iovine, Sean “Diddy” Combs, in collaboration with VistaJet, celebrating the art book Culo by Mazzucco, a fancy Art Basel way of saying 'ass' by a famous fotog. Anyway, this party was undoubtedly the Star Wars bar of Basel, with the motliest of crews yet, from NSync's Lance Bass and Girls Gone Wild's Joe Francis to, yep, those sisters, who seem to have cloned themselves in order to attend every. single. toilet lid opening party. Diddy was somewhere in there, too, as was Will Smith and actor Adrien Brody. A press release also says that Robin Thicke was there, but he was down in the Design District performing at the Casa FENDI Beats By Dre event. Soundtrack was stellar, crashers were aplenty. Oh, and Naomi Campbell entered through the back entrance by the garbage. Because she felt like making an entrance. There were so many scene suckers in Mr Chow that the best place for air was, ironically, the smoking section. The following pix from the party are from Getty.

•Adrien Brody, incidentally, may be the only celebrity to have actually spent a dime this past weekend and bought, wait for it, art, spending upwards of $20,000 for this piece by up and coming street artist Alec Monopoly at Avant Gallery. Brody, meanwhile, may be our fave celeb thus far: while hanging out poolside Friday at the Delano for the Visionaire party, Brody, bombared by photographers was overheard saying "I'm not doing this," as he fled the scene. Those who were doing that, however, included Bass, actor Brian Greenberg of How to Make It in America, and Grey's Anatomy's Jesse Williams.

•Selling his own art was Nas, who, while performing “Made You Look,” at Ricochet Thursday night for the Spotify event, picked up the paintbrush and crafted his first ever masterpiece. The painting, auctioned during the show, sold for $14K, with all proceeds going to charity.

•Meanwhile, while his famous friends were busy Baseling, Cee-Lo Green spent Friday night bowling at Lucky Strike with friends. Art Basel? Forget you.

•A very robust Val Kilmer checked out the new collection of Phulga magical flea sculptures at Miguel Paredes' Wynwood gallery with 3 females on Friday night.

•Chicago-based artist Dzine converted a room in The Standard Hotel to replicate his living room growing up, where his mother would take nail appointments. Among those seen having their nails done: Academy Award-winning actress Tilda Swinton, whom we'd love to actually see photographed against a neon background next to George Hamilton. (Photo: Dzine's Imperial Nails Presented by Perrier at The Standard Spa/Chris Mosier-SocietePerrier).

• Moby and Will Smith were both seen separately at Art Miami. Smith, who knew, is an art fan was seen Thursday night at the Claire Oliver Gallery at Art Miami, where he was tooling around with fair director, Nick Korniloff.

• Jumping on the Basel-bandwagon was the big birthday bash of songwriter/producer Rico Love, whose Friday night party was co-hosted by Usher, who, uh, generously gave away one of his 900 Grammys as a gift. Among those there: Mary J. Blige, Deborah Cox, Chris Bosh and Clinton Sparks. (Photo/David Manero Restaurants)

 
• As much as this image makes us want to watch Growing Pains reruns, Robin, the son of Alan Thicke, brought the house down at the Fendi Casa Beats by Dr. Dre (not there) party in the Design District in a way that would make devout Christian Kirk Cameron blush. (Photo/Patrick McMullan)

The list: celebby Art Basel parties you can and can't get into

 

The list is growing longer than the collective facial hair on the neo hippies at Occupy Wall Street. But this is no hacky sack tourney, folks. This is Art Basel Miami Beach, where the 1% rub exfoliated elbows with the 99%, or, rather, the 10% of that 99% that manages to get into the parties and events. Says one Manhattan-based art world insider who preferred to remain anonymous, "Art Basel is just another thing ruined just like Sundance." Speaking of all things wrecked, what follows is by no means a comprehensive list of Basel-bombast, but, rather, a list of celebrity-related parties, concerts, events and kibbitzing opportunities for the haves and have nots in no particular order. Keep checking back as the list is guaranteed to go on endlessly.

The Have Nots (Strictly Invitation)

In celebration of its Design District pop-up shop, UK brand Pringle of Scotland, featuring the never-before-seen 'liamgillickforpringleofscotland' Capsule Collection by Liam Gillick is throwing a cocktail party on December 2nd from 8:30pm - 10pm that will be co-hosted by actress Tilda Swinton, who happens to be the face of the brand. Location not yet revealed.

Bing, the official sponsor of Art of Night events at the not yet completely renovated Shelborne, will host what they are calling the hottest Basel event, a party 8 p.m. on December 2 featuring a special DJ set by hip hop artist Theophilus London, who opens for the night’s main event, a performance by Young the Giant.

A swank, chichi party at Mr Chow at the W on Friday, December 2 hosted by Vista Jet will honor gallerist Andy Valmorbida, artist Raphael Mazzucco and Executive Editors Jimmy Iovine and Sean “Diddy” Combs with a presentation of works from their new book, Culo by Mazzucco. Yes,you read right, Diddy Daddy Combs is now an editor, too.

Having not too much to do with art in the classic sense, Diddy, Usher and Mary J. Blige are celebrating the 29th birthday of the producer and songwriter Rico Love on Friday, December 2nd at Vic & Angelo’s in South Beach.

Rupert's wife Wendi Murdoch is an investor in Art.sy, the so-called Pandora for art, and will be co-hosting a Louis Vuitton-sponsored beachside barbecue for the site Wednesday, November 30 at Soho Beach House along with Russian philanthropist, entrepreneur, model, and more Dasha Zhukova and artist and site's founder Carter Cleveland.  

New York real estate tycoon Aby Rosen and socialite psychiatrist wife Samantha Boardman are hosting their A+ list art world dinner on Thursday, December 1 at The Dutch at the W South Beach. 

More socialite mayhem, this time sponsored by Dom Pérignon and hosted by young socialites including curator Alex Dellal, Stavros Niarchos (yes, Paris Hilton's ex) and Vito (son of artist/director Julian Schnabel, Thursday, December 1st at WALL at W South Beach. 

Artist Nick Cave will be honored at a private party on Friday, December 2 at FENDI Casa in the Design District. And although the event is hosted by Beats by Dr. Dre, which, according to Google, are just headphones, Dr. Dre will not be there. 

On Thursday, December 1st, at 6pm, The Shelborne's beachside taco and tequila bar, Lucy's Cantina Royale, will host a screening of Limelight, by its subject Peter Gatien's daughter, Jen, and Alfred Spellman & Billy Corben of Miami-based media studio, Rakontur. Following the screening, there will be a swank St. Tropez-themed dinner for celebrated design duo and HGTV reality show subjects Bob & Cortney Novogratz, who have enlisted 10 artists to reinterpret 10 iconic chairs in a program called THE CHAIR PROJECT. The dinner will feature a performance by genre-transcending pianist, ELEW,  who toured with Josh Groban and will perform an hour-long set of jazz, rock and pop on a custom-created Yamaha piano.

Also at the Shelborne, this time November 30, is a photo exhibition by Miami-based celeb (don't call him a paparazzo) photog Seth Browarnik, who will celebrate his opening with a splashy Susanne Bartsch-produced spectacular following a private dinner by magazine publisher and man-about-towns Jason Binn.

Actress Shenae Grimes will show Travelers, her photo exhibit benefiting My Friends Place, a homeless shelter in Hollywood, CA,  at the Sanctuary hotel (the sister to its original venue, the Shelborne, which isn't entirely ready for its close up) on Saturday, December 3.  Also appearing: Mark Singer, director of Dark Days, an award winning documentary about a group of people living in NYC's underground railroad system also known as the Freedom Tunnel, which will be screened at the event. Music by the aforementioned Theophilus London. 

  Designer Gareth Pugh and actress/model Byrdie Bell will host a dinner celebrating 10 years of Art Basel Miami Beach at Baoli Vita on Saturday, December 3. We're told this one have a high celeb to non celeb ratio.

Twin brothers, Dean and Dan Caten of fashion label DSQUARED are hosting a cocktail confab and dinner on Friday, December 2 at Of the approximately 75 so-called VIP guests, several are expected to be famous.   

Interview magazine is hosting a big party along with Ferrari, mogul Peter M. Brant and Sotheby’s Tobias Meyer, in honor of Ferrari’s Chairman, Luca di Montezemolo, on Tuesday, November 29th at a private home on Indian Creek Island. The party will feature the unveiling of the new Ferrari 458 Spider; a premiere screening of RPM, the new 3D video installation by artist Marco Brambilla; and a surprise musical guest.

Uber producer Timbaland has a fancy for Bollywood and as such, has teamed up with artist Amrita Sen, whose Bollydoll label and artwork based on it will debut along with Timba's B-wood inspired tunes at a private party (sponsored, of course, by illy) Wednesday, November 30 at the B Bar at The Betsy. "I’ve always wanted to bring Bollywood music to America and Europe and make it mainstream,”  Timbaland explains, “Bollywood music is really different  - song structure, chords and vocal techniques - so it’s hard to make it work in music as we normally hear it on the radio. When Amrita came to me to talk about what she was doing with Bollydoll, I thought now this is the best way to present this sound.”

Last year, ping pong aficionado Susan Sarandon was at the Delano for the first ever MOCA Spin Galactic party and ping pong tourney. This year, Sarandon will be back to sit in a cabana while hipsters go head to head at this year's party and tourney Saturday, December 3, this time at The Standard.

Russell Simmons and his brother Danny along with (sponsor alert!) Bombay Sapphire will host the finals of the Artisan Series, which seeks out the next big things in visual arts, at the DuPont Building downtown on Friday, December 2. 

Montblanc is honoring CEO of DACRA and Co-Founder of Design Miami Craig Robins with the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award presented by Pharrell Williams at a chichi dinner Thursday, December 1 at the Moore Building. Here's the list of "anticipated" guests: Christian Louboutin, Russell Simmons, Elle Macpherson, Nadja Swarovski, Silvia Fendi, Zaha Hadid, Mayor Tomas Regalado, Ella Cisneros, Stefano Tonchi, Didier & Clemence Krzentowski, Patrick Seguin, Patrick Houel, Carlos Ferrater, Borja Ferrater, Lord and Lady Foster, Rikrit Taravanjia, David Adjaye, Nick Pritzker, Konstantin Grcic, Maarten Baas, Campana Brothers, Jack Tilton, Rosa de la Cruz, Alistair Gordon, Maarten Baas, Mickey Wolffson and more.

One of the most anticipated parties of Art Basel is Jeffrey Deitch and LA MOCA's Beach Party at The Raleigh, Wednesday, November 30 featuring DJ set by 2MANYDJS and a performance by Soulwax.

Also at the Raleigh for celebs and VIPs only, Architectural Digest is converting the back Oasis area into a lounge with free food and drink from Friday through Sunday. Must have bold faced name and proof of such to even go near it.

Andre Balazs, who is a celebrity and model magnet himself, hosts the Dzine Installation launch at his very own hotel, The Standard, Friday night (December 2).

Artist Domingo Zapata, whose 10 pieces of work were purchased by Johnny Depp at an October showing in LA, will present his show, Dangerous Things, at the Delano Saturday, December 3, and a decent celebrity turn out is expected. Besides Depp, Sofia Vergara, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Orlando Bloom own Zapata originals.         

Can't get into Le Baron at The Florida Room? Then try your luck at Le Baron's second pop up club, this time in the bowels of the Shelborne Hotel in the once dingy space we fondly know and love as Studio, the place where karaoke was cool before it was cool--that is, if it ever was cool. Paris-Paris, a cabaret-themed club, is said to recreate the Parisian club of the same name that closed its doors in 2005. Makes us want to belt out a few bars from the Catherine Deneuve/Maclolm McLaren tune of the same name.

The Haves (No invite necessary)

A free concert by Special Disco Version (James Murphy & Pat Mahoney of LCD Soundsystem) at 10 p.m. Thursday, December 1 at Grand Central thanks to TOYOTA. Also on the bill: The Black Lips, a DJ set by Midnight Surfer and a special, yet to be announced surprise guest. To get in, RSVP at www.uptheantics.com/discobasel.

Spotify’s “Art Loves Music” (sponsored by Perrier and 42Below) at Ricochet Lounge featuring performances by Nas, Theophilus London, TV on the Radio, and Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings December 1-4. No cover and open to the public. For more information,contact 305.673.3873 or visit www.ricochetlounge.com.

Steinway Piano of Miami presents a Pop Up Piano Miami launch event featuring live performance by Jacob Jeffries Band at 11 p.m. at Louis Bar Lounge. Thursday, December 1. Cover is $25

SCOPE opening party hosted by the aforementioned Byrdie Bell with sounds by DJ Mick Boogie, 11 p.m. Thursday, December 1 at SET. Cover is $25.

“Dreams will not be Forgotten” Screening Afterparty hosted by producer, America’s Next Model’s Nigel Barker along with Belvedere RED. Sounds by DJ N’Dy 11 p.m. Friday, December 2 at SET. Cover is $25.

SCOPE closing party with sounds by Silver Medallion & DJ Equal, 11 p.m. Saturday, December 3 at Mokai.  Cover is $25.

Moby will spin at 11 p.m. Saturday, December 3 at Mansion. Cover is $30.

HGTV personality David Bromstad of Color Splash Miami will celebrate his first open-to-the-public art exhibition, titled “Body, Money, Death,”  from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. December 2 and 3 at the Z Ocean Hotel.  

DEWAR’S Scotch Whisky  honors International Vanity Fair editors Ingrid Sischy and Sandra Brant as well as  15 years of MOCA and 10 years of Art Basel Miami Beach from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, November 29 at at the museum. Also happening there that night: the opening of Donna Karan's Urban Zen pop-up shop. Non MOCA-members can get in for $25. 

Although there'll be a private reception for the opening on Tuesday, November 29, Lincoln Road design store NEST, along with owner Sara Colombo, will debut Jazz & Models, a collection of works by legendary photographer Marco Glaviano, who, in his two decades, has snapped shots of Cindy Crawford, Paulina Porizkova, Stephanie Seymour and, on the jazzy side, Chet Baker, Sonny Rollins and Dizzy Gillsepie, among others. Exhibition is on display at the store through the Spring.

From 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, December 2, the Arsht Center is hosting an art-themed version of their Food Truck Fridays, featuring food, art, and a free performance at 1 p.m. on one of Steinway's Pop Up pianos by the aforementioned ELLEW.

Tickets are on sale at www.bardotmiami.showclix.com for Bardot's Basel line up which is as follows: DJ set and performance by Macy Gray, Martin Luther and the Roosevelt Collier Trio on Wednesday, November 30; MillionYoung and Neon Indian on December 1. Tickets are $47; Intimate Session with Moby (Live Acoustic Band) & Art Presentation from his book Destroyed Sounds by Gigamesh on December 2. Tickets are $48; and, on Saturday, December 3, DFA's (Death From Above) Official "Art Basel Bash" celebrating 10 years of Music DFA Secret Show.

From midnight until the following day on Thursday, December 1 (technically Friday the 2nd), Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears will perform at an Art Basel all nighter, the Boffo + David Mason Chlopecki Slick It Up Party at the Lords South Beach. Joining Shears will be Jeremy Ingvall in a duo known as Crystal Pepsi. Gender bender Amanda Lepore hosts. Bar is open from midnight until 1 a.m.  No cover, just show up, they tell us.

Same goes for the party Friday, December 2 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday night at Lords South Beach Gold Bar hosted by Tom & Abi of Gayletter.com.

Not quite a party but a respite from exactly that, YogArt is a mashup between, yep, yoga and art, featuring live music by Trevor Hall from November 30-December 4 at the Loews. Expected at one of the sessions is Lenny Kravitz. There are both sunrise and sunset sessions and a portion of the proceeds will go to benefit DASH--no, not the Kardashian boutique but the Design Architecture Senior High. For tickets and schedule, go to www.yogartevent.com.

The Miami Art Museum is actually allowing you to pay to crash their gala after party Saturday night, which sort of defeats the purpose, but it would be nice to see if they can actually squeeze $150 out of some of Miami's more shameless party crashers. Taking place from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. in the Fontainebleau's Glimmer Ballroom, the Crash the Ball after party will feature DJ duo Andrew Andrew and a motley crew of guest hosts includng Steve Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins. Oh, and art too. For ticket info, call 305-375-5935 or events@miamiartmuseum.org

British hot spot Cirque du Soir will take over Mansion on Wednesday, November 30 . One night only. Go to www.mansionmiami.com or www.cirquedusoir.com for more info.

 

Art Basel Miami Beach invites: the real works of art

It's not long before the who's who in the art world swarms to Miami like Kardashians to TV cameras. And while there will no doubt be a motley crew of A-list celebrities, indie bands whose songs play on Gossip Girl, and real life, big money socialites out and about, remind yourselves that it's all about the art. Just 12 days away from the big opening and we've already received a year's worth of emails touting all sorts of exhibitions, parties, parties, parties and, oh yes, exhibitions as the ones to be at. The ironic hipster gathering at the 7-11 on Alton and 15th sounds particularly stellar. But again, it's about the art. And discovered in those emails—the 30 or so that we've spared from the recycle bin, was the inspiration to create our own art. Presenting the Scene in the Tropics Running Art Basel Miami Beach Invitation Word/Name Tally Spectacular, in which from now until the big event is over, we will list a count of the most used and overused words and phrases in each and every invitation. We'll also list celebrity names, because name dropping is indeed, a true form of art, which is different from those pieces of work who are otherwise known as name droppers. We're especially hopeful that we get to use the (non) word/name Sucklord in the coming days. Check back from time to time to see which words and names are debuting and, of them, which are most ubiquitous.

iconic 2

famed 1

exciting 1

reimagined 1

rebranded 1

private 3

invite only 11

VIP 5

DJ 15

fashionable 1

tastemakers 4

the who's who 15

pop up 3

original water of disco 1

official sponsor 10

Tilda Swinton 1

Moby 1

Special Disco Version 1

The Black Lips 1

Midnight Surfer 1

surprise guest 1

Nigel Barker 1

Theophilus London 1

Young the Giant 1 

Silver Medallion 1

Mick Boogie 1 

beats by Dr. Dre (as in the headphones, not the man) 1

Nick Cave 1

Alex Dellal 1

Stavros Niarchos 1

Vito Schnabel 1

Aby Rosen 1

Samantha Boardman 1

Dom Perignon 1

Ruinart 1

Veuve Cliquot 1