WMC 09 - March 27

The Ultra Music Festival, the fabulous freak show that has highlighted WMC for the past 11 years, kicked off late Friday afternoon at Bicentennial Park, the perfect place for dance-music fans to roam from tent to tent, stage to stage in search of the right groove.

It's also a chance for those with an outrageous fashion sense to show off: Hundreds of revelers were decked out in garish, futuristic Day-Glo colors, space boots, wigs, masks - you name it. It's a people-watcher's dream.

Early birds got a treat, as techno and house pioneer Josh Wink, who has performed at WMC for the past 17 years, filled one of the main tents from 5 to 6 p.m. with deep, penetrating bass. Also hot were the booming beats of Loco Dice vs. Luciano, the trippy tech-house of Kevens and old-school beats of DJ Romero. 

Soul singer Santigold and her band played a tight, funky set, but seemed a bit out of place on the main stage. And we were excited to see Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell following Santigold, but he was 45 minutes late and we had to leave early to cover another party. 

Oh, well.  

-- MICHAEL HAMERSLY