Groove Line

"And that's a wrap!"
Putting the finishing touches on Fireball 2005, the Hearts Foundation recently had a double-header of events with their Gala at the Notebaert Nature Museum on May 12 and then Fireball Appreciation Party at Circuit on May 14. The Gala had a delicious spread, plenty of drinks, and presentations from this year's very worthy recipients of the proceeds raised from Fireball. The dance party at Circuit – with DJ Kimberly S providing the music – was a fun-filled gathering of the many volunteers who helped make the 2005 edition of Fireball a rousing success.

New Kids on the Sunday Night Block
Sunday nights continues to undergo radical change in Chicago for those looking to dance to the very end of the weekend. Crobar's weekly offering has been gone for a while now and upstarts such as downtown's Y (with DJ Luis M), Hydrate (with DJ Greg Haus and just announced DJ Chris Eterno) and Cocktail (with Tom McBride) are finding their Sunday niches with varying degrees of success. Two new options for those who are serious about their house music appear to be Spin with the "Sunday Night Hustle" featuring DJ Doug Brandt and "Flawless" out in Wicker Park's at Four. Groove Line will be doing some extensive Sunday night reconnaissance work and will report back later this summer.

IML/Memorial Day Weekend Options. Lots of them!
With all the men and women of leather in town, there are plenty of opportunities this Memorial Day weekend to shake your groove things. An early start to the weekend is suggested as Deep Dish (Sharam to be specific) will be at Sound-Bar. DJ Lydia Prim highlights Friday night with her appearance at Hydrate while Saturday night explodes with homegrown talent turning it out. Halsted Street fave Chris Eterno does it all proper like at Spin; Ralphi Rosario is at the controls at Hydrate; and Circuit hosts the Military Ball presented by Rentboy.com with DJ Hugo , a bunch of porn stars, and lots of merriment.

Sunday starts off with the Hearts Foundation's annual Hot Tea at Ontourage with DJ Paulo and ends with the IML Victory Party at the House of Blues with DJ Bill Bennett .

The exhausting weekend concludes with DJ Matthew Harvat (aka Circuit Mom) spinning the Black & Blue Ball at Excalibur on Monday night.

Escaping The City?
The summer season kicks off in Saugatuck, Michigan over the Memorial Day weekend with the Dunes Resort in full operation. Amy and Freddy will be presenting their live musical magic up in the Cabaret and the likes of DJs Wendy Hunt , Don Bishop , and Mark Vallese will be handling dance floor duty. The after-hours Farm Party is on Saturday night, May 28, with DJ John Olson.

Shameless Plug
After you recover from your Memorial Day weekend of partying, drop by the Museum of Contemporary Art on June 4 for the Pride Edition of First Fridays . This event is being co-hosted by the Center on Halsted and yours truly will be the DJ. For more info go to www.mcachicago.org.