Getting Social in the City...
Two events made the Eastern Market come alive Friday night and RDW found itself within walking distance of both of them. First, Shed 3 was oh so City Social for the Born and Raised Detroit Foundation's summer fund raising event. While taking copious notes about this worthwhile organization's ongoing efforts to encourage grassroots activism and businesses in the city, we chatted with Trish Dewald, Gwen Joy, Fotoula Lambros, Ashley Detroit and no fewer than four Detroit Derby Girls. We then skated quickly to The Red Bull House of Art for that aesthetic dojo's second exhibit of emerging art. Fueled by a few complimentary cans of the crimson charger, we strolled in the company of Nancy Watson Barr, Bryant Tillman, Craig Nowak, Kobie Solomon, MAB, Dan Gilbert, Luciano Benetton and the curator of curators known as Matt Eaton. Great energy in a great city!

...And Getting Social in the 'Burbs
We made the trip out to the gorgeous beach in Waterford on Saturday for the "Bump. Set. Lime!" 4s Co-ed Volleyball tournament, put on by our buddies over at Stay and Play Social Club Detroit. The first round of tourney was at Pontiac Lake and migrated to Airway Lanes for the final rounds. Who knew beach volleyball was competitive in Michigan? Teams even traveled in from surrounding states for a chance to win an all expenses paid trip to Miami for the national finals. Even though the weather was hot, the volleyball action was even hotter. And by the time it was all done, one team led by a fellow who went by Chief was victorious, and will travel to Miami for the chance to win a sizable sum.

Who's Afraid of Detroit...?
Not many people, apparently, because Paxahau's 14 Year Anniversary Party, featuring Claude VonStroke, had a line around the block of New Center Park before doors even opened. One hour after its start, the place hit capacity. That was expected, however, since it has become clear over the years that Claude is one of Detroit's favorite DJs. So if you weren't lucky enough to make it through the gates, we sincerely hope you watched through the fence as Ted Krisko and Eric Ricker of Ataxia got the park bumpin' before Claude took the stage and spun pure fire for two hours. But the fun wasn't over yet – the party moved on over to Northern Lights Lounge, where Claude spun yet ANOTHER two hour set of whatever is hotter than fire. And all we could hear once the set ended was partygoer Kristen Reid shouting, "Don't you dare stop, Claude! THAT'S FIRE RIGHT THERE!"

89X Birthday Shenanigans
We wish we could celebrate our birthdays with a giant show at DTE featuring Kaleido, Cavo, Chevelle and Evanescence, but hey – partying with 89X for their Birthday Bash was good enough for us, and considering it was also the Michigan stop for the Carnival of Madness Tour...let's just say we had a good time. And if that's not celebrating your birthday in style, we're not sure what is. Kaleido and Cavo rocked the place, Chevelle had the crowd singing along (especially to the 2002 hit, "The Red") and Evanescence just gave us the straight chills. Amy Lee's haunting voice is just as intense live as it is recorded – if not more. Our spines were literally tingling and we were covered in goose bumps as she closed out the show on the piano with "My Immortal". There is no better way to describe the performance than absolutely beautiful.

SURPRISE!
We made our way over to the Masonic Temple last Thursday to check out a super-secret, RSVP-only surprise show by Matt & Kim and Nas, presented by our buddies at vitaminwater and The Fader. It really turned into more of a who's-who of local folks, with Danny Brown holding up the line for a few minutes to accommodate his +10 entourage – but besides that, we bumped into Greg Monroe of the Pistons, our pal Mikey Eckstein, Christina Chriss of Kaleido (the night before their big gig at DTE), Angela McBride, the gentlemen from The Work and a ton of others. Matt & Kim put on one hell of an energetic show, as they always do, jumping around and standing on their gear to get the crowd into it. And when Nas entered the building, it was pretty special – he's still got quite the devoted following after all these years. He killed it in the intimate little chapel room, shouting over a sea of outstretched arms and beloved followers. Well done, guys – we're looking forward to the next Uncapped event!

We Caught the Previews
As you might already know, Ford Arts, Beats & Eats is this weekend, but you might not know that there's always a party leading up to the party. Arts du Jour is the charity preview that leads into AB&E. The Royal Oak Farmer's Market was full of people enjoying food from select AB&E vendors, sipping on cocktails and listening to live music. How can you go wrong when you're able to slowly meander around sampling stuffed grape leaves, raw oysters, braised short ribs and more, all in the course of an evening? If this preview was any indication, be sure not to miss out this weekend! | RDW