EVENT REVIEW: Allure Entertainment and O Ultra Lounge present Sunset Boat Cruise on the Hamilton Harbour Queen

Last Sunday on the Hamilton Harbour Queen, Allure Entertainment and O Ultra Lounge said good bye to summer – and their beach balls – on their final Sunset Boat Cruise of the season.

DJ Fruiti started us off with some tech-house for what would be three hours cruising around Burlington Bay. The day was hot and gorgeous, barely a cloud in the sky, but a nice breeze kept us as cool as the vibe. For a crowd of hotties, (think model types and even one Rihanna look-a-like) the everyone was incredibly unpretentious – meaning less drawn-on eyebrows and melting faces. There was a beachwear theme, and while everyone was definitely dressed for summer, I don’t recall any bikinis. Compared to other (Toronto) cruises I’ve been on, the low-key cool vibe and positively genuine attitude shone through and created an atmosphere I enjoyed better. People were there just to party and have a good time.

Dj Vespa, a regular at Hamilton’s Club 77, opened down below with some remixes of old school favourites like New Order‘s Blue Monday and Freeform Five‘s No More Conversations. My guy Marcus loved it, but we couldn’t stay below for long.

Back on top, Budai and Pepper took over and everyone was feeling the vibe. You could tell these DJs have experience and they totally love what they do; they have great synergy. In my opinion, they had the best set of the day. Better still was finding out afterwards that they are as friendly and approachable as their music is good! When told how great he is, Budai is humble and prefers to talk about how his DJ partner brings out the best in him rather than relish in accolades, declaring:

“I love him more than anything else in the world. He changed my life. I’ve never met anyone who gets me like
he does. He’s my absolute biggest inspiration. We give each other so much confidence without even trying.”

Reminiscing about particular gig where Pepper had played the track Bigger Than Prince, Pepper said he thought the track was the worst part of his set, but Budai told him it was “so sick, the way he brought it in all abrupt.” This mutual support and love of house translates to totally danceable sets full of energy and an awesome party.

Budai and Pepper were followed by DJ Locd Groov3, from Niagara, who played some electro Whitney Houston (if I hadn’t been busy talking to Budai I would have freaked out on the dancefloor – love her!) and Snoop Dogg. All in all, it was another fun, energetic set.

The Reina Brothers kept the dancers happy on the lower deck, though it was getting hotter by the minute down there. Luckily, though I was told by a return partier that this was the biggest turnout this year; we weren’t packed like sardines, so it was easy to move around the boat and sweating wasn’t a necessity – but if you want to dance, you have to pick which matters more. There were minimal lineups for the bathroom so that was awesome!

Tables and chairs with window views lined the sides of the lower deck but it looked like only half the windows could open. By the time DJ Systematik was on, the heat had proved to be too much for most passengers and they migrated upstairs to dance in the open air. The beach balls were nowhere to be found. I mentioned the lack of balls because when promoting a beach theme, Hugo M (who was not only DJing, but also runs this event) had promised beach balls bouncing around. He told me they were there but they didn’t last long – those carefree partiers had thrown them all overboard within twenty minutes and they were now in the lake! I didn’t even get to see them!

Though I was disappointed about the promised beach balls, Hugo’s music never disappoints. Everyone was dancing and laughing and having a great time. During the last hour of the cruise, the sun was getting lower but the energy wasn’t – and neither was one dancer who kept climbing up the railing. As the sun set behind the Burlington and Dundas trees, the shadows brought the bright colours of the day down to muted pastels and by the time we docked we were in darkness. The climber didn’t come down until then. Hugo M declared the night a huge success and said they will 100% be doing it again next year. “If I could DJ outdoors all year round, I’d be completely satisfied.” he added.