TAMPA, Fl. -- With many of the day’s events postponed due to Tropical Storm Isaac, attendees to the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa found themselves choosing from just a handful of high-level late night events on Monday, with
Magnum Entertainment Group’s opening bash serving as perhaps the hottest ticket.
Taking over all 17,000-squarefeet of
The RITZ Ybor in the heart of historic Ybor City, last night’s party boasted dozens of top tier sponsors including the
Entertainment Software Association,
National Association of Broadcasters,
Walmart,
Teva, and
Microsoft.
Blues Traveler iPhone camera shot.
Entertaining the throngs of Republican revelers -- all eager to kickoff a week of celebration in honor of the Romney-Ryan ticket -- was a well planned program that featured live performances by rockers
Big Head Todd & the Monsters and
Blues Traveler as the headlining attractions.
Between concerts, guests were invited to explore two hospitality lounges hosted by the Entertainment Software Association and
The Daily Caller, with the former providing a series of PlayStation, Xbox, and Wii gaming stations and the latter a chic cigar bar.
Afterwards, many of the bold and the beautiful in attendance decided to cap the night at the first ‘warehouse’ party of the convention. First thrown in San Diego in 1996 by House Republican leader
John Boehner, these late-late night celebrations have become nearly mythic among the younger GOP set (although in reality they are just fun, laid back gatherings).
The Surreal McCoys will perform at Tuesday’s Magnum party.
The political partying continues in earnest Tuesday night, with encore Magnum and warehouse bashes, in addition to private concerts by
Gavin DeGraw (Recording Industry Association of America), supergroup
Camp Freddy (1 Oak),
Trace Atkins (Citizens United),
Montgomery Gentry (Republican Governors Association), and
DJ Steve Aoki (StartUp Rock On/Rock the Vote), among dozens of smaller events.
