05/26-05/29 - Shopping, Barbecue, and 3 Nights Out

The first night of a long weekend and I was ready for whatever, I decided against going to the gym and thankfully I did need my energy on Friday Night. After delivery dinner of Pot Roast it was time to clean up and get ready to head out as Russ and the Jimmy wanted to go to Krash. After haircut, shower and quick change I was ready to go and see what was up in the city. We didn't rush out but left the house around 11:20 and headed into the city.

(SSTXX) I sat in the car and waited through the trip and arrival to a spot on 18th Street near Park Avenue. We hung out for a bit and then walked up the street to get in front of the club 12:05. We waited on the line for a bit, I always hate the line in front of Krash/Club Deep as it is total chaos. The VIP Line takes just as long as the regular line and even though I know the promoter I have to wait behind the velvet rope until the finally deign to show me attention. Once inside we get all of a $2 discount for entry and then we are inside. Thankfully we can forgo the coatcheck because it is absolutely gorgeous outside so no jacket required. The party was a little less packed than it had been before the closure 2 months ago but still enough people in the room and on the dance floor. The place slowly filled as the emcees wandered through the crowd and we got our drinks from the usual bartender Dave at the far end from the dancefloor but in the middle of the room. The 2 doubles and my drink meant that we started off with a $50 bar bill to start and so the night began. The crowd slowly filtered in but never got to the hectic state it was at during the winter. I told Russ and the Jimmy that I had seen Ed earlier in the day while going to lunch and then right after that I saw him heading downstairs looking for one of his friends. He said he would see us when he came back upstairs and after a few minutes of conversation and hanging out he came back upstairs and we hung out for a bit. We even headed over to the dancefloor and danced with the crowd for a bit before I finished off my drink and headed back to the bar for more. No matter how many DJs they have in the Krash lineup they all play all a lot of the same music (I did not need to hear 'Ina de Ghetto Remix' again). I gave a Pop CD to Dave and the Diva Mix CD to Ed and I was over with the gifts for the night. We stayed for a while though and finally said goodnight to Ed and the Jimmy at 3:30 and headed outside. Russ waved down a taxi right out front of the club and we were headed back to BK.

Saturday we awoke to delivery breakfast and the final finish of my Dr Natura, so no more minty orange shakes for me in the morning. After breakfast and watching some television, it was out of the house to go shopping. The Fairway supermarket was calling once again and we needed some more food to barbecue. We found a spot, picked up a shopping cart, and then headed inside. We avoided the brunt of the traffic jams by just knowing where we were going this time and we picked up some more steak, marinade sauce, and some other foods. The place was much easier to navigate on Saturday than Sunday and we were up to the checkout and outside without too much trouble. The roof dinner on Sunday was beef on shish-ke-bob with onions and peppers and of course it was still fresh from when we bought it last week. They took a little longer to cook but along with some Sabretts and salad we were ready for dinner. Of course the barbecue was great and we soon headed back down to the house and watched some more TV. DVR programming and then later the movie programming I was fine and ready for later after cleaning up and getting ready to head out. Russ decided to stay in as he had been out Thurs Night and Fri Night and then 11:15 finally rolled around and I made sure everything was set and I stepped out.

(SSTRT) I headed down the street to the taxi stand and was shortly joined by an available driver that could take me into the city. The ride was quick and I directed my distracted yet quick driving driver down Park Row South and across to the West Side. Despite the language barrier he got me to 18th Street and let me out to head on over to the club. After handing the "Pop and Ride" CD to Derek and him thanking me for some cool down music for the rest of his weekend, it was on and into the Roxy to see what was up. The line out front was big and the crowd was inside as well even at the earlier hour just after midnight. Bartender Louis was away but Cathy directed me over to Jose who made sure I was well taken care of with my drinks and Red Bull and Gatorade over the course of the night. Af first I did not see anyone else to hang with but I was OK as DJ Mike Cruz played up to the crowd with his own signature blend of tribal beats and vocal remixes that despite the fact I did not know the beats I did know the songs and the crowd responded just as if it was Peter back in the day. The unfamiliarity of the music meant I had my pick of boxes to starting off with the box across from the stage in the asian section and then the box next to the stage overlooking muscle beach. After I had taken off my shirt to dance I was back at the front bar and sighted Rick and Sean across the bar and we chatted for a bit before heading upstairs to the Crystal Room and danced to two Madonna songs before I was kinda over the slow music and dancing to "Express Yourself" before heading back downstairs to the main party. I danced some more with the crowd and then back to the front and got my last drink at 10 minutes to 4am and I was over to the box near the door for almost a whole hour of dancing, I stayed in the groove for another hour and finally left the club around 5am. Picked up both of the magazines and then walked over to 9th Ave and was able to flag down a taxi without too much trouble. A good night and then a great rest.

I finally woke up on Sunday just after noon and enjoyed another delivery breakfast. Russ was invited out to go workout but I stayed in as I felt the two nights in a row of hanging out and one more to come I could not spare the energy to workout. DVR programming and some time spent moving music around on the computer and the afternoon rolled by before Russ returned from the gym and we went to pick up burgers at Wendy's. After the burgers were retrieved and back at home Russ dug into his side salad and I dug into my fries and Big Bacon Classic. Besides 60 Minutes there was nothing much new on for Sunday Night so it was more browsing on the computer and waiting for the later hour. The evening would be off to an earlier start as the Jimmy arrived around 9pm so we could head out of the house around 9:30.

(SST)Out of the house and up the west side we traveled through mostly light traffic to arrive at the 28th Street and surprising find a parking spot on the first turnoff from 10th Ave. After we left the car we made our way down to the Eagle and past the crowded corner with street people and police and in front of the bar with barbecue as we headed inside the bar. We went straight up to the roof, said hi to Richard from the team and then into the crowd on the roof. The crowd was happy and ready hang out and we stayed there for a bit talking with friends and taking turns going to the roofdeck bar. We made a circuit back downstairs after leaving via the back stairs and then after viewing the sparse crowds in the rest of the place we headed back up to the roof for one more drink. The music was good as usual but since you can't dance at Eagle I was ready to move on as midnight was approaching. We said goodnight to the Jimmy at 11:30 and headed outside to grab a taxi right out front.

(VC) The ride across the city and down to E11 Street was not too bad and then we were out walking the last block and then over to the club. We had not been to Webster Hall in a few years but after a short wait on the line out front we headed inside and paid our $30 to the cashier, received our gift CD and we were inside the XXL Party. Thankfully the nice weather meant we did not have to deal with coatcheck and we headed around the bar to see what was doing. On the first floor we looked in on the Rock music room and saw two bear guys dancing in the dimly lit room who had the floor all to themselves. Their enthusiasm in the empty space made me happy enough to giggle and I headed to the first bar to get myself something to drink. Most of the bars in the place were set up very inconveniently with some strange bar girl taking your order and another girl bartender actually pouring the drink at an inner bar. It was kind of like a waitress that you had to approach. I guess it lets them handle all the drinks with just one cash register but it still sucked when the girl barely knew english and you had to tell her your order twice. Before I headed upstairs I saw Joe the blogger bringing beers back to his friends but was never able to say hi as he had disappeared into the crowd of bears when I came looking for him later. Drinks in hand we headed upstairs to the large dance floor and saw that Ultra Nate was already on the stage singing her hits such as "Free" and "New Kind of Medicine" before the music continued. We did get to hang with with Dave and Rick for a bit before they finally left after having been at the party since the beginning (Dave volunteered to help w/ the Bingham Cup). The unknown DJ played a lot of older hits with a classic vibe but not the Frankie Knuckles vibe but more like the old LPs that you had to blow the dust off of to play. The crowd still were doing their best to enjoy themselves and then Barbara Tucker took to the stage to singing her hits "Beautiful People" and "I Get Lifted". It was like going to church on the dance floor but it really slowed the party down (performers at 3:45am and some people had been at the party for 7 hrs). Despite the happy crowd members who became bear backup dancers the mood did not really pick up after that. The party promoter guy thanked everyone for coming out (smaller guy than I thought from the picture but very cute kilt) and the party continued. We hung in with the party until 2:45 am but with the music rolling on at the same stately pace and no high points in sight I danced next to the stage on one of the platforms after taking pictures of the acts and we left happy with the weekend but disappointed it was not better than it was.

Monday I awoke to delivery breakfast once again and waited throughout the afternoon just hanging out and watching television before finally heading up to the roof at sunset and cooking the steaks on the barbecue. This time they were flipped just right and the macaroni salad as a side dish was excellent as we watched the beautiful sunset in between the thunder showers that passed before and after we went up. Back in the house we watched television and the end of the weekend rolled up quickly. The weekend was good but it could have been better.
Until next time, only 4 days away. Peace.