3/31-4/1 and 4/6-4/7 - 2 Weekends, 2 Clubs, and Where is Spring?

On March 31, I had already been to the opening weekend of Avalon with DJ Brett Heinrichsen and the opening weekend at Club Stereo with Peter Rauhofer. Both times I got to hang out with my friend Steve and see both new clubs and come back with good and bad points for each. Avalon was a big space with plenty of people but the influx of the event partiers and the younger set and the twink party people meant that I was only happy with the main floor for most of the night in terms of music. I did get to say hi to Cathy and Jose at the front bar but ended up getting most of my drinks with Steve and barman Tommy at the back bar where I got to say hi to Big Kim . Wandering through the party I waved hello to Beto Sutter at the front bar and said hello to John Blair walkiing between the coat check and the upstairs bar. There were a lot of people having a lot of fun and I stayed at that party until 5am. I was happy to leave once I heard one of my current club faves the remix of "Listen" by Beyonce.



On April 6th Russ and I hung out with Seema, Gary and Nathan at Studio Mezmor where we sprung for bottle service and got treated to the VIP experience and had a good time behind the velvet rope and upstairs near the DJ booth. This good time despite having to protect our bottle of premium vodka from party skanks who thought they could take our bottle in the VIP, some truly uninspired club music from DJ Bill Benassi (Dun Dun Dun Dun Dudda-Da Dun Dun Dun - repeat), a bartender who thought I should tip eight dollars after buying 2 red bulls (crazy) and the fact that the club does not let you sit anywhere except VIP so everyone else in the club outside of VIP was surfing the walls trying to rest between dances. Me and Seema were able to get the DJ in the Reed Room to play "Last Night" by Diddy and Keyshia Cole for us to get the party started around 12:25am. I texted Michael to get the details on his change of venue in between dances with Seema and a good time was had by all. We all stayed at the club until 3am and were able to get a taxi right out front and head back to BK.

Despite the cold and the longer ride up the west side to 33rd street, On April 7 was the Opening party for Club Stereo with Peter Rauhofer. Waited on a fast moving line and was inside of the place which was nice and packed by 12:30am and the party kept on going till after the second playing of "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado just before 5am. I partied with a lot of my friends from Roxy including Eddie, Pat, Steve, TJ, Eric and many others who were happy to party in the new space, while not a mega club the dancefloor energy was there. Those stairs to the second floor are treacherous and I am always making sure my footing is secure. The sloped floor space between the dancefloor and the main bar is also a bad spot so I had to get used to the packed dancefloor or the busy upstairs with all of the people watchers. I finally left the club just after 5am and headed up the street through the cold to Mickey D's to get breakfast and use the ATM to get taxi fare for the ride home. Of course all of the computer connections were down inside so I paid cash for my breakfast and then had to walk east another block to get to the 24 hour Duane Reade and the Chase ATM. Yay Chase ATM you saved me and I was able to get a taxi right on 8th ave and head back to BK. The cab ride was only 21 dollars and I was back home with no issues.

Sunday with the family and friends in NJ and then home to watch Sopranos, Entourage and then episodes on the DVR of Planet Earth in Discovery Channel HD. That show is awesome.

Mar 24-25 - Weekend of Black

I try and try to prepare. I workout, I stay hydrated I plan wardrobe and arrival times weeks in advance. No matter what the unexplained can still occur. An allergic reaction to vitamin supplements can cause you much drama. The morning of is kind of late to have to deal with drama but all of the preparation sets you up for better response to the strangeness that occurs. I spent the day taking my medicine and traveling to the drug store to buy cream and I was able to recover enough to be mostly presentable by nightfall. I had decided my outfit already so besides making sure the time to rest up was factored in before dinnertime and then the final clean up was done. I was all dressed up from swat boots, black cargo shorts, the new backpack suspenders and the dog tags. Russ had his tags, the new black pants and his comfortable shoes. We called for the car service and the car came quickly, the driver was one I had about a week before whom I had discussed parking issues and Uncivil Servants where people complain about bad parking by city employees.

We arrived at 52nd street and were surprised there was no line. It was nice but still surprising. I said hello to the security I did know and was inside nice and easy. Downstairs the coatcheck was clicking right along as the promoters made sure to hire people who knew what they were doing this year and were on top of things. The line moved so fast I was all done with the coatcheck in just over 5 minutes and I said hello to the staff that I knew from previous events and then I was back upstairs to find Russ and Steve as well. I had already seen Pat and the other Steve and Darren before I had even come upstairs and then delved into the party with both feet. We hit the main floor got drinks from Jose and then hung out near the seats talking with Steve and seeing our friends as they passed by. Pretty soon it was onto the dancefloor to groove to the sounds of DJ Michael Marx who was hitting the perfect tunes at the right time to keep the crowd into it. Of course the freaky shows were a little distracting as the dancers were cool until the fisting started and I had to look away. Even Russ thought it was a bit much and we decided it was time to get a drink. After last call and the DJ turned over to DJ Tony Moran the music was still good but lost that hard edge. I was surprised to Christina Aguilera at the Black Party (Hurt) but even the song was good it was strange to hear nevertheless. I was not too many Red Bulls into the after cut off when Russ told me that he was not going to be staying too late so I made my way towards the stage, found my moment and when the security was distracted by some sketchy person I made my way onto the stage and danced with both green lights right next to the flagger that was about to fall over and couldn't keep the flags straight. After the song was over I climbed back down the walkway runway and asked Russ did he see me up there (He did) and then we journeyed downstairs to the coat check. It was as drama free as could be expected and though I did not get to say goodbye to anyone else I knew I would see them again soon. It was time to head home after the first night. I did not even put the pants back on over my shorts but just went outside with the coat and shorts. The taxi stopped for Russ as usual and then we headed downtown and back to BK.


Breakfast, resting, TV Watching and not too much until nightfall. Dinner was over around 9pm and I had programmed the DVR to start taping the first episodes of Planet Earth on Discovery HD. I just maxed and relaxed until 11:30pm when it was time to shower up and get dressed. I was ready to leave the house around 12:45 and I got the car service to pick me up right away. The driver was the same one I had the night before but this night he was quiet and I got to listen to my iPod Music on the way into the city. He dropped me off, I picked up my bottle of Fiji water at the deli and then walked back to entrance on 27th street. I finished the bottle of water just before I headed inside and made it through the pat down, the vip check, the ticket check and the coat check. After a quick onceover of the dance floor and saying hello to Tres, Bob and Rob I headed upstairs to the VIP. Alegria Extreme was in full effect and the crowd was just getting to its max but as I first arrived the VIP was not too packed (it did not get too bad until around 5am) Upstairs I ran into DJ Michael Marx where via his translator friend I told him I enjoyed his set at the Black Party and hope to see him in his home space in Paris. I also saw promoter Lisa and Jennifer who I had not expected to see so soon after the Roxy closing party. Anyway I journeyed back down to the main floor and hung out with Pat, Steven, Eric and the boys for a while and even said hello to Jun who I knew from the speakers at Roxy. Back up in the VIP I said hello to DJ Brett Heinrichsen as well as Big Kim before heading back downstairs to surf the crowd while watching the various shows on the stage and the listening to the great music washing over the crowd from DJ Abel. I even heard "Flesh" which was on my Black Ice 4 CD. I watched the crowd thin out some but did make sure to dance on the speaker for Ralphi Rosario remix of "World Hold On" before I climbed down into the crowd and said goodbye to my friends before heading out of the club at 8:50am. This time I remembered my sunglasses and I walked down to 23rd street before I gave up on getting a taxi home and just walked to the F train to take the subway home. I had a book to read after all. Of course the book was too much to read after partying all night to I waited for the train to pull into the station at 9th street so I could switch to the R train and continue my way home. I got home before 10am and even though I did not expect it I did get to say Good Morning to Russ before I went to bed myself.

Another party weekend completed and plenty of partying was to be had and was completed by all. Thank goodness I have two days off from work (Mon-Tues) to rest up before completing the week. There is always another one to look forward to. Until next time...

3/17 - Out in the cold but it does get hotter..

I was planning on going out on Saturday, just a little earlier than usual since I was going to have to travel into the city by myself but was meeting friends once I was out and about. Steve had already texted and let me know that he was already at the bar and ready to buy the first round. I made sure I had all of the gift CDs (Vernal Equi-Vox) in pocket and after grabbing a can of Enviga it was out into the night and down to the car service. After a 10 minute wait in was on my way into the city and discussing the sanitation department and snow removal as well as illegal parking by the police. There was not too much traffic in the city for a Saturday Night (must have been the snow and the brisk night air) and I got to the club in pretty short order. Once inside Splash I looked around a bit and then Steve found me and we headed over to the bar to get a drink. With a Stoli Orange and Red Bull in hand we circled the bar and listened to the beats from DJ Superdave. Kimberly Locke finally came on the stage around 1:45am and sang 3 songs including "Change" and "Eighth World Wonder" before saying goodnight to the crowd. Back downstairs we got another drink from Garrett before we headed back upstairs to dance next to the stage. Security kept me from the boxes but I still had a good time. Steve finally had to leave and get some pizza so I walked him over to the pizzeria where I got another iced tea while he picked up two slices. Back inside I ran into Rob and Tres who invited me over to Studio to hear Victor Calderone spinning for his Birthday. After thinking it over very briefly I decided to go ahead and extend my night. At 3:45am I grabbed my coat and the magazines the coatcheck guys were holding for me and we headed out to the Mini and headed uptown from there. After stopping at Mickey D's for a soda we headed over to 11th ave and found a parking space and then headed over to Studio. After checking our coats we were down to the dancefloor and listening to the beats. Pretty soon we were joined by Eric and the rest of the crowd as the place was packed with well wishers and dancers all following every beat that VC laid down. The Reed Room had been cleared of all of the obstructions but emptied out by 6:30am with all of the people packed into the main floor. I stayed out with the guys until 8:50am before calling it over and heading out to pick up a car. I was able to flag down a car on 10th ave a few blocks down from the club and the driver very nicely brought me back to BK.

Too bad I have to go to work tomorrow but I have a long weekend waiting for me next weekend. Coolness.