Miami’s White Party heated up Thanksgiving weekend, but not the weather. The boys stayed bundled up at Saturday’s Muscle Beach. Fortunately, the temperature was balmy enough to bring out the sexy white outfits for the main event the next evening at Vizcaya. Wherever you went, there were plenty of New Yorkers. (Photo by Marshall Foster)
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By Matt Kalkhoff
Friday, December 05, 2003
Exactly one week after I moved to New York City, in the spring of 2000, two
of my favorite DJs unexpectedly went into exile as their respective long-running
residencies ended.
On the very same Saturday that Victor Calderone threw in the towel at Roxy,
the city shut down Twilo, leaving Junior Vasquez the second displaced superstar
DJ of the weekend.
I had finally realized my lifelong dream of becoming a snobby New Yorker,
and then the Nightlife Capital of the World abruptly loses two major marquee
names. Bummer!
That’s not to say there haven’t been memorable nights out dancing since. Quite
the contrary! But it has been touch and go. Yes, some parties thrived, despite
Giuliani’s best efforts at sterilizing club life and smothering any hint of
fun or creativity. But an overwhelming sense emerged that our beloved party
scene was losing its edge and was dangerously close to becoming — dare I say
it?— pedestrian. The horror!
A withering economy, 9/11 and unrelenting bureaucratic obstacles didn’t help.
Even as the 2003 coat-check season approached, the city’s nightlife forecast
still seemed mild at best, with perhaps only a few scattered flurries of fierceness.
Like most weather reports, however, this prediction was thankfully way off.
As evidenced by a virtual avalanche of announced club openings and dramatic
DJ maneuverings, revitalization is well under way.
Boosting morale even further was Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner
Gretchen Dykstra’s recent announcement that the city will soon repeal those
inane, outdated cabaret laws. Instead, her department will issue “nightlife
licenses” to address real issues like safety and noise.
So with the same patriotic fervor that Shrub and his fellow White House weeds
so shamelessly pull off politically motivated publicity stunts, I returned
to the former Twilo space on West 27th Street for Spirit’s preview party this
past Saturday night. A truly innovative (if not risky) venture, owner Robert
Whooton has created an elegant nocturnal retreat that offers revelers a New
Age nightlife alternative modeled after his extremely successful Dublin entertainment
complex of the same name.
The holistic venue’s 35,000 square feet are divided into three separate areas:
Body (main room/performance auditorium), Mind (massage and alternative treatments)
and Soul (glass-enclosed organic and vegetarian restaurant overlooking the
dance area). While the reported $5 million renovation has transformed the space
considerably — sunken and expanded floor, raised ceiling, VIP mezzanine level — Twilo’s
footprint is still discernible.
Illuminating the club’s stunning interior are the sublime lighting effects
of designer/director Guy Smith (of Saint-at-Large fame). Large video screens
on either side of the stage present additional visual diversions.
But it’s the massive white orb protruding from the wall in between them that
is the club’s centerpiece. Interstellar images and psychedelic patterns projected
onto its three-dimensional surface create galactic illusions reminiscent of
Timothy Leary’s fabled hallucinogenic journeys.
Less impressive was the dreary show shortly after midnight. Mercilessly long,
the performance consisted of a few suggestively attired dancers whose monotonous
choreography and anticlimactic stationary trapeze act fell short of expectations.
Spirit officially welcomes the public on Dec. 6 with a special performance
by legendary DJ David Morales, and will be open every Saturday thereafter.
Visit SpiritNewYork.com for details.
Forget La Niña and El Niño. La Vasquéz and El Calderoñe are back with a vengeance
and ready to really heat things up in New York City with their brand new residencies.
In an intriguing move that surprised many, Sound Factory recently announced
that it is going gay on Saturday nights with a party called Re:Union. Long-time
resident DJ Jonathan Peters has been replaced by Sound Factory alumnus Junior
Vasquez, who begins his weekly residency on Dec. 6. When asked why he’d drop
the hugely popular hetero fest, owner Richard Grant simply replied, “Time for
a change! Time for controversy … keeping it fresh and exciting.”
Vasquez will welcome guest DJs from time to time Whether he plays the entire
night or just the morning hours, he has promised to end the party by noon on
non-holiday weekends. This is a throwback to the far more civilized schedule
of past afterhours parties that made him famous. Visit SoundFactoryNYC.com and JuniorVasquezMusic.com for details.
Crobar had planned to open its doors the same weekend, but the club’s perpetually
delayed debut has been pushed back yet another week. No word yet on opening
party DJs, but Victor Calderone is slated to spin New Year’s Eve and then begin
his biweekly Saturday night
residency in late January.
While the club is not specifically courting a gay audience (“mixed” is the
new black), a significant homo contingent is all but inevitable. Keep abreast
by visiting Crobar.com and VictorCalderone.com.
Speaking of mixed crowds, I ventured over to Avalon on Thanksgiving Eve to
hear the Six Million Dollar DJ, Paul Oakenfold (he’s been ranked the world’s
most successful DJ by Britain’s Sunday Times and the Guiness Book of World
Records).
I wasn’t sure what to expect: European DJs sometimes draw the oddest (and
youngest) crowds. But I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout.
As expected, Oakey is quite the showman. But when he went on at 1 a.m., he
immediately took control of the already energized audience and didn’t let up
once before my 4:30 a.m. departure. God bless those Brits and their aversion
to dropouts. It’s just too bad that the more popular foreign DJs, like Oakenfold,
Paul van Dyk and Pete Tong, never seem to play gay events here in the U.S.
(Hint, hint!)
Until next time: Be Smart. Be Safe. Be Yourself.
Contact Matt Kalkhoff at Matt@mattunleashed.com
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