The First Annual Nightlife Culture Expo Special Coverage

By Gamal Hennessy

Your nightlife is an important part of why you live in New York. It gives you a chance to connect with others, escape our normal routines and express our creativity. The Nightlife Culture Expo is a celebration of that part of your life. As the president of the Nightlife Cultural Initiative I’ve tried to collect a diverse blend of attractions, performances and parties for you to enjoy. Here are some highlights of what we have for you if you join us.

The Performers

Little Louie Vega & Kevin Hedge: They created a signature blend of house and Latin music that has helped define the New York dance scene and they have agreed to kick off the Expo in a big way at Cielo.

Maor: The emerging artist will bring his music and his message about gay bullying and discrimination to Stonewall Inn as a part of the LGBT Appreciation Event

Paige Turner: This established queer icon graces the stage for a night of music and comedy as the headline act of the LGBT Appreciation Event

Rakim: He is one of the most respected names in hip hop. His Paid in Full album is a soundtrack its golden age and he will be performing a rare New York set at Sutra.

Rob Swift: The legendary DJ for the X-Men will return from his performance tour of Asia to provide the right music to celebrate nightlife culture and end our Expo on a high note at the double seven.

The Venues

Pleasure Palaces: Bars and Clubs as the Cradles of Nightlife Culture- The spaces that bars and clubs inhabit that become the frame and canvas for every other aspect of the nightlife experience. We have five very different venues all over downtown Manhattan spread out over the four nights

The Speakers

A discussion about the importance of nightlife culture is vital to this type of event. I have collected a panel of very well connected and insightful nightlife minds to discuss this topic during our brunch at Affaire. The panel includes

madison moore: Fashion and Fantasies

Paul Seres: Nightlife operator, advocate and President of the New York Nightlife Association

Shonali Bhowmik: From Nashville to New York

Steven Lewis: Celebrity Waitresses, Sex and the Sin Effect

We hope you will decide to join us for the first of many nightlife culture events. For more information and tickets, visit http://nightlifeculture.org/events/

Have fun.

G

Groupon, Martinis, Patua, Rock and Roll Tours and How You Failed Nightlife

Nightlife News for May 11, 2011
Compiled by Gamal Hennessy

Culture
Drinking
Mastering the Martini
Long before Mad Men made the drink famous among 21st century drinkers, luminaries like Dorothy Parker, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway were sipping martinis at the Knickerbocker. Today, bartenders as close as Pegu and PDT and as far away as the M Bar in Hong Kong and the Plaza Bar in Buenos Aires

Rock and Roll Tours
A new tour will trace the history of rock music in New York City with stops at venues like CBGB, Don Hills, Max’s Kansas City, and the Mudd Club.

Business
Groupon/ Live Nation Deal
The mega online discount site and the mega live concert promoter are in talks to create a double mega summer concert deal.

Patua
Paul Seres will bring a 3 floor rooftop/ restaurant/event space to the prime space between the Port Authority and Penn Station.

Opinion
Are You the Problem with New York Nightlife?
 There is a certain type of nightlife patron that tries to prove his superiority by expressing a disdain for modern nightlife. I wrote about this type of patron in my 2009 piece If Nightlife is Dead, then You Killed It. Late last year, I described them in my series On Retros, Realists, and Rebels. This week, Good Night Mr. Lewis confirms some of the same ideas. Nightlife has definitely changed. But if you can’t find a place or a party that you like in 2011, maybe its not nightlife’s fault. Maybe its you…

Summer Bar List 
Guest of a Guest offers its list of the top summer bars to compete with Urban Daddy’s outdoor venues from two weeks ago.

Have fun.
G

M2, Super Dive, Paul Seres and the New York Times

The Nightlife Report for April 22, 2010
Compiled by Gamal Hennessy

…I hunt down the nightlife news so you don’t have to…

Closed
M2 and Pink shut down
(New York Times)
West Chelsea staples M2 and Pink were closed by the order of a special administrative judge on Friday. The venue is currently fighting threats to close it related to the smoking ban but this new issue revolves around the actions (or inactions depending on who you believe) of the security guards. Police allege that they stand by while fights, drug dealing and other offenses are committed. As with other nuisance abatement related cases, there is still a lack in logic in the police approach. If cops see patrons dealing drugs, why not build a case against the dealers and arrest them? If fanatics are fighting in the club, why not arrest them? If the security guards and the other operators are not dealing drugs or fighting, why do the patrons get to commit crimes and walk away while the people who work at the venue are punished economically when the place is shut down?

SuperDive
(Eater)
Meatpacking’s newest dive bar might be a bittersweet memory. The venue has been through some economic turmoil over the past few months and now it seems to be closed for good. That real estate might not sit on the market for long considering the location. Maybe the new operators will leave the beer pong table out of the new design plans.

Coming Soon
Le Baron
Black Book
A Parisian operator is bringing his exclusive lounge concept to New York. No official word on when the doors will open, but if exclusive lounges in Paris are anything like exclusive lounges in New York it will be small, annoyingly hard to get into and very, very trendy. Bonsoir.

News
Major News Outlets Planning Ongoing Nightlife Coverage
(Business Insider)
The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are both planning ongoing coverage of New York nightlife. They will throw their hat in with major news outlets like NBC, Blackbook and New York Magazine as well as smaller players like Thrillist and Urban Daddy. While the size and influence of these sources will get them into the biggest parties and the exclusive openings, it isn’t clear if they will devote space to ongoing issues in the industry that could use the exposure and reach to bring these issues into the mainstream. Of course, until they take up the mantle of in depth coverage of the business and culture of New York nightlife, you can always come back here…

Personalities
New NYNA Head Paul Seres
(Good Night Mr. Lewis)
Leadership of the New York Nightlife Association has shifted. Long time president David Rabin has stepped aside and Paul Seres has stepped in. The operator, owner and community board member takes control of an organization dealing with political, economic and social issues of all types. This interview touches on many of the things he plans to tackle including security guard training, zoning and relations with the police. With a new head of the State Liquor Authority and a new head of NYNA can the industry make progress in light of all the things working against it in New York? Stay tuned…

Have fun.
G

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