The Halloween Party Guide

A New York Nights Special Report

So you went out and got the slutty flight attendant/ nurse/ vampire costume and now you need someplace to wear it, right?

You can’t go trick or treating. You’re about 15 years too old for that and you can afford your own damn candy.

You could go to the Halloween parade in the Village, but what about the weekend before? And what are you going to do after the parade, just go home?

The answer here is simple. You need a party. We can help.

New York Nights has compiled a list of the major Halloween resources in the city. Use this as your one stop shop for finding parties, buying tickets and planning your night.

Halloween 2007 List
Clubplanet
Going.com
Joonbug
Myspace Events
New York Magazine
Parties This Week
Shecky’s
Time Out New York

After Halloween, you can use our Lifestyle page to find the latest events on a regular basis.

Now you’re ready. All you need to do is buy some candy.

Gamal

Free Food! (Almost) Free Music! (Almost) Illegal Liquor!

Nightlife News for October 4, 2007

Absinthe in New York: (Jonathan Miles- New York Times)
Since Prohibition ended, there has only been one type of liquor that has remained illegal in the United States. Absinthe, popular with the literati in Paris crowd at the beginning of the 20th Century, has been banned in the US since 1912. Recently a N.Y. company called Viridian Spirits began selling Lucid, which is supposed to be the closest thing you can get to real Absinthe without breaking the law. The spirit has been creeping into New York bars over the past few months, so I guess it's only a matter of time before the club set starts mixing it with Red Bull.

Radiohead Announces Pay What You Want Song Downloads: (Kyle Sutton- PC World Magazine) We might be witnessing the next big shift in the music industry, or it could be just another gimmick. The international rock band Radiohead recently announced on their blog that their new album In Rainbows will be available on their website on October 10th. This release is special because fans will be able to pay whatever they feel the album is worth, not a price dictated by the record company or iTunes. While some see this as another blow to the traditional music industry, others point out that it won't stick because most bands can't afford this type of distribution of their music. Besides, even if no one pays more than a dime for the album, Radiohead is still planning to sell In Rainbows as part of an $80 compilation set later this year and as a traditional CD in early 2008. (Additional Coverage from Dan Kois and Lane Brown- New York Magazine)

Find Free Food in New York: (Amanda Kludt – Gridskipper) What's the perfect compliment to happy hour drinks? Free food of course. While you're not going to get a five star menu from an executive chef this way, but it beats drinking on an empty stomach. On line guide Gridskipper offers seven alternatives in Manhattan and Brooklyn where you can eat and use the money you saved to buy something important, like another drink.

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The Art of Happy Hour (An NYN Special Report)

By Gamal Hennessy

There are a lot of profound and complicated issues in the world today. Understanding happy hour isn't one of them. Happy hour is actually a place where we can go to get away from work, school, home and the stress of our every day lives. Life is meant to be easier (and cheaper) during happy hour.

Like anything else, you can enjoy happy hour more if you know just a little more about it. And since you don't read New York Nights for coverage of the 2008 presidential race, this is probably the proper forum for this discussion.

Happy hour in New York usually starts around 4:00 PM and ends around 7:00 PM. While the majority of bars, pubs and some early opening lounges have some kind of happy hour pricing, most nightclubs and lounges don't either because they aren't open during that time slot or they don't make their money off that kind of volume.

The classic business rule says buy low and sell high. But a bar during happy hour works on a slightly different principle; it's buy lower and sell low. Often, their goal is to serve cheaper well liquor at reduced prices in the hopes that people will stay after happy hour is over (when they will start paying full price for drinks) or reject the well liquor for top shelf spirits (and agreeing to pay higher prices), or order food (which may not be discounted). As a business, a bar exists to make money. Happy hour gives them the ability to bring people into the bar during a time when it would otherwise be dead.

That's great (for the bar) but happy hour can cause its own share of problems. The main potential problem is overdrinking. This can lead to illness, hangovers and questionable decisions made under the influence of alcohol (if you don't believe me, just think about the time your friend told you the story about how he woke up next to that midget after going to happy hour. You don't want to be that guy.)

Happy hour is still a great place for pre-parties, after work meetings, or just for those people who don't want to pay $10 for a drink. The question is how do you satisfy your need for inexpensive drinks and let the bar satisfy its need to make money?

We've got a few tips that might help you navigate the treacherous waters of happy hour without injuring your wallet, your liver, or your reputation.

1. Happy hour times can vary. Ask the bartender or waitress when you get there when happy hour ends, so you're not drinking up a storm after happy hour is actually over.
2. Some places offer special drinks during happy hour that go beyond well liquor. Again, it pays to ask questions.
3. If your happy hour spot offers food, get some. It can help you deal with your the increased alcohol intake.
4. Make drinking part of a larger activity. Maybe you're playing pool, or watching the game, or talking about what an asshole your boss was today. It doesn't matter. If you drink while doing something else, you can have a good time for less cash. If you're just drinking because it's cheap, don't be surprised when you're dry heaving over the toilet.
5. Bring friends. Happy hour is early enough for the B&T commuter to have a drink and still catch her train home. It's usually cheap enough for the intern or the student to drink without forcing themselves to eat Ramen noodles until they get paid again. You can use happy hour to connect with people that you won't see in the clubs on the weekends. An added benefit is the more people you bring to the bar, the better the bar does in terms of money, and the better they feel about you. This can lead to good things later. It always helps to be in good standing with your regular bartender.
6. If you are staying at the bar after happy hour is over, try to close out your tab and start a new one. This will help to remind everyone you're with that the prices have changed and it avoids any potential problems with your bill later.

Happy hour can easily live up to its name with a little planning and a couple of questions. Whether you just grab a drink before watching Survivor: China or you're having a pre-party before a long night on the town, happy hour in New York can be the best way to start the night.

Have fun.
Gamal
gamal@newyorknightsonline.com

New Event Sites from DKNY and NYN (Nightlife News)

We've Got News about New Club Sites from NYN and DKNY in the October 2nd Issue of Nightlife News




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Finding Your Nightlife Style (A NYN Special Report)

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Nightlife News for September 25th, 2007

Stay in touch with your world.

Read the September 25th Issue of Nightlife News!

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We Help You Find the Perfect Drink... and Cabfare.

Find out all the tools you need for the perfect night in the September 20th edition of Nightlife News!

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Skipping the Line (New York Nights Special)

Do you love going to clubs?

Do you hate standing in line to get in?

Then read this article and find out how to skip the line...




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CMJ! Underground Comedy! Television on the Ceiling (Nightlife News)

Festival Time is ready to hit New York and we've got the details for you in today's Nightlife News!

Click on the banner for the September 18th Edition...

Why New York Nights isn't Citysearch, Clubplanet or Time Out

Q: So you’re pretty much like Time Out, Club Planet or Citysearch, right?

A: Not exactly. Each one of those services covers New York very well, but New York Nights isn’t really like any of them.

Time Out is good at covering a lot of different aspects of the city every week. Movies, restaurants, shopping, theater, clubs, books and TV have to share the same space. This gives them the ability to provide a wide overview of weekly events, but not the one specifically tailored for you. NYN only covers nightlife, but we do it in a way that links people to the places they want to go, not just a few places.

Clubplanet (and other sites like it) are good for getting on the guest list of certain clubs, but if you’re not into the types of spots clubplanet offers, you have to look somewhere else. We plan to cover all the places the other sites cover AND more.

Citysearch is also a good site for a general overview of the city, but it doesn’t allow you to tailor your search, it doesn’t provide much updated information on individual events. NYN will strive to be the authority for New York nightlife.

So while each of the other sites has its strengths, NYN fills a void that isn’t currently being served. That’s why we’re different.