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NY Mag - From Paris to Prostitues: The Short, Drunken Life of Club Row
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| barosoap |
http://nymag.com/news/features/27845/
This is from Monday's issue, and I just got around to reading it tonight. It's a pretty accurate portrayal of how NY club life was ruined in the past few years. Some quotes:
| quote: | | “Bottle service—it was a killer,” one club worker recalls. “Because now you didn’t have to look right to get in. The owners didn’t care about the quality of the crowd. The bottom line was the money. It was, Sell those tables, sell those tables, up-sell, magnums, bottle minimums. And you now had—forgive me for saying it—every undesirable seated in a nightclub.” |
| quote: | Home debuted in July, Guest House in August—both on the second floor of the Twilo building, which housed Spirit on the ground floor. The same summer, B.E.D., which had opened in January on the sixth floor, debuted its rooftop lounge. “That’s when all the bridge-and-tunnel guys came in,” a 27th Street veteran recalls. “These are the guys who brought the Jersey girls and the short shorts. They mobbed the whole street. And then, when you walked to Bungalow, you saw seven trashy blonde chicks standing outside begging to be let in, and guess what? It takes away from the atmosphere.”
Jon B liked his crowd, reasoning “they have money, and they want to have a good time.” |
| quote: | | Suddenly, the clubs filled with girls who did not look their age. Eager to provide eye candy for the men who bought the bottles, promoters hustled the girls inside the clubs in groups of ten or a dozen that the doormen never carded. All of the clubs had underage girls; some promoters specialized in bringing them. “You were able to bring certain girls no matter what age they were,” recalls a promoter who chaperoned some as young as 14. |
Very unfortunate indeed. |
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| LuNaSeA |
| that article just totally grossed me out. i'm going to take a shower now. |
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| StrobeLifeNYC |
| The article totally exaggerated 27th street.... Let's get real, 27th street wasn't "filled with zombie-like groups of people vomiting and peeing all over themselves"... a puddle of throw-up may be found in one or two spots but they totally made a bigger mountain out of a mole-hill. That's journalism, though. |
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| AY STAR |
werd i read this article
i mean some of the stuff is true they are sayin but it sucks wat the scene has become
i mean i know clubs are a business and have to make money
but i forget the name of the club i heard about
it was a club and they played music but there was no dance floor
its only for bottle service and u have to dance at ur table lol
but as long as us nyta's go out to other parties not like these and we have a good time and represent thats wat its all about
beats not bottles :D |
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| steven-neil |
dont blame promoters Dj's and venue owners blame yourselves and your government...Im sick of hearing all this"i only do it for love not to make money bull...Its a ing business...
the venues need to sell booze so that they can pay the bills and the promoters have to pay the Dj and also the venue if the night fails...
some people like "sleezy"so dont blame the venue or promoter for exploiting that..It makes sense for people to target certain customers and if that means fit birds wit big whats the ing problem...Businesses are in it to make money,,,this aint ing "live aid or oxfam"....
Im not into that frame of mind or way of thinking....But basically what im saying is dont whine about and rich dudes when your sitting in "flashdancers"......and think with your own feet...When we buy our venue it will be about the music but it will also be about making money...
if cute bartenders make people drink then ill do that...just cos girls are prettier than you it dont make em sluts...jost cos the boys are better looking than you it dont make em homos...
Think about yourselves and not what other people do in there spare time....That article was good,,but it was very well written bull for the most part..... |
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| dcctnycprincess |
| ^^huh?:conf: |
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| djquick83 |
| quote: | Originally posted by steven-neil
dont blame promoters Dj's and venue owners blame yourselves and your government...Im sick of hearing all this"i only do it for love not to make money bull...Its a ing business...
the venues need to sell booze so that they can pay the bills and the promoters have to pay the Dj and also the venue if the night fails...
some people like "sleezy"so dont blame the venue or promoter for exploiting that..It makes sense for people to target certain customers and if that means fit birds wit big whats the ing problem...Businesses are in it to make money,,,this aint ing "live aid or oxfam"....
Im not into that frame of mind or way of thinking....But basically what im saying is dont whine about and rich dudes when your sitting in "flashdancers"......and think with your own feet...When we buy our venue it will be about the music but it will also be about making money...
if cute bartenders make people drink then ill do that...just cos girls are prettier than you it dont make em sluts...jost cos the boys are better looking than you it dont make em homos...
Think about yourselves and not what other people do in there spare time....That article was good,,but it was very well written bull for the most part..... |
Pretty much summed it up. As much as its nice knowing theres an underground place to offer good music with a cool deep vibe, it isnt possible with the amount of overhead of running a club, especially in NYC. Most of the cool places in the city are making very little money when it comes down to it, like LOVE or Sullivan Room for example. I mean Im surprised if they even break even at end of the day when its all said and done, considering Ive been there when there was no more than 5 ppl on the dancefloor. On the same end, u got Crobar that has all the VIP crap, yet makes tons of money and ppl always hate cause the crowd isnt to their liking. Unfortunately, it takes bottles and models to pay rent at the end of the month. DJ prices have gone much higher than before, mostly cause ppl got famous etc. But same will happen to the local DJs ten yrs from now(your ordinary DJ Tek will ask for 30K for a 4 hr set :crazy: ). Its just what comes with the territory. I mean Arc was the only place with a good mix of both, but that didnt work out too well either considering it aint around anymore. The best thing imo is for diff promoters to just rent out venues, bring the Djs, advertise the party and just pay ppl. Seems to work a lot better in Europe and most of the good parties over there dont actually occur in clubs due to overhead, but in large warehouses, outdoors, stadiums etc. Unless u own the property, have tons of capital to invest, which is prob the case with Timmy Regisford and Shelter, or you have it worked out so ure costs are low and u make slightly above on the profits, its not wise to open a new club in hopes of it becoming successful over nite. |
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| Groundhog Boy |
| quote: | Originally posted by djquick83
Pretty much summed it up. As much as its nice knowing theres an underground place to offer good music with a cool deep vibe, it isnt possible with the amount of overhead of running a club, especially in NYC. Most of the cool places in the city are making very little money when it comes down to it, like LOVE or Sullivan Room for example. I mean Im surprised if they even break even at end of the day when its all said and done, considering Ive been there when there was no more than 5 ppl on the dancefloor. On the same end, u got Crobar that has all the VIP crap, yet makes tons of money and ppl always hate cause the crowd isnt to their liking. Unfortunately, it takes bottles and models to pay rent at the end of the month. DJ prices have gone much higher than before, mostly cause ppl got famous etc. But same will happen to the local DJs ten yrs from now(your ordinary DJ Tek will ask for 30K for a 4 hr set :crazy: ). Its just what comes with the territory. I mean Arc was the only place with a good mix of both, but that didnt work out too well either considering it aint around anymore. The best thing imo is for diff promoters to just rent out venues, bring the Djs, advertise the party and just pay ppl. Seems to work a lot better in Europe and most of the good parties over there dont actually occur in clubs due to overhead, but in large warehouses, outdoors, stadiums etc. Unless u own the property, have tons of capital to invest, which is prob the case with Timmy Regisford and Shelter, or you have it worked out so ure costs are low and u make slightly above on the profits, its not wise to open a new club in hopes of it becoming successful over nite. |
The reason that it works out better in Europe is entirely cultural. US culture has pretty much gone right down the ter in the last 5-10 years. It's been very disillusioning to witness my generation contribute pretty much nothing positive, even in popular culture. If you think of music as a reflection of society, which I tend to see throughout history, these last 5-10 years have shown just how void of ideas we are. You see it in television, movies, everything. Ideas aren't created, they're just recycled, because it's more economically beneficial to do that than to create something new if the public is willing to eat it up.
I almost feel like we're stuck in a repeat of the late 70s-early 80s when the US had a very image-driven society and making money was the sole goal. I pray that there's the same sort of backlash that we witnessed in the late 80s-early 90s that will save us from the trashy, embarassing disgrace that our culture has become.
When twats like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Anna Nicole Smith, Britney Spears (nice ing hair, btw, and it's the TOP story on CNN) are what our society tries to emulate, rather than mock, it portrays a rather grim outlook on where we're are at this moment in time, and if it doesn't change, where we're headed. |
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| Groundhog Boy |
BTW, Mixmag (yes, I know, laugh...) has also given up on the Miami/WMC scene because of the same complaints mentioned above.
| quote: | from skrufff:
Mixmag- Sonar Is the New Miami
Mixmag managing editor, DJ and producer James Mowbray chatted to Skrufff this week about the upcoming conference season and confirmed that the British dance monthly will be concentrating on Sonar this year instead of Miami's Winter Music Conference.
"As a magazine we've been focused on Europe in recent years because that's where the music and artists we get excited about are coming from. And Sonar is where you'll get to see all those artists in one place," he explained, "Plus none of us go to clubs for $300 Premium Vodka Bottle Service. We go to clubs to rave," he laughed.
"Miami's not as important as it used to be, I think the days of going to Miami to find the big record are behind us." James continued. "As a business, Mixmag isn't hosting any parties there this year because the effort and cost involved wouldn't provide much of a return."
He also admitted being discouraged from Miami by the increasingly violent behaviour of door staff at some of the city's biggest clubs, with numerous European delegates complaining of being assaulted in recent years. In 2005, Mixmag staff writer Gavin Herlily told Skrufff how he was brutally attacked as he innocently queued outside one of the city's biggest superclubs, in an incident he said reflected the atmosphere throughout Miami Beach that year.
"Every club I went to seemed to be staffed by rude and aggressive security. The complete lack of respect for customers, especially Europeans there for the Conference made me wonder why the industry bothers with Miami in the first place," Gavin complained.
"The clubs themselves are overpriced and the staff that work in them arrogant and disrespectful. Most of the people that go to the South Beach superclubs are vacuous Americans with more money, silicone and steroids than sense. Music seems to come second best to hiring tables and showing off how much money they have and if I were to advise someone interested in going I'd say save your money and go to Ibiza," he concluded.
Back in London, James Mowbray was this week putting the finishing touches to his new night Heavy Industries, which launches next Thursday (February 22) in Shoreditch, with friendly security and free admission for all.
"I've set up Heavy Industries so I can have complete creative control over whatever I do, whether it's DJing, music, events, a label and so on. It's about forging relationships with people who inspire me and are passionate about what they do. And at the heart of it is music," said James. |
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| djquick83 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Groundhog Boy
The reason that it works out better in Europe is entirely cultural. US culture has pretty much gone right down the ter in the last 5-10 years. It's been very disillusioning to witness my generation contribute pretty much nothing positive, even in popular culture. If you think of music as a reflection of society, which I tend to see throughout history, these last 5-10 years have shown just how void of ideas we are. You see it in television, movies, everything. Ideas aren't created, they're just recycled, because it's more economically beneficial to do that than to create something new if the public is willing to eat it up.
I almost feel like we're stuck in a repeat of the late 70s-early 80s when the US had a very image-driven society and making money was the sole goal. I pray that there's the same sort of backlash that we witnessed in the late 80s-early 90s that will save us from the trashy, embarassing disgrace that our culture has become.
When twats like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Anna Nicole Smith, Britney Spears (nice ing hair, btw, and it's the TOP story on CNN) are what our society tries to emulate, rather than mock, it portrays a rather grim outlook on where we're are at this moment in time, and if it doesn't change, where we're headed. |
You have a good point there also. They are def. more open to newer things. I was just mentioning to my friend, Britneys new hair do as well as her rehab fiasco will lead her to produce a new album called, "REJUVENATED or BORN AGAIN" and ppl will flock to buy her and make her millions. Sad really when u think about it. :wtf: |
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| steven-neil |
| I got ideas that will present an underground feel to a profitable establishment that "will succeed"...By using the right people and presenting them in a nice clean user friendly environment like arc....With medically trained doorstaff....And what is great is that it will be a third business paying for the mortgage on the property...Beautiful!!!!!...Ive seen promoters and clubs come and go very rapidly and all for the same reasons,,,,"stupidity"....A club, beer and a Dj dont make a night.....Production is the key....Any idiot in the world can secure a venue and hire a dj... |
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| steven-neil |
GhB and djquick,,,,you kinda hit the nail on the head,,,useful and valid points......GhB's comment about cultural differences and contribution to
this thing were very interesting...I take all this in for selfish reasons only,,,,,if i come on this site and can press peoples buttons and see what makes people passionate its worthwhile.... |
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