Rock and Roll never looked so beautiful as it did this past Saturday night. Once again, Semi Precious Weapons‘ front man, Justin Tranter (FETTY) and his crew, threw down and killed it. Between their Spring bash at the Annex, and last Saturday’s rager, I can honestly say…these glam rockers throw the best parties. Saturday’s Celenemy party took place at the Hudson Hotel Private Park- GORGEOUS – loved the venue and it was a beautiful night to top things off. My friend and I rolled up around 9:00 and bee-lined it to the bar to see what we were working with – Open Ciroc bar – sweet – amazing Pink Lemonade drinks – even sweeter. We met up with VICIO, who I met at the last Fetty/SPW event, and rocked out with them for the majority of the night. Be on the look out for them. Seriously. Big things to come from VICIO.

DJ Lady Starlight and Brendan Sullivan were playing rock mashups and the likes. Around 9:30-10, SPW took the stage (your damn right they made an entrance) and performed like nobody’s business. They debuted their new song, “Sticky Champagne” and within minutes the whole crowd was clapping along and cheering “Sticky with champagne, it’s okay, it’s your birthday!” as Justin paraded around the stage, and the Stevy and Cole hopped up on to different, various, platforms. These boys really know how to PERFORM… I mean they WORKED IT. The energy that Justin, Dan, Cole, and Stevy, exude is unbelievable – you actually feel their passion and emotion while they’re performing and you can’t help but get hyped up.

I brought my friend Nora out with me and this was her first SPW encounter; it’s safe to say she is offish on the bandwagon and will def be coming to their future events with me. Lady Starlight finished off the night with some Michael Jackson classics and Madonna – which led to VICIO and I having a vogue off. Good times. Followed by numerous Birthday shots for SPW Drummer, Dan Crean. Good times (Bad morning.) I even had a chance to sit down with bassist, Cole Whittle, and found out he it a lot more normal than he appears to be on stage (I kid.) He told me he plays some experimental electronica every now and then and I am super interested to check it out. The venue had everyone pile out around midnight, in which we all went our separate ways to different after parties. I ended my night at Above Allen and the Box (that story will have to wait for another time.) I woke up feeling like hell, but it was worth it. Saturday night was EPIC, I had such an amazing night and am already looking forward to the next Fetty/ SPW production. Here is my sorry attempt at taking “artsy” pictures…link to real pictures coming soon.

Bushwick is the new place to be these days.
Bushwick, also known as “East Williamsburg” has been getting a lot of buzz recently. First, Beauty Bar BK set up shop there. Then we had British Airline’s High Life Magazine declare Bushwick on of the “Cooler” hoods in NYC, stating that “While other Big Apple ‘cool spots’ rapidly lose their hip currency the minute they are uncovered, Bushwick, so far, has managed to keep hold of its underground vibe. It’s true that the streets may look deserted and edgy at times but, come the weekend, there are often colourful, all-night warehouse parties in abundance.”

Now, the moment we all have been waiting for… Mini Golf… has sprung upon us in the industrial town of Bushwick. The Putting Lot is complete and opens this Saturday. The site states, ” The Putting Lot explores the possibilities of vacant lots in the city with an emphasis on community spaces. Our aim is to inspire the imaginations of our visitors and provoke a conversation about neighborhood sustainability.” Hole 3 is called, “Are you wete yet?” Pretty interested to see what that’s all about. This eco-friendly joint will be sure to draw the masses out past the Bedford stop. Games are $5 pp and there are 9 holes. Not too shabby.
12 Wyckoff Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11237
(Take the L train to Jefferson Street)

And last but not least, the Wick is getting their own Mini Mall, no need to schlep over to the Burg to go to our measly 5 store mall. The Loom, a former pillow factory building, is a four-story industrial loft space with an entrance at 1087 Flushing Avenue. The top three floors contain 24 commercial loft spaces that are currently being renting, but the property owner had been thinking about converting the first floor into a retail establishment and neighborhood hangout to “make the busy strip of Flushing Avenue more welcoming.”

Check it outttt……

These guys having been in hitting the scene hard and in a good way. Expect big things from Vicio in the near future.

Last week I mentioned that Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano of 1Oak and Butter fame bought the old Plumm Space. Well what Noel Ashman’s next move you ask? To open the most exclusive place in town – and not 2009 exclusive but 1998 exclusive. Bringin it back!
Photo: Patrick McMullan

NY Mag reports:

Ashman will open the as-yet-unnamed venue with celebrity partners from Plumm as well as a couple of “high-profile” newcomers. He’s currently choosing between two spaces, each with a capacity of under 300 people (neither of them on the Lower East Side, is all he’ll give us). “Plumm was a bigger space than I normally do. I want to do something a lot smaller, a lot more private,” he says, citing his previous club Veruka. “Bottle service and everyone who saw huge money in it brought a lot of people into the industry that had never done it before. It created a situation where nightlife became really oversaturated. There are so many shitty clubs, promoters Facebooking … The idea here is to be really exclusive not in the 2009 sense but in the 1998 sense.”

Ashman says the door will be “extremely tight — definitely tougher than anything existing right now.” It remains to be seen whether he’ll go the gastrolounge route, but both potential locations have kitchens, and he’s talking to a restaurateur. His focus, he says, will be on doing something “really fresh — something that will change nightlife as it is right now.

Should be interesting…

It is drink-o-mania time in NYC this summer. We had the Bicardi B-Live and Dos Equis events last week. This week – we have a non-alcoholic drink throwing down with some hot acts.


In order to promote it’s new zero calorie product line and the introduction of its latest flavors — Acai Fruit Punch and Mango Melon — PepsiCo’s SoBe has developed a serious marketing campaign, which you should be prepared to see a lot of this summer.
Free sampling has already begun – they were all out on Bedford Ave in the Burg today.

One of the highlights is SoBe Summer Fridays, weekly parties in the NYC featuring rotating partners and themes each week, launching this Friday, June 26th. This weeks extravaganza will be hosted by the Eldridge and Epiphany Media. They have quite the line up, unfortunately it’s an invite only, but peep below anyway:

SoBe Summer Fridays: FRIDAY, JUNE 26th, 1:00pm.
DAY:
1:00pm to 8:00pm: DJ M.O.S. with a Live Performance by ASHER ROTH
(catering provided by Delicatessen, partners NBC, Universal, EA Sports & Ketel One with Scatch Academy DJ Lessons)
NIGHT:
10:00pm to 1:00am DJ Paul Sevigny with a Live Performance by ROBIN THICKE
AFTER-PARTY:
1:00am to 4:00am Official After-Party at The Eldridge with DJ Center
——————————-
I am not sure what else they have lined up, but I do see that on August 7th they are doing something with DJ Berrie (swoon) and DJ Cassidy. I have a feeling this shit is going to be good. Real Good.

In addition to their event marketing campaign – they are also going heavy on social media, running Facebook campaigns (Friends of SoBe Lifewater on Facebook will have an opportunity to win invitations to the SoBe Summer Friday events;) as well as launching TweeLife – A trademarked SoBe Twitter aggregator bringing the “best of summer tweets” promoting the hottest summer activities, events and trends to online followers (Expect Free SoBe products at the events.)

Coming from the Event Planning world and the Digital Advertising world – I think SoBe put together a pretty solid campaign. They are hosting hot events, embracing social media platforms, as well as building their own microsite. And everything is FREE!!! People love free shit. Do I think that this campaign will help them regain their market share stolen by Glacéau Vitamin Water – No – I think Vitamin Water pretty much has the “vitamin water” category on lock down. But I do think this will help increase SoBe’s brand visibility and make them seem a little “cooler” amongst their target demographic. This really comes down to a battle of Coca Cola versus Pepsi and I am interested to see what kind of summer campaigns Coke comes out with. Hopefully it will mean more free shit and cool parties…. Or maybe they will bring back “IDYKYDG” – If You Don’t Know You Don’t Go… ha! Remember that?

More free parties beverage companies please….

It is that time of year friends…. its time for the Giglio Festival!

Here is an abbreviated schedule:
* 07/08/2009-Opening Night
* 07/12/2009-Giglio Sunday
* 07/15/2009-Night Lift
* 07/16/2009-Feast Day
* 07/19/2009-Old Timer’s Day

What is the Giglio Feast you ask?
Well the Giglio is actually a “dance” of sorts in which 125 men carry a Five-Ton, Five-Story, Hand-Sculptured Tower and a 12- piece Brass Band on their shoulders and dance through the streets singing Italian folk songs,paying homage Patron Saint San Paolino and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This exciting ritual known as ‘The Dance of the Giglio’ has been celebrated each summer in front of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This feast, which has been taking place in Brooklyn for over 100 years, commemorates an extraordinary bit of southern Italian history, and is celebrated by old traditions, and of course, LOTS OF FOOD. You can expect a lot of Italian street vendors, carnival rides, some Italian pride merch, and, of course, the Giglio tower and boat (when the dance the steeple and boat start at opposite sides of Havenmeyer until they meet in front of the church and they do a little dance.)

Check out some pics on Flickr. These pictures are really amazing and you must check them out.

Some YouTube videos:

Come out, have some sausage and peppers, ride the Ferris wheel, and watch the Giglio Dance! This is a fun little Italian tradition and will definitely get you in the festive spirit.
More info can be found here.

OLMC Church – Havenmeyer St between N6 and N9 in Williamsburg.

The amount of events that have been held at M2 Ultra Lounge in the past month have been overwhelming. M2, formally Mansion, and even more formally Crobar, has hopped on the PR bandwagon, hosting one charity even after another. My guess is its because no one would ever go there on a regular night – but that’s just my guess.

Tonight marks the event of all events, in which the Nightlife Preservation Community is throwing down in order to, “raise awareness about the challenges that not only affect the nightlife industry, but also the restaurant and bar industry, and the many individuals and small businesses that rely on a vibrant nightime economy in the City That Never Sleeps.”

Anyways, I will be there tonight along with everyone who is anyone. The line up is pretty sick, there is a free open bar, and it’s def going to be a good time.

Get your ticket here.

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2009. 9 PM // Complimentary Open Bar: 9PM – 1AM

ALL-STAR DJ LINE-UP:
Q-Tip, Paul Sevigny, Junior Vasquez, Louie Vega, Funkmaster Flex
The Misshapes, Marky Ramone, The Martinez Brothers
Mel DeBarge, Jus Ske, DJ Berrie, Alex English, Sky Nellor
Eve Salvail, Danny Krivit and Peter Rauhofer

Hosted by Chloe Sevigny

M2 Ultra Lounge
530 West 30th Street, New York City

Welp, that didn’t take long. Partners Scott Sartiano and Richie Akiva, who own 1Oak and Butter, are taking over the old Plumm Space.

Page Six quotes, “Scott and Richie bought the space but don’t know yet what they want to do with it. They still have to finalize some details before the deal is complete, but they love the neighborhood.”

Who knows what the future holds for this space. But one thing is for sure, you can expect a hard door and a good party if these two are involved.

July 8 – Reality Bites
July 15 – Evil Dead 2
July 22 – 24 Hour Party People
July 29 – Wild at Heart
August 5 – Fame
August 12- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

All movies will be shown at the baseball fields at McCarren Park. This area is around Bedford Ave and North 12th street.

This spells fun. I LOVE LOVE LOVE SUMMER.

After you can head over to this party….

MAKE MUSIC NEW YORK & CAVE’s BLOCK PARTY POTLUCK

On the sidewalk of (Cave Gallery) 58 Grand Street 5:00pm-8:00pm
Free Concert will start at 6:30.

First set : Bryan Camphire (CAVE resident) and Bleakley Mcdowell
(www.bloodypanda.com, www.viva-radio.com/promiseandwarning, www.myspace.com/bryancamphire)
Second Set: Tatsuya Nakatani Solo (www.hhproduction.org/TATSUYA_NAKATANI_WORKS.html)
Third Set: Kaoru Watanabe with Tatsuya Nakatani(www.watanabekaoru.com)