If you’re reading this blog then you (A) like to read blogs (B) are interested in nightlife and (C) are kinda in the know about what’s going down – mostly because I tell you.  So I am assuming you know about KirillWasHere.com – not even a year deep and he’s killing it as one of the hottest nightlife and celeb photographer to hit the NY – mastering the art of capturing people gettin down and gettin wild, all while projecting his odd sarcastic interesting sense of humor in each pic…needless to say he has fun with it.

Kirill Bichutsky, and his cohort Silent Dan, are already at the top of their game.  Rolling with a serious crew of nightlife all-stars, including Jesse Marco, DJ Sinatra, DJ NVM, DJ Chachi, and LMFAO to name a few…

Both being ‘in the scene,’ *ugh I almost just gagged. but it is indeed a scene.* we’ve been twittering talking about meeting up so I can get the full KWH experience.  When I got the text -‘At Juliet- we are getting shitfaced’-on Saturday, that’s all I needed to hear.   I had been couped up in Jersey for two days, coincidentally where these boys are also from, *shit I maybe wasn’t supposed to tell people that* and was in need of a serious drink.   I get to Juliet -–which BTW has a sick theme going on. Visually, one of the best clubs I’ve seen in a while— down my $18 glass of champagne and search for the man behind the lens.  Luckily he was easy to spot and even more luckily, he had drink tickets…lots of ‘em.   You can peep how the night went down HERE but I will give you a little run down.

We drank. A lot.

It was kinda a shitshow.

Kirill took lots of pics.  Mostly of girls.   

Saw some 90′s sitcom stars. Hung out with this character instead.

We left and got gyros.  They were DELICIOUS.

We were supposed to go to an afterparty. But didn’t.  We decided to build a tent.  Wait… What?

And then guess what?!?  We did it all over again for Sunday ‘Funday’ at Goldbar!!  I’m still fucking recovering.  A Bday bash for Jon Lennon with DJ Cassidy, Jesse Marco, DJ Sinatra, and Devin Lucien.   I only lasted an hour because it was too effing crowded in there and I had to pay for my own drinks – something I try to keep to a minimum.   The place was, however, a friggen who’s who of NYCNL.   I am not going to name names… I am just going to post the pics once they are up on KWH.com, so you can see for yourself.

You can catch Kirill and his crew at Goldbar every Sunday, Dusk in AC every Tuesday, and every day on http://kirillwashere.com.  Trust me these boys are quite the characters and my new fav peeps!

Juliet Supper Club
539 W. 21st St b/w 10th & 11th Ave [Chelsea]

Goldbar
389 Broome Street @ Mulberry [Little Italy/ Noho]

Dusk @ Caesers [Atlantic City]
2100 Atlantic Ave

This post is long over due, but better late than never!

When I got this invite:

Come see what everyone has been talking about. Brooklyn’s new traveling party Cheap & Dirty. The buzz surrounding this event has grown to epic proportions in just the past month, dont be the one that misses it this time around.

Hosted by:
Blake Galeas
Adam Stalnaker
Ryan Mitchel
Sean Conroy
Thurman Wise

DJ sets by:
MSBMSBMSB
FREX
grand cherokee
Tesla’s Death Machine

I was so excited!!! My boy DJ MSB(MSBMSB) was DJing SAVALAS!!! One of my fav DJs at my fav local bar – SCORE!

Savalas is my ‘go-to’ spot in the Burg – always a dance party, always a good time. Typically, Savalas is more on the hip-hop/ 90′s dance scene, so I was interested to see how this party going to play out – I wasn’t sure if the crowd was ready for the electro-goodness which was about to ensue.   I met MSB at Mr. West over the summer and have seen him at Baddies playing alongside my friends, Le Chainsmokers.  Needless to say, I was surprised, yet full of the stoke, when I found out he was coming to Savalas.

When I got there I immediately noticed an  influx in attractive people at the bar, there were even a few models there.  *gasp*   Yes, that’s right, there were legit models at Savalas, in addition to a few city sceneters that ventured over the bridge in their best hipster outfit- but its all good- I back it.
(On a side note: Has anyone noticed this trend of girls wearing their hair like this? just curious…)

Anyways, enough with the scene, back to the music.  The DJs on beforehand warmed up the crowd, kinda telling everyone ‘this is what tonight will bring.’  MSB came on and slowly started building it up with electrohouse/dubstep/mashups tracks and then just let it rip.  All the sudden, the place exploded with energy, to Eric Prydz – Call on Me of all songs hahaha, the bartender jumped up on the bar, grabbed the whiskey bottle and started pouring shots down into the crowd.  People were on the bar dancing, this one guy took his shirt off… shit like this does not happen in Williamsburg.  This was the first time I’ve seen people straight up rage in this part of town.  Mad props to MSB and friends for killing it – Cheap and Dirty it was, with cheap ass drinks and dirty filthy beats.

I hope this becomes a regular occurrence.

You can get your daily dose of MSB by checking out his new music blog: http://madspropson.blogspot.com/

PS: Savalas infuses their own vodka, tequila, and Bourbon and has some of the most crazy flavors like Bacon Bourbon and Ginger Vodka.  YOU MUST TRY: Oreo cookie vodka, Jalapeno Vodka with Mango and Lime.   Heaven!  Also – Ask for Jessie – he is the coolest guy in town.  Tell him Kristina sent you

Savalas
285 Bedford Ave (b/w Grand and S 1st) [Williamsburg]

Eric Prydz: Call On Me

Pryda: Pjanoo

Back in August, I reported that the Lower East Side den of debauchery, The Box, is still going strong. I went back six months later and guess what…IT STILL IS.  Unbelievable.  The fact the The Box is still hot, hard to get in to, and packed every night since they opened in 2007,  must be some sort of NYCNL (New Acronym Alert: New York City Nightlife) record.  The Box was my very first taste of NYCNL at it’s finest; I went there for the first time over two years ago, and have been going back ever since.  The Box is by far the sexiest place to go in Manhattan, from the shows, to the overall atmosphere, and to the ‘power’ the place has over when once you step foot through those doors. Trust me… you want an ‘Only In New York’ experience – you want a crazy night – go here and you will have a story to tell the next morning. Although, the burlesque club - if that’s what you want to call it - is no longer on the front page of nightlife, I still like to check in from time to time on my ‘go-to.’   The shows def aren’t as sick and dirty as they used to be – porcelain sisters, anyone?-  but are still entertaining nonetheless.

I haven’t checked out their Wednesday night theme parties since they kicked off six months ago with Box Beach Club which later turned in to the Pajama party- mostly because I am not going anywhere in a costume unless its Halloween.   Luckily for me, they no longer require guests to dress up, and every Wednesday is now Disco night!  Fun! Interested to check it out,  I headed over for my friend Matt’s Birthday.  I got there around midnight and the place was a little empty – but by 1AM the place was packed and every table was filled. In addition to their nightly shows, they had aerialists performers swinging above the crowd -topless naturally- and totally naked go-go dancers -one which might have been a hermaphrodite.   Five bottles of vodka, and two bottles of champagne later, I came to the conclusion that The Box will never die – it will forever be a good time and a staple for NY nightlife.

If you have extra loot on your hands – I am sure The Box’s New Years Eve party will be one for the books.  Check out the teaser here. They’re even bringing their 2010 celebration to Moscow...

Otherwise, try your luck getting in (Ganz is quite the douche) any Tuesday-Saturday night.  Heads up: Tuesday is Gay Night – which I also hear is bumpin.

The Box
189 Chrystie St [L.E.S]

Happy Holidays – I will be schlepping to main land suburbia tomorrow… ugh I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

Follow me on Twitter (@downtowndiaries) for my holiday updates from the land of fist pumps and house music battles…New Jersey.

I will be back after the holidays with a bunch of tales to tell….

Enjoy this video…

OMG.  Monkey Town might get saved by Yoko Ono! Apparently there has been mayjah dramz between the landlord and Monkey Town owner, Montgomery Knott.  According to Knott, his landlord violated an agreement made over the summer, and he’s suing them in state Supreme Court for $1.2 million. If his lawyer can persuade a judge that the landlords violated a signed stipulation, Monkey Town’s demise could be delayed. But if that happens, Knott will be in a bind because he stopped programming acts after January 24th. And that’s where musician Yoko Ono might come in.  Gothamist gives us the scoop:

Sean Lennon likes Monkey Town, and a friend of Ono’s is trying to get her to fill in with a performance that would surely double as a fundraiser for the embattled club. “It’s strange how these things come about when you’re on your death bed,” Knott says. He’s been withholding rent since July, and says the landlords (who include artists Oliver Lyons and Aaron Yassin) took too much space for a staircase in his front room (costing Knott four dinner seats), didn’t make good on their promise to redo the facade, and generally made a big mess of the place with sketchy contractors.

“They’ve squeezed us dry,” Knott tells us. “Last year was the first year I made over minimum wage, and I still make less than a dishwasher. I’m personally $150,000 in debt.” But the Monkey Town operation itself has a light debt load, and if Knott ends up closing as planned, the owners of Mr. Black have expressed interest in taking over the lease and turning Monkey Town into a gay nightclub. “That would be fine with me,” Knott says. “I’d be happy to walk away from this place and shut the door.” He currently has no plans to relocate the Monkey Town concept somewhere else, which is a loss for Williamsburg, because it was a consistent source of adventurous music, video, performance and food.

Nooooo.  Monkey Town MUST stay open – it’s a one of a kind.  I back any fundraiser and fuck those landlords. What douchebags. Oliver Lyons and Aaron Yassin – I’m comin for you.  You dont wanna fuck with the Downtown Diaries!

There has been some whispering going on about this new underground spot, The Wooly, located in the Financial District, in basement of the Woolworth Building.  Obscure much…hmmm.  Although things seem to be slowly popping up around the Financial District – but The Wooly might just be place to put the FiDi on the scenester map.

The Wooly, taking a page Beatrice Inn handbook, embodies the trying-not-to-try-so-hard,  secret, underground living-room vibe.   Currently only open for private events, I have a strange feeling it will be open to the general – yet no so general, because it will be uber-exclusive – public soon enough.

Guest of a Guest was first on the scene and has coverage and pics [here.]

By the looks of things, it appears that Beatrice and Jane refugees have been seeking fulfillment at the exclusive charity events The Wooly has been hosting.

GofaG sheds light as to how The Woo came about (and YES, I am already abbreviating it):

“At the end of August, Eric Adolfsen (with the help of his friends) transformed the overflow space in the back of his dad’s restaurant into a private club, the Wooly. With details like vintage Belgian wallpaper, wall lamps rescued from the Plaza Hotel (before the renovation), rugs donated by Vanderhurd Studio, lampshades painted by Claude Morais of Ruffian and a stage for performances, the club will generally host private parties, salons and concerts for an art, fashion and music crowd.”

Hmph… interesting.

How long do you think it is until this place becomes the new  “it spot”? And will the FiDi become the new home to socialites and celebrities?  It is quite off the beaten nightlife path…may be a nice change of pace.

The Wooly
11 Barclay at Broadway [Financial District]

Coming from a girl who works in events and marketing, I have been to a lot of top notch events… I’ve been there, done that, seen it all, until last night.  The team at Urban Daddy and BMF Media really pulled out all the stops for this shin dig.   A Diamond is Forever slash Winter Wonderland was the theme of the night and the Steve Weiss Gallery looked beautiful.  Below are some pics via Guest of a Guest – visit the full gallery HERE. How amazing does this party look?!?!

Custom holiday cocktails were provided by Patron (The Whole Collection) and Veuve Clicquot, the amazing staff ensured your glass was never empty.

The food! oh the food! Duck! Lamb! Lobster! Crabs! Oysters! Oh My!

The Dessert Bar of ALL Dessert Bars

Mia Moretti was on decks.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings entertained the crowd with a live performance.

I am still hungover and am trying to wrap my mind around of the events of last night.  Brittney from Chichi212 did a bang up job on reviewing the evening – so if you want more deets - peep them here.

After the party was over, me and my wingwoman headed over to the Breslin for a few more drinks – which turned in to be quite the night.  I won’t go in to detail – but there was a lot of interesting conversation to be had.

PS- The Breslin is REALLY nice – great vibe, friendly staff, one of the best hotel bars/restaurants in the city – has that old school, sophisticated, vintage vibe. Very classy.  Located inside The Ace Hotel, The Breslin is brought to you by Spotted Pig Alums Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield.  I would try and go there soon – before it’s like The Jane – and is over before it really started.

The Breslin
16 W. 29th St (b/w Broadway and 5th Ave) [Flatiron]

It’s a sad day, Monkey Town, the one-of-a-kind music venue/ restaurant/ art gallery/ overall really cool spot, is closing due to ‘”landlord issues.”  Known for their audio-visual shows and experiential cuisine, Monkey Town has put the ultimate spin on “dinner and a movie.”   They are going out with a bang and closing out the 2009 season with 6-Course Ski Lodge Dinner with Ski Film and Alpine DJs.  Below are the deets.  Reservations are recommended and there are only a few seats left – get em while its hot!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday; December 18, 19, and 20
Admission: $35 6-course Dinner; $50 with optional hot liquor pairing
Show/Dinnertime: 8pm:  reservations are recommended – only 12 seats left!

A 6-course Ski Lodge Dinner with DJs spinning sounds of wintry slopes, a 1974 Werner Herzog film about ski jumper, AND your chance to win FREE lift tickets to two Vermont Ski Resorts.

6-course Ski Lodge Dinner
Bavarian cheese fondue
Country ham, sourdough
Ginger braised rabbit
Carrot marmalade, swiss chard emulsion
Roasted garlic soup
Wild mushrooms, lemon crème fraiche
Seared wild salmon
Beluga lentils, tomato and horseradish jus
Gin marinated venison loin
Warm spaetzle and cabbage salad, juniper reduction
Apple streudel
Raspberry sauce, Vanilla bean gelato

Hot Liquor Pairing
Hot Buttered Masala
Garam Masala Butter, Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
Hotkvavit
Herb-infused cranberry juice, Aalborg Akvavit
Monkey Town Cider
Hot spiced cider, Applejack, Orange peel/cinnamon stick

yummy yummy,  Eat up because Monkey Town will be closing down January 24th.

via Thrillist

Move over Boom Boom Room.  There is a new club in town.  The Gansevoort’s counter attack to the The Standard’s Boom Boom Room is finally here.  Provocateur is gearing up to open and the reviews are in.  Let’s take a peek at what people are saying….

Thrillist:

It’s a rare breed that can adroitly inhabit two worlds — Indiana Jones could hob nob with academics and escape giant boulders, while Dr. Jekyll was the only lawyer to have also frequented prostitutes. For a club existing on two distinctly different planes, check out Provocateur.

The guys behind East Hampton’s Lily Pond have dropped a glamor bomb on the former Garden of Ono, with two glittering mutant siblings rising in the aftermath: a lounge (called the “Cafe”) designed to “bring guests into a woman’s fantasy world”, and a club to rival the house-music temples of Europe. Behind floor-to-ceiling drapes, the Cafe’s a sprawling garden housed under a 25 ft retractable glass roof, complete with a centerpiece of rare imported Silver Birch trees; on top of fur-covered swings, eight prominent banquette tables sit under surreal photo art depicting different “rooms from a European dollhouse”, each with hidden phallic imagery that suggests the real fantasy is that a woman’s fantasies are filled with peen. The nightclub, meanwhile, rocks a fresh million-dollar sound system to better pump a “new format of dance music” (Eric Prydz, Deadmau5, etc.), which’ll echo across 17 banquetted tables (each fitting 10-20) and a private sky box; the bar’s lorded over by a 20-foot wide set of Egyptian phoenix wings, while further decadence’s courtesy of black chandeliers from the Netherlands, a gold-mirror-and-lace covered DJ booth, and an elevated catwalk/dance cage, all generally inspired by Madonna’s ’85 “Virgin Tour,”  While the club will have bottles to drop rock on, the Cafe plans on serving light bites from Tanuki Tavern, plus cocktails infused with Borba crystalline skin care products, e.g., the wrinkle-reducing Fountain of Youth (Inocente Platinum/pineapple/lime/sage), the consumption of which proves you’ll inhabit any world in your quest to adroitly fondle someone’s giant boulders.

Drinking might be bad for your health, but now it’s at least good for your complexion. With a full menu of $22 cocktails made with Borba cosmetics (the beautifying crystals are mixed into the drinks), the new Provocateur cafe and nightclub aims at seducing the sophisticated city female. There are even cabinets in the banquets to stash purses and, as the night goes on, extra layers of clothing.

“When a woman walks into Bendel or Louboutin, she gets excited and feels comfortable in the space,” says co-owner Michael Satsky.

“I want to provide a nightlife environment where it’s the girlfriends who feel catered to.”

Provocateur opens tonight in the Hotel Gansevoort, and includes an outdoor garden café, complete with retractable roof and ivy-covered swings, and an inside nightclub with a Funktion One sound system that is among the cleanest in the city.

Each banquette in the cafe features a different backdrop, including one painting of a woman’s closet with shoes and prescription pills spilling out onto the carpet. Needless to say, the possibilities for clever photo ops are endless.

Re-creating the friendlier atmosphere of a European nightclub, Satsky had extra large banquettes installed, as well as a catwalk and a pair of giant angel wings to use in dancing shows. He hopes those angel wings will become as iconic as the Man in the Moon with a Cocaine Spoon sculpture from Studio 54.

For high rollers, however, the best show at Provocateur will take place tableside. In addition to the usual bottle service, Provocateur offers the novelty of pole service. For a price that “won’t be cheap,” customers can rent a stripper pole that’s installed into brackets near each table.

It’s a bit hard to see how stripper poles make this a more female-friendly club, but Satsky insists it’s all about a more social experience.

“In New York, people go out to clubs and just stick to their friends,” he says.

“In Paris, you always strike up a conversation with the table next to yours. Everyone is looking to meet new people and everyone wants to drink, dance and have sex.”

Urban Daddy

You’ve got your spots.

Your regular haunts, the dives that know your name and those few scene-y meccas that you always keep your eye on, no matter what’s going down.

Well something’s definitely going down at the Gansevoort, and we’re here to bring you your first look inside.

Meet the swanky, new little lounge and garden from the gentlemen behind deceased club Stereo, Provocateur, quietly soft-open now in the old Ono space for the Eurocentric revelry you’ve come to expect and crave in the MPD.

Walking into Provocateur, you’ll get the distinct feeling that you accidentally happened upon a sinister version of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show afterparty—large purple banquettes dot the space, there’s a black metal catwalk above the bar and a monstrous set of angel wings lord over the whole room. (Perfect for spontaneous Zoolander-style walk-offs.)

There’s also a decent chance you’ll bump into an angel or two, considering the house-loving models, friends of models and out-of-work-bankers-who-love-them that the former Stereo vets are likely to draw in. If you need a quick breather from the action inside, decamp to the garden area (open in a couple weeks), where each private seating area looks like a different room in a dollhouse (dolls not included). There’s even a retractable roof that opens and closes depending on the weather.

We’re thinking it might be closed for a few months.

//

Provocateur at Hotel Gansevoort
18 9th Avenue [MeatPacking]

I have clearly been out of the loop on this.   My old hangout and Williamsburg’s favorite coke den is no longer.  HUGS is now THE COVE – which makes sense based on the appearance.   I haven’t been to Hugs, in like forever, but based on what I have been reading there has been a lot of controversy over a dress code that was instilled – see picture below.  Media and angry patrons proclaimed HUGS was being racist for enforcing such a dress code.  This name change may be a rebranding effort, as management tries to clean up their image, and steer away from the negative publicity they have bee receiving.   But this whole issue brings up a good point – can a club with a dress code be racist?

In my own opinion, a bar establishing a dress code does not make them racist. However, it IS racist to associate the clothing styles listed with a specific race.   Assuming that only black and latino people wear baggy jeans, fitted hats, and hoodies, is a vast generalization and stereotype towards people of color.  What you wear does not define the color of your skin – so for those that are saying this dress code is being racist are themselves being racist.  I mean I am not going to lie, it is rare for a bar in Williamsburg to have a dress code, but I wouldn’t say it makes them racist – maybe a wee but pretentious? What do you think?

Well, anyway, that’s my little rant for the day.  Back to the news.

HUGS is now THE COVE and DJ Fulltime Fun is running the show on Saturday nights – trying to revive the old Burg hotspot.  According to Fulltime Fun, the new “VIGOR” Saturdays will hopefully be Brooklyn’s new spot for dance parties featuring today’s up and coming DJs + Performers. Bringing you creative mixed of yesterday’s classic jams, the bangers of today, as well as the fresh tunes of tomorrow.”  He also mentioned, “I might just be one of the DJs but…to clear things up…the management & owners did NOT put the infamous dress code poster up, they actually are the ones that took it down.   The hard working bouncers were actually the ones that put the poster up to make their jobs easier…and felt terrible if it offended anyone.   So please don’t think that the establishment is racist. They’re good people and they welcome people of all races. However, they WILL kick anyone out that start fights or steal other people’s purses/ stuff…and thats a no brainer.”