Rhythmism.comThe Good, The Bad, The Messy #33: Summer Pre Preview
by buckbbuck
Thursday, May 10th 2007, 04:26 PM
It doesn't seem like it should be since it feels like winter was just yesterday, but upon further inspection, its almost summertime! So what better time than now to don some shades, crack open a corona, and check out the Summer Preview for NYC.
THE GOOD
Sticky heat, foreign tourists wandering aimlessly, uncontrollable frizzy hair, and the ripe stank stink of summer. Oh how we love you. No matter, the summer parties easily make up for the griminess of it all. Looking forward, here are the important things to get ready for this summer.
Boat Parties:
Overboard: Can you believe it, they are doing it again. One more for good measure the Matter/:Form boys are bringing Layo & Bushwacka! back to the Paddlewheel Queen. God bless all that is good and right. The summer is officially on as of May 13th. This party already has the makings of the best of the year as long as the boat does not sink under the weight of all the nostalgia.
Blk Market Boat: Returning to the High Seas in August is the newest party team as BlkMarket Membership team up with Wolf & Lamb to bring Taimur & Fahad, Derek Plaslaiko, Spinoza and special guests on two decks of trouble.
Le Souk on the Seas: In celebration of the 5 year anniversary of Le Souk Sunday summer sessions Swamy and company are bringing the party to the water, with Scumfrog, Astro&Glyde, John Dill and Sasha, this is another unmissable boat.
PS1: These are consistently my favorite parties every summer. There have been no announcements about the schedule yet, but one rumor has the Martinez Brothers and Dennis Ferrer coming in July.
Central Park: Underworld. Hallelujah! What else is there to say?
Daft Punk: Daft Punk comes to Keyspan Park in Brooklyn. After a legendary show in Coachella last year that was rumoured to be their "last show ever" they have followed it up with a string of "last shows ever" all around the world. So who knows, maybe this one on August 9th will really be their last show ever. Or maybe they'll play somewhere else the following week. Either way, you don't want to miss it.
The Police: My favorite Band since the 2nd grade. Their first tour in decades. Live at Madison Square Garden. See you in August!
Of course you should also keep your eyes and ear peeled for other summer-time favorites like Le Souk Sunday Sessions, Central Park Recordings' new Sunday Rooftop party at HK Club & Restaurant, the 718 Boat parties, the Minimoo Outdoor party with Magda, Friday afternoons at Cooper-Hewitt, Festivus in Central Park and really any other Rooftops, Parks, Museums or anything that gets you the hell out of a dark club and into the sunshine.
THE BAD: LAME IS THE NAME
I think I am officially completely tired of Clubs. Well, their names at least. It seems to me that more often than not, club owners are no longer as concerned with trying to find a cool, unique, original name for the places to hold their parties. Now in NYC this is exacerbated by the fact that there are approximately 10 million bars, lounges and clubs in the city, so new, interesting names are pretty hard to come by. Still however, it appears that there are only a certain set of subjects to reference that club owners everywhere in the world stubbornly stick with when they want to name their new venue which means every club or bar uses the same stuff over and over. The first step towards fixing this is to know what subjects to be wary of.
Categories / References to Avoid Examples
Please Note: Adding "Garden", "Lounge", "Bar", or "House" to these references does not necessarily help.
Now there are of course great names out there. Names like Twilo, DC-10, and Pawn Shop are classics. They sound interesting, they are not cheesy, their references are either totally original or completely unknown, and you have not heard the word or words painfully similar before. Nor have these names been copied and bastardized ad infinitum either.
Brand names work too as long as they are not too cliché. Pacha and Crobar are good because they are firmly established with the clubs and you know the people behind those spots are legit. A thing to watch out for is venues that copy more general brand names like Space or Ultra or Cream that probably already share those names with who knows how many other bars, arcades, or strip clubs.
Admittedly it is a tall order to pick something good. And thinking about it, maybe this really is not that new of a problem. I am sure it was around during the heyday of raves with Babylon 1 thru 8, Garden of Eden 1 to 17, all the versions of Euphoria, Together, Together Again, Together As One, Together On Drugs, you know what I'm saying.
Nevertheless, in an attempt to help, The Good, The Bad and The Messy would like to suggest a few guidelines to follow when you are naming your club:
The final thing to remember is that just because one good spot has a specific name, does not mean the name is going to make some other place exciting. Lots of folks have been to Space in Ibiza and it is probably one of the best clubs in the world, but that does not mean that if you open some new hotspot in Omaha, Nebraska, you should call it that too.
THE MESSY
It seems like every month there is another "Best Party of the Year" going off in NYC. I know of at least 3 that might qualify already. So what happened this month? Yet another one; Sasha and Three at LOVE. Sunday afternoon from 3PM until 1AM. Great crowd, best soundsystem in the city, stellar vibe, and of course the music was ridiculous. Arriving around 4:30 Sasha was on the decks already doing his best Jimmy Van M impression with some seriously wicked lowtempo build up music. It was quite a treat to hear him on the lower tempo afterhours tip. Then Three hopped on and teched out with some nasty acidy techhouse. From there they went back and forth, Sasha even taking a test drive with some of his new tracks that were finished a few mere hours before. Both DJs complimented each other well and the music was top notch. It was quite a way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Of course there were some other fun times to be had last month including Mark Farina at Cielo which was pretty good despite a surprisingly light crowd, Trevor Jackson played some fantastic stuff at APT as did Ursula 1000 a week or so later.
There is much more Messy coming up of course, including Loser, the newly announced 80s party on Wednesdays at the lounge formerly known as Abaya, now known as Stay. The first edition was radical and the future editions are sure to be totally awesome. Derrick Carter is at Sullivan Room on the 19th, Miguel Migs & Julius Papp at Tribeca Cinemas on May 20th, Steve Bug comes to Cielo on May 25th, and for all we know, there may be yet another best party of the year over Memorial Day weekend or perhaps one on June 8th with Tenaglia and Hawtin at Pacha. However, if you choose to miss the Matter/:Form Boat party on Mother's Day with Layo & Bushwacka then give up, you should not be allowed to go out anywhere anymore.
THE GOOD
Sticky heat, foreign tourists wandering aimlessly, uncontrollable frizzy hair, and the ripe stank stink of summer. Oh how we love you. No matter, the summer parties easily make up for the griminess of it all. Looking forward, here are the important things to get ready for this summer.
Boat Parties:
Overboard: Can you believe it, they are doing it again. One more for good measure the Matter/:Form boys are bringing Layo & Bushwacka! back to the Paddlewheel Queen. God bless all that is good and right. The summer is officially on as of May 13th. This party already has the makings of the best of the year as long as the boat does not sink under the weight of all the nostalgia.
Blk Market Boat: Returning to the High Seas in August is the newest party team as BlkMarket Membership team up with Wolf & Lamb to bring Taimur & Fahad, Derek Plaslaiko, Spinoza and special guests on two decks of trouble.
Le Souk on the Seas: In celebration of the 5 year anniversary of Le Souk Sunday summer sessions Swamy and company are bringing the party to the water, with Scumfrog, Astro&Glyde, John Dill and Sasha, this is another unmissable boat.
PS1: These are consistently my favorite parties every summer. There have been no announcements about the schedule yet, but one rumor has the Martinez Brothers and Dennis Ferrer coming in July.
Central Park: Underworld. Hallelujah! What else is there to say?
Daft Punk: Daft Punk comes to Keyspan Park in Brooklyn. After a legendary show in Coachella last year that was rumoured to be their "last show ever" they have followed it up with a string of "last shows ever" all around the world. So who knows, maybe this one on August 9th will really be their last show ever. Or maybe they'll play somewhere else the following week. Either way, you don't want to miss it.
The Police: My favorite Band since the 2nd grade. Their first tour in decades. Live at Madison Square Garden. See you in August!
Of course you should also keep your eyes and ear peeled for other summer-time favorites like Le Souk Sunday Sessions, Central Park Recordings' new Sunday Rooftop party at HK Club & Restaurant, the 718 Boat parties, the Minimoo Outdoor party with Magda, Friday afternoons at Cooper-Hewitt, Festivus in Central Park and really any other Rooftops, Parks, Museums or anything that gets you the hell out of a dark club and into the sunshine.
THE BAD: LAME IS THE NAME
I think I am officially completely tired of Clubs. Well, their names at least. It seems to me that more often than not, club owners are no longer as concerned with trying to find a cool, unique, original name for the places to hold their parties. Now in NYC this is exacerbated by the fact that there are approximately 10 million bars, lounges and clubs in the city, so new, interesting names are pretty hard to come by. Still however, it appears that there are only a certain set of subjects to reference that club owners everywhere in the world stubbornly stick with when they want to name their new venue which means every club or bar uses the same stuff over and over. The first step towards fixing this is to know what subjects to be wary of.
Categories / References to Avoid Examples
- Drugs: Opium, Rehab, Lush
- Eastern Religion: Buddha, Lotus, Karma, Tao
- Studios: A, B, 9, 54, Mezmor
- Medical Terms: Insomnia, DNA, Obsession, Amnesia
- Misspelled Words: Kurve, Muzik, Guvernment
- Weather: Ice, Rain, Mist, Light
- Outer Space: Orbit, Area 51, Eclipse, Luna
- Basic States of Matter: Solid, Fluid, Air, Vapor
- Sound: Sonic, Reverb, Volume
Please Note: Adding "Garden", "Lounge", "Bar", or "House" to these references does not necessarily help.
Now there are of course great names out there. Names like Twilo, DC-10, and Pawn Shop are classics. They sound interesting, they are not cheesy, their references are either totally original or completely unknown, and you have not heard the word or words painfully similar before. Nor have these names been copied and bastardized ad infinitum either.
Brand names work too as long as they are not too cliché. Pacha and Crobar are good because they are firmly established with the clubs and you know the people behind those spots are legit. A thing to watch out for is venues that copy more general brand names like Space or Ultra or Cream that probably already share those names with who knows how many other bars, arcades, or strip clubs.
Admittedly it is a tall order to pick something good. And thinking about it, maybe this really is not that new of a problem. I am sure it was around during the heyday of raves with Babylon 1 thru 8, Garden of Eden 1 to 17, all the versions of Euphoria, Together, Together Again, Together As One, Together On Drugs, you know what I'm saying.
Nevertheless, in an attempt to help, The Good, The Bad and The Messy would like to suggest a few guidelines to follow when you are naming your club:
- Cool Terms in a foreign language can work well
- Names of planets are Bad but their moons can be Good
- Obscure mythological figures might work, but be careful what you choose
- Numbers can work as long as they are used well or paired with a word
- Reptiles can work, Amphibians not so good, Mammals are iffy and try to avoid Fish
| GOOD | BAD | UNDECIDED |
|---|---|---|
| Cielo | Club Uranus | Bacchus |
| Opus 22 | Beowolf Lounge | Europa |
| Lizard Lounge | Senor Frog's | Pink Elephant |
The final thing to remember is that just because one good spot has a specific name, does not mean the name is going to make some other place exciting. Lots of folks have been to Space in Ibiza and it is probably one of the best clubs in the world, but that does not mean that if you open some new hotspot in Omaha, Nebraska, you should call it that too.
THE MESSY
It seems like every month there is another "Best Party of the Year" going off in NYC. I know of at least 3 that might qualify already. So what happened this month? Yet another one; Sasha and Three at LOVE. Sunday afternoon from 3PM until 1AM. Great crowd, best soundsystem in the city, stellar vibe, and of course the music was ridiculous. Arriving around 4:30 Sasha was on the decks already doing his best Jimmy Van M impression with some seriously wicked lowtempo build up music. It was quite a treat to hear him on the lower tempo afterhours tip. Then Three hopped on and teched out with some nasty acidy techhouse. From there they went back and forth, Sasha even taking a test drive with some of his new tracks that were finished a few mere hours before. Both DJs complimented each other well and the music was top notch. It was quite a way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Of course there were some other fun times to be had last month including Mark Farina at Cielo which was pretty good despite a surprisingly light crowd, Trevor Jackson played some fantastic stuff at APT as did Ursula 1000 a week or so later.
There is much more Messy coming up of course, including Loser, the newly announced 80s party on Wednesdays at the lounge formerly known as Abaya, now known as Stay. The first edition was radical and the future editions are sure to be totally awesome. Derrick Carter is at Sullivan Room on the 19th, Miguel Migs & Julius Papp at Tribeca Cinemas on May 20th, Steve Bug comes to Cielo on May 25th, and for all we know, there may be yet another best party of the year over Memorial Day weekend or perhaps one on June 8th with Tenaglia and Hawtin at Pacha. However, if you choose to miss the Matter/:Form Boat party on Mother's Day with Layo & Bushwacka then give up, you should not be allowed to go out anywhere anymore.
