Always a Better Room Somewhere

On Friday I declared the Boom Boom Room or whatever it ends up being called “the best room ever.” This got some mileage as Grub Street, Eater, and even the New York Post carried the story with my byline (thank you). Well, that very night, I went to a better room. This is a fast town. Friday night I was taken to the Art After Dark, the First Fridays event at the Guggenheim Museum. The Guggenheim, which opened 50 years ago, was created by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and is the best room ever. I guess it’s silly to use words like “best,” especially in nightlife where so many points of view need to be are factored in. A good friend reminded me that at one point I thought Lit was the best room ever ... until I saw Rose Bar.

The Guggenheim was packed with a crowd that I didn’t know. There were lots of people who looked like people I know, but I recognized merely three or four. I’m rarely found on 89th and 5th and felt I was in a different town—maybe DC. I walked the room and its magnificent gallery ramp and enjoyed the rather important Kadinsky exhibition. Rose Bar always impresses because the Julian Schnabel design features millions of dollars worth of art. It’s almost enough to humble the egos of the rock stars and beautiful people who attend. This event featured a gazillion dollars worth of art, which was easily enough to humble me and my humble crew.

This was the first First Friday event of the season, and while I took in the art I could hear in the background the muddle of voices and music in the main room down below. DJs Ge-Ology and Dam-Funk were brought in to entertain, and they had the yuppies and a handful of hipsters pumping fingers in the air and moving to an electro-funk sound. According to my companion Jennifly, “they were mixing lo-fi with high art.” I loved the music. DJ Dam-Funk provides groovy, funky, sometimes soulful or housey vocals over his tracks. He displays the records, then tells you the name of the act and what year it came out. He’ll say something like “Tony Cook, 1992, you gotta get this track,” lift the cover high in the air, and start singing and dancing. I chatted with him after the set, and even though I thought he was the greatest DJ ever, I am reluctant to say it. He’s touring and must be seen before he settles back in Los Angeles.

On Saturday I went to Santos’ Party House for the Josh Wood-promoted Bootleg event hosted by Lady Gaga. She’s everywhere, and her support of worthy causes while she achieves stardom should be commended. So many stars reap it but never give anything back. She supports. A packed house came to listen to DJs Peter Rauhofer, Honey Dijon, Larry Tee, Una, and Bill Coleman. Honey Dijon played the greatest set ever. OK, OK, she was amazing. Her energy is infectious. You can hear her smile. The event was to support a gathering in Washington for the LGBTQ community’s march on Washington on 0ctober 11 for equal rights. It really seems silly that a decade into a new millennium that people are denied constitutional protection because of their sexual identity, orientation, or lifestyle. They were selling bus trip packages for the march.

Lady Gaga showed up and made a speech but left the crowd wanting for more. The poor dear agrees to host and support, and people get upset because she didn’t belt out a few songs. Santos was comfortably cool downstairs but unbearably hot up, and my crew and I bailed and walked the walk to GoldBar to visit my pal Jon Lennon and enjoy a nightcap. GoldBar was jammed with an excellent crowd, and we joined a few tables and enjoyed good old rock ‘n’ roll. I looked around the room, beautifully designed by Robert McKinley, and thought ”Wow, this is the best room ever.”