When I was running clubs, I had the pleasure of booking Sandra Bernhard a number of times. Her talent - and the inevitable and often uncomfortably wonderful swirl of controversy that defines her every move - makes her a tone-setting choice for a big night. You always know where she stands, and sometimes you better be sitting down to hear it. I chatted with her last month, and we did a phoner earlier in the week to help promote the 30th anniversary of The King of Comedy - a restored version of the 1982 Martin Scorsese flick, starring Robert De Niro and Sandra – that’s closing the Tribeca Film Festival.

I'm sooo tired, my phone number should be 1-800-Mattress. I'm so tired, if I go to an airport they'll make me check the bags under my eyes. I’ll try to tell you where I'm at but don't expect too much of me today.

The celebration of Mark Kamins’ life and times culminates at Santos Party House tonight. Konk will perform for the first time since 1986. Lady Miss Kier of Dee-Lite fame, as well. Coati Mundi, Crystal Ark, and a ton of other performers will crowd both floors of the club that most resembles the old- school type clubs where most of these folks did their thing ...in days of yore. A zillion DJs including Jellybean Benitez and Justin Strauss and Mike Pickering and Stretch Armstrong and Ivan Ivan and Jazzy Nice and and and.... will make musical statements about the man we and thousands of others loved. I will MC along with Jim Fouratt, Chi Chi Valenti, Michael Holman, and and and. Proceeds of the event will go to the Mark Kamins Scholarship Award in Electronic Music. Walter Durkacz is the puppeteer pulling all the strings that make this sort of thing happen. Not an easy gig.

The shock of yesterday has left me speechless, but I will stand on my soapbox once again and advocate the use of "Paid Detail" police officers at large clubs. Go to a TD Bank and you might see a real police officer standing where everyone can see him. TD Bank was once described as too easy to rob, and they took advantage of the NYPD's Paid Detail to beef up their security. Simply, a firm pays $37 an hour to the cop and a 10-percent administrative fee to the city and they get a cop dedicated to protecting them. Wall Street has these officers protecting their world as well. In fact, the program paid the city $1,184,000 in 2011, which means private firms shelled out $11,800,000 for armed police officers with ticket books and arresting power. The events in Boston demand a rethinking of a department policy that disallows NYC clubs to participate.

The passing of Mark Kamins was a definite shock and awww (editor Bonnie spelled correctly!) event. His passing in February made us all a bit more mortal, a lot more empty, and had us all thinking back to our misspent youths... well, spent anyway. Mark's legacy includes names like Madonna, David Byrne, and Ofra Haza, and almost "everybody" of importance in the downtown DJ/music scene. An event called Mark & Cetera - a pow-wow of "everybody" - will celebrate his life. Santos Party House, 96 Lafayette, will host the party on Wednesday, April 17th.