Indie rockers let loose on the night

Don't fight the future, with this season's most vanguard fashions

A nocturnal excursion with one of Hollywood's most underrated actors

The sardonic comedian delivers fire and brimstone

Bravo's latest reality star addresses the controversy

Nothing like a morning-after greasy plate of deliciousness to help recap the adventures of a night of revelry. BlackBook caught up with Blondie’s Deborah Harry and her buddy Justin Bond, aka Kiki, the boozy chanteuse of downtown cabaret duo Kiki & Herb, for some frank coffee talk about the pleasures of the night for this issue. More than just a time for her to live it up, Harry also unleashes her creative powers in the after-after-hours, hatching her iconic songs before the world at large rolls out of bed. “Being in the city, staying out all night and facing the dawn offers an amazing perspective,” said Harry. “It’s a very creative time.”

It's no mere coincidence that the celebration of our nightlife issue was held at (gasp!) a nightclub. It was something we meticulously planned: to have almost 10,000 bottles of Dos Equis beer and the appropriate number of mouths to drink them. But in Monday night's case, surplus was a plus. Santos' Party House, that downtown default, hosted sword swallowers, contortionists, Elvira fright-waitresses, and Dos Equis, who were scouring the premises for the most interesting man in the world's assistant. See a gallery of the shenanigans. After eleven, a random metal band takes the stage upstairs, while downstairs, Cut Copy and the Presets spun their own after party. We however, opted for backstage, where bottles were emptied, bowling balls bowled, and glass (and hearts) shattered.

This fall, the Cleve won’t be our only city that rocks harder than Bret Michaels after a blowout. Deadheads and club kids band together as New York welcomes the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex to its fashionable SoHo district. Centered on “Greatest Rock Moments,” the new outpost will feature collectibles such as Madonna’s Keith Haring jacket, Bob Dylan’s harmonica and Keith Moon’s boots. All are fun cultural artifacts, if not a touch predictable. Here, BlackBook asks designer and music freak John Varvatos, whose recent Bowery retail location breathed new life into the iconic but defunct jam space CBGB, to list the 10 items that should have made it into the collection. Elvis fans, be forewarned: studded jumpsuits have been thrown out to make room for airborne pork, bloodstains and private parts.

Rei Kawakubo doesn’t care to have her photo taken. The Commes des Garçons visionary would rather allow her designs -- unusual, asymmetrical aversions to traditional beauty -- speak for themselves. And so they have. When first discovered on a Parisian catwalk in 1981, her idiosyncratic pieces were cast aside as “Hiroshima chic.” But Kawakubo stuck with it, clothing subcultures throughout the streets of Tokyo until being embraced by vanguard sartorialists and cutting-edge outsiders in North America, inspiring such modern iconoclasts as Helmut Lang and Martin Margiela along the way.