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FINALE, the long-awaited EMM Group entry at 199 Bowery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, has finally opened – and it’s a game changer. This is a place created by a well-heeled, bottle sales-based group with creativity at its core. To those who pooh-pooh bottle service and blame it (and Rudy Giuliani) for all the terrible things that have ever happened to New York nightlife, I say pooh-pooh to you. Without bottle service, burgeoning rents, insurance, and salaries would have buried nightlife. The problem is that clubs banking for big bucks have catered to the bores with black cards, a scene that’s unbearable to the artistic set. FINALE embraces the downtown scene with performance types on staff, and bartenders and waiters dressed and ready to perform at the drop of a beat.

Last night I went on a blind date that Steve Lewis put together. By put together, I mean he came up with the awesome idea of entering me, his editor, into an auction benefitting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and plotting and writing about the date and highest bidder in his column. The moment he declared this to the world in a post, my stock instantly went up 500 points which, in the high-stakes bidding world means $500.

Today is going to be short and sweet. The half of me that's Jewish is having a huge argument with the half that isn't and it's best that I write half a column today. Tonight I will DJ at Champagning Midtown at the lobby-level bar at the Dream Hotel, 55th Street btw. Broadway and 7th Ave. Nick Andreottola and Nicole Rose, along with Dream honcho Ric Addison, are hosting this shindig which starts at an early 6:30pm and runs until 12:30am. They say the idea is "to celebrate life by drinking champagne.”  I have many reasons to be cheerful this week so I may imbibe. As many of you loyal readers and friends know, I only drink two or three times a year, whenever I have sex, so I'm going to go to my "sexy" set for tonight. That's Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" to Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby.” You get the idea.

I was at a fight the other night and a hockey game almost broke out. OK, thats's almost the oldest joke in the world. The reason for that "almost" in there is that there is no hockey due to a labor dispute and lockout. The alternate captain of the New York Rangers, Brad Richards, is using his time off to provide fun experiences and treatment for kids and families enduring chronic and life-threatening illnesses. who are in need. Richards will be hosting his Inaugural Brad Richards Foundation Wines of the World at Hotel Chantelle on October 2nd at 7pm. There will be wine tastings and lots of Ranger-types around, so although it's not quite like going to a game, it could scratch that hockey itch. Plus, you’ll get to actually hang out and talk to Brad – which is pretty brilliant. To buy tickets, or to donate in another way, go to brichards19.com. I caught up with Brad and he told me all about it.

Project Imaginat10n caught my imagination when a photographer caught a handcuffed NYC couple kissing just before they were separated and led to jail. He was the graffiti artist and she was the lookout. The shot seen around the world had a romantic True Romance feel to it. This image was disqualified because the photographer couldn't get a release, but their fifteen minutes of fame created a lot of hype for this Canon project. Canon has gathered Jamie Foxx, Eva Longoria, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, and LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy to direct ten-minute films based on photographs which inspire them. These photographs must be submitted by today. Two-time Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard will be on hand to guide this crew through the process. 

Once again, Facebook is the bearer of bad news. Pal Bill Jarema alerted me to the passing of legendary sound engineer/artist Gary Stewart. The club world is as shocked by his death as it was awed by his sound systems. People spoke of his great ears and gigantic heart. Bill Jarema, ex-Studio 54 honcho, offered "imagine any of the great nightlife venues without sound and you will realize quickly how much Gary will be missed." Superstar House DJ Frankie Knuckles posted "It’s a sad day when someone so special passes on. Gary was a friend and a great engineer. On many occasion he made me sound so good. I will always love you, Gary. Thank you for being my friend."  Hundreds of people have weighed in so far but as the news spreads it will be thousands. Gary was a global presence. The club world, the scene, and the planet have lost a gentleman. I'll put forth that a client list is worth a thousand words. Here is a list of his clients from the GSA website: 

Artist, photographer, and videographer Clayton Patterson has spent the past 33 years documenting life on the Lower East Side. A pivotal member of the neighborhood as well as the underground art community, he's seen it all from the early days of drugs and violence to the area's present state of utter gentrification. Patterson's massive archive, which is believed to include over 500 thousand photographs, isn't limited to photos and tapes, because he's saved everything: press clippings, artwork by New York artists (himself included), protest banners, punk fliers, graffiti, even books full of stamped heroin baggies.    

The good ones know how to do it right. We ate late and headed to Avenue in a car. The lines outside were huge and we opted to get dropped up the block so some of the folks could have a smoke before the door drama. Wass greeted us with enthusiasm. My old friend and I have spent a lifetime in clubs, but nowadays we catch up only when I pass by. Wass was positively dapper, wearing a tie to die for. In fact, I touched it to make sure no little animals had actually died for it. Showing no lingering damage from his motorcycle accident, Wass and I spoke of new tattoos and a visit to his new shop: Rivington Tattoo N.Y.C. I promised to get my next ink there, but realize I'm getting my kraken at East Side Ink next. I'll get my Winona Forever with Wass. If my other careers don't work out, I may find a job in Coney Island. Is that still there?

Nightlife is full of moving parts and diverse choices.  A V.I.P. at one place may be just another body at another or actually turned away at the door. There are still places where fools aren't serviced because they will agree to pay way too much for a bottle and the table/real estate that comes with it. Even the best rooms in town rely on promoters to fill tables and attract beautiful people, which serve as candles, attracting the monied moths that pay the bills. Club management understand the recklessness and ambitions of the promoter. The word "promoter" is something the best try to shed fast. They call themselves owners, partners, directors, managers - anything to avoid the dreaded "P" word moniker. Promoters make promises to patrons that management and door staff often can't honor. They try to wrangle under-age patrons past the door and will say anything to put asses in their banquette seats. They are paid for production. It is a numbers game. Those that count those beans must be reconsidering the employment of Frankie Leone.

Most of us worry about jobs, dating, world affairs, and such; we go to sleep at night and we wake up the next day....we get through. For some, the pressures become too great - whether real or perceived - and they check out. The choice to commit suicide often leaves us stunned and helpless. For loved ones left behind, it is a defining moment that is impossibly hard to understand and move on from. I, unfortunately, have lost a few to suicide. Recently, a life-long friend of mine Alex Gubbiotti took his life. I was, and remain, caught up in a cycle of "what if’s", "if only I had's, “I should have's,” and other feelings of helplessness, guilt, and sadness. I can't imagine what the children of Lucinda Gallagher have gone through. Lucinda was described to me as "a 37-year-old super music fan from Hoboken who took her life in December." The rock and roll community is rallying to raise money at a two-night Bowery Electric benefit.