BlackBook Magazine

The Eyebeam Art and Technology Center, West 21st Street, around 10 p.m. A benefit honoring Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist for his “non-conformist success and commitment to social activism.” We shared a glance across the bar, about 15 minutes after the Walkmen took the stage. You smiled at me and did that thing where you tie the stem of a maraschino cherry into a knot with your tongue. I was distracted when the android duck that was rolling about taking Polaroids of everyone, bumped into my foot.

"So... did you get a pen in the gift bag?" we ask, wondering if we missed out on serious swag at Sunday night's Montblanc-sponsored after-party for Julian Schnabel's latest documentary, Berlin. "No, but the girl at the door checked my name off her list with one." Relief.

There we were, perched atop the balcony inside the Highline Ballroom waiting for Yelle to take the stage—which didn’t happen until 1:30 a.m.—when our friend picked out a bleach-blonde dancer amidst the mass and said, “Isn’t that Sia?”

"I want to be associated with not doing what people want me to do," said Sabina Sciubba, the seductive Italian-German lead singer of Brazilian Girls, as she flicks a lighter on stage at Studio B during Friday's party for the club's new rooftop level. Her multilingual, electro-lounge performance, along with a gamine outfit of red tights under a see-through tutu, an Obama T-shirt, and white plastic sunglasses, literally brought down the upstairs crowd.

The Ed Banger/Dim Mak coterie recently overtook Cinespace in Los Angeles. Everything was as planned, it seemed, at least in pictures. Nary a neon jersey was missing. Gold chains dangled from the lanky bodies that filled the room. But something was amiss, the scene seemed to have lost its sparkle.

This weekend, Gap and GQ hosted Coachella Chill! at the Viceroy in Palm Springs. Guests like Elijah Wood, Dave Annable, Elisha Cuthbert, and Ian Somerhalder showed off their VIP-ness by abandoning festival goers in the middle of the desert for the private villa GQ/HQ. Deejay Paul Sevigny spun, and musical guests included Marié Digby (pictured left), Sons & Daughters, Vampire Weekend, and the National. The party ran for three days and two nights, fueled by Patrón-infused Mojitos and the never-gets-old thrill of being at a private bash.

Once upon a time, in the mid-'90s, chicks with dicks, leather-clad fairy princesses, and never-been-kissed Drew Barrymore headed over to Manhattan's Don Hill's for its weekly SqueezeBox! party. It was a haven for outsiders who defied the stereotypes associated with sexuality. For better or worse, feather boas and Celine Dion covers were replaced by drag queen rockers. Everyone and everything was welcome. Debbie Harry (pictured left, with Roger Harry) performed there. It was there that John Cameron Mitchell gave birth to Hedwig's angry inch. Then, during Rudy Giuliani's determined effort to sanitize the city, the big, bad mayor blew this house of sin down. Now, seven years after its final bow, directors Zach Shaffer and Steve Saporito return to the debauched underground with their new documentary, SqueezeBox!, which premiered on Friday at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Last night, BlackBook partnered with SKYY to celebrate the release of our high-octane May Design Issue featuring cover girl Christina Ricci. Nestled within Manhattan’s newest hideaway, 1Oak, hundreds of imbibers brought out their best jazz-hands for inimitable deejay duo Andrew Andrew.

Last Friday at Joe’s Pub, Alina Simone attempted to blur the lines between comedy and tragedy. The Ukrainian-American singer-songwriter (constantly compared to Chan “Cat Power” Marshall, but accomplished in her own right) had comedian and childhood friend Eugene Mirman host her performance, a preview of songs off her upcoming album, Everyone Is Crying Out to Me, Beware.  On it, she covers the songs of Yanka Dyagileva, a Soviet-era Russian underground punk icon who led a transitory life and disappeared at the age of 24, in a believed suicide.

Nothing complements a cocktail like a panoramic view of New York City. The spires of Manhattan (and beyond) were brimming in full glory last Thursday when the exclusive social networking site APrivateClub.com hosted a fundraiser for the New Museum in the stunning triplex penthouse suite at the Hotel on Rivington, in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The dress code for the evening was dubbed “Creative Black Tie”, and while most of the gents ignored the creative and opted for the traditional tux, there were a few who braved the formal factor and showed up in a T-shirt and baseball hat (sure, it was DJ Neil Nice, but hey).