Brooklyn Nightlife

When I was in my teens I got introduced to NYC nightlife. When I was about 14, there was a club for underage kids in Staten Island that would play freestyle and hip-hop and have live performances. I meet my friends there every weekend for at least six months. A few years later my friends and I started to go to clubs in Manhattan, but less often. We would mostly go to Limelight and Palladium, but I also remember going to a few other places such as Club USA and Sound Factory. The primary visuals were through different lighting techniques. I remember that the Palladium had a pool full of balls and Club USA had a slide going from the first floor to the second floor. The fact that the Limelight was an old church also added the visuals inside. At this time it was popular for girls to dance in cages on pedestals. At this time in my life going out was more about being with friends and about the music. I liked going to Tuesday Goth night at the Limelight, but I only got to go a few times because my friends weren't really into that. I went to see live concerts as well, but the visuals were provided by the performers and varied accordingly.

After college I got interested in going out at night again and started to go out every weekend. My friends and I went out mostly to small bars that had dance space. We became regulars at two bars in the lower east side, Ludlow Bar and Plant Bar. There were not too many visual aspects and we were going out for the music and the people. Ludlow bar played mostly old hip-hip hop and dancehall reggae. The crowd was racially diverse and down to earth. Plant Bar played more electronic and house music with a little hip-hop and 80's mixed in. This place had more of a white crowd and it was also down to earth. We would also go to bigger clubs, other parties or live venues depending on the DJ.

During these times, my friends and I had plans to see DJ Shadow one night. He was supposed to be playing somewhere in Dumbo, but when we got there a sign said that the show was cancelled. The sign on the door that said if you wanted to go to a party you could go to an apartment around the corner. We figured, "why not?" and ended up spending the night with some artists in their loft space. It was completely gorgeous with various lighting and structures built. They told us that they were throwing a party at the Lunatarium in the near future and we decided to go. It became another spot, but it was more expensive and the crowd was not as friendly. The big draw to these parties was the visuals. The music was good, but did not compare to the visual attraction. There would be tents set up with lights, various life size sculptural art, video art projected, large hammocks hanging from the ceiling to swing on, etc. and it was in a warehouse building in Dumbo that had a few of the bridge and the skyline.

I ended up moving to Japan, but my friend who was always with me during these times continued going out every weekend. She found out about warehouse parties in Bushwick that were called "Danger" parties. When I got back, I went out sometimes and enjoyed these Danger parties. We also recognized one of the guys from Lunatarium and found out about their parties (Winkel and Baltick). The last time I went to a Danger party they had a party on a boat in Bushwick with a 1930's theme. A band in costume playing 1920's music greeted you when you arrived on the boat which had a DJ and video art inside, an old time band up top, a tarot card reader, two people bbquing and party goers of whom a few were dressed up as though it was the 30's. In order to get to this boat you had to go to the address sent via email which was a warehouse in Bushwick that had a woman hanging from the ceiling performing in costume and a man playing an old wooden piano. That's where you pay the 20 dollars to get your ticket to get on the bus that brought you to the boat.

It seems as though these warehouse parties are growing. I now also get emails from a group of at least two women who also throw very visual parties and are a part of an organization that actually gives classes and offers opportunities to get involved. In fact, the New York Times recently published an article on these parties - http://nyti.ms/cbsq2D

The following are some pictures taken on New Year's Eve 2008 at a Winkel and Baltick party.

If I was to analyze the visual aspect of these parties and relate it to social justice/awareness/issues, the first thing I would say is that it does not draw a diverse crowd. A friend of mine who is African-American does not want to go to these parties anymore for this reason. The crowd is predominantly white. It feels like the parties are put on by and for people who move to New York City in hopes to be involved in something artistic and creative. I would also guess that the people involved have had opportunities for high levels of education, but this is hard to see just by looking. I do not think it's a conscious decision to create a somewhat homogenous event.