So what happens when your favorite night spot gets slammed with a bit of negative press? Take the offensive. Ray LeMoine decries Joshua David Stein's article from Page Six Mag, calling it a sham from the very start. LeMoine begins by saying, "I don’t know if they have fact checkers at the NY Post’s Page Six Mag, but yesterday a story ran about The Box where the first sentence was a lie." As for the belief that the club may be slipping, LeMoine is adamant that the opposite is true, stating"
In truth, The Box is actually better now than a year ago. The owners have put together a more fluid show, one without boring filler acts. And the crowd is more downtown than a year ago. After Box-owner Cordell Lochin was locked up for drug trafficking, Serge Becker, another owner, hired Christian Alexander. Christian lives in the LES and is tied to downtown’s art, music, fashion, and media circles more than anyone who’s ever worked at the Box save Hammerstein. Lochin was known for his celeb-ties, whereas Christian is the guy celebs come to for a unique egalitarin NYC vibe. Now on any given night you’ll see a Supreme-type with a bartender from a local spot hanging with Ally Hilfiger and Robin Thicke.That's hot. That's so so hot and cool. But is it true? Our experts say possibly not, with a Little Birdy saying that while some musicians are still showing up to get on stage, the overall celeb buzz has dried up drastically. This debate is far from over, but maybe that is true for The Box too.
26 comments:
Wow...I can hang out with Ally Hilfiger...I'm so there! And Robin Thicke...had no idea who he was until Wikipedia told me he is Dr. Seaver's son...wonder if he hangs out with Mike Seaver and Boner!
Raekwon the Chef played there last Wed, Snoop Dog a few weeks ago. These are facts that if you went to the club semi regularly you would know. Stop hating!
On top of being Alan's son, Robin Thicke is the only white R&B singer with more black fans than white fans, which, to me, the author of the above post, is very funny.
I can also testify, based on what my own retinas and friends' eyes have seen, that celebs still hang at The Box on the reg. I could list who we've all seen there over the last 10 nights but it's a long list. Olsen, Ashley; Lo, Cee to name two...Not that I give a fuck, but Stein's piece makes it sound like some other place has taken the A-list crowd away, which just isn't true.
This time last year I was writing a feature on The Box for NY Mag (unlike Stein, I had all access and did extensive interviews with Simon and Richard). A year later, I'm still following the venue and the story. I have no vested interest in The Box. But, fact is, The Box is better now than a year ago.
Here's why: the show is better, more insane. Second, the crowd is more diverse (I was inside the club for 3 weeks straight last April-May and it was a homogenous banker-model crowd--very few "artists"). These days, show up btwn 2-3am and it is a very downtown crowd. Is it "cool"? I can't define that word...but def more diversity...
Anyway, the first sentecne lie I refer to is about about Stein being there at 1am on a Monday. No one I spoke to remembers a late Monday party at The Box for some time. In fact, there was an early JCPenny Monday event that ended before midnight. And I confirmed Stein was there late night on a Friday.
Prove me wrong, I'd like that, because it sucks to think a magazine that reaches 1 million people wouldn't fact check. Even if the first sentence turns out to be fact, the overall story was weak--an uniformed half-ass hit job--with a final quote from another P6 reporter of all people.
Thanks,
Ray LeMoine
I'm a chick and I love celebrities, but even if you're a dude and hate the Olsens, The Box is awesome. On any given night, there are twin sisters wearing nothing but fur coats and 3 inch heels owning the place. Who wouldn't like that?
yeah, but those twins are BUTT UGLY
Does anyone else think that it doesn't matter what celebrities go to a place, if it sucks, it sucks, and if its fun, its fun? When did that become the deciding factor in whether a nightlife spot is good or not. I've met enough celebrities to know that most are painfully boring and stupid, and your friends are probably much cooler. God, I hate this city these days. All of you should move to LA and get it over with.
Hmmm... was there last night and not a single celeb was in there, which was fine with me
The Box is definitely passe, but I still like it coz I live around the corner
josh stein is a writer who is known for writing nasty shit just because he's a nobody but he thinks he such hot shit. there is a whole thread about him on px forum.get over it josh, your not insider or cool. you don't know what the fuck you are talking about.
Certain people think that some cool might rub off on them if they are drinking overpriced booze at the same establishment. These places become victims of their own sucess. the owners are egomaniac's. All they want is page six, pagesix. You don't think this guy is loving all this publicity? If they are so great why o why can't they stay in business for more than 1,2,3....5 years???? flavor of the month that's why.
This whole thing is such a joke. The Box is so NOT a fun place to go. The crowd there is so fucking Jersey and Eurotrash that it stopped being cool about a year ago. Maybe some random hip hop artists stumbled in and showed up at 5am to get on stage when they had left whatever cool party or event they were at earlier, but that is far from the place to be anymore.
Hey Ray DeMoines, ever thought that maybe your puff piece in NY Mag might have been what did this place in?
Hey, this is Bin's, Genc's brother.
All you people say my brother rape someone. I know this not true. When Genc born, he have no penis.
Yikes, overblown commentary abounds. Regardless, the venue offers a pretty unique show/setting relative to anything else in the city. It's a pretty enjoyable spot -- even if a bit kitschy.
Best,
Colin
Two weeks ago it was full of dodgy Euros, bankers and trashy looking girls. And the stage show was a joke. I;ve seen better in a mainstream circus big top. Just because girls dance with their tops off doesn't make it cool. Null points.
That comment should be stricken from the record. If women are dancing with their tops off it is most definately cool, maybe not to you but I sure as hell enjoy a titty or two!
I can't really say that The Box has a "cool" (call it whatever) downtown crowd. It's just a bunch of rich kids tryin to be downtown, they all spend daddy's money on overprized booze. I used to love the Box, cuz it's around the corner from me, but hangin out with a bunch of wall street type of dudes with no manners isn't really what I call fun and exciting.
Genc's brother Bin deserves his own weekly post, make it happen DBTH!
Feature piece in NY Mag?
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=%22ray+lemoine%22+site%3Anymag.com&btnG=Search
Unless you're William Van Meter, your piece got spiked. And yes, you can follow the story and the venue a year after you wrote your piece but you should be aware, as any good journalist is, that stories and venues change with time.
celebs are only necessary to make boring clubs (Marquee, Tenjune, Mansion, etc) fun. the box is fun on its own
long live THE BOX
The Box was never cool, never hipster and is/was only downtown bc its location is physically downtown.
big deal, some celebs went there and they show a risky show which after seeing once is lame.
paying $2K for a table and being able to buy your way in immediately makes the club not cool. fact.
i was there a few times when it opened and a few times recently bc some of my girlfriends like to hang there. i've been going out in the city for 10+ years and i can honestly say i really dont like going there.
everyone is so caught up in celebrity and making that a defining factor i keep thinking we have reached the tipping point and it just keeps going on and on...
i will say this has been one of the better comment threads i've read in a while
It's true, anonymous, my feature for NYMag was killed for "skewing too young." I didn't say it ran in my initial comment that, just that a year ago I was on assignment. You can read it here though: http://medicineagency.com/blog/archives/313
Venues and crowds do indeed change over time. Still, The Box is the rare venue that's better now than a year ago. I don't know what club you were visiting last winter and spring, but when The Box opened it really was a homogenous, monied crowd with the occasional Damien Loeb or some other Simon friend thrown in.
Yes, on some night's nowadays there's a bunch cockheads in suits. But overall, there's a better vibe now c/o Christian Alexander. Cordell was cool, sure, but he didn't bring in the downtown/ghetto thug crowd.
And to the DeMoines-caller, I certainly did not write a puff piece. I didn't serve four tours of 'Nam to write fluff?!
Really though, what's a better club in NYC? Beatrice is Life and Spa Wednesday's ten years later but every night--aka nothing new. 1Oak is Butter Monday seven nights a week, woo hoo! The electro-sleaze scene is seven years dead. Tenjune is a clone. Marquee Weds is still fun but too Goth/nu metal. Sway is fun on Mon, Sun, Thurs, but--again--nothing new. Studio B-list is just that. Bacaro is the Hole on valium without DJ Gibby playing Minor Threat and Biggie. Rose Bar is gorgeous but a temple to Schnabel's cock. etc. etc. etc. At least The Box offers a unique concept in a great room w/ a central downtown location.
If everyone knows some secret place where there's only hot chicks and no Euro/Wall St/NYU assholes, I'd love to know about it. Otherwise, why not look at The Box as a unique institution and enjoy all the STDs and controversy that it creates?
Ray LeMoine
the beatrice is life and spa wednesdays??? they're not remotely the same. what are you talking?
have you been there? apparently not my man. beatrice is still great. no bottle service, no list, no promoter, no nothing. you get in or you don't. i always see musicians in there and artists and for all you star fuckers there are always celebs hanging out.
i was there several months ago and the beastie boys were there and jumped into the dj booth.
they play great music and its you can just hang out where ever. not to mention the bartenders are all pro's and make great cocktails.
since when is "hipster" synonymous with cool? eurotrash and blue shirts suck, but this is a nightclub, not urban outfitters.
Beatrice Inn -- way cooler than the Box
SubMercer (now reopened) - way cooler than the Box as well -- if you want to go out and enjoy NY nightlife, I'd recommend these over the box any day of the week -- plus I'm sure there will be a few new venues this summer that would be worth your time and money
the Box is just a plain shitty unpleasant place to be in, literally, physically, with all that fucking stench of Euroshit
the sad thing is that even Serge Becker's Joe's Pub was classy and had cool/interesting performances -- La Esquina's not a bad joint either
on the other hand, the Box is a place that just makes you wanna puke
then, on top of that, thrown in an airhead doorman who's not cool, or in the know, but just plain DUMB, and you've got probably the most disappointing nightlife experience in recent memory -- they deserve all the shit and smackdown thrown at them not because the detracters are "haters" but because the owners/supporters are poseurs -- the Box deserves to be shoved face-first down into the pavement precisely because of how much hype it tried to generate upon its arrival with all its PR whoremongering -- as if it were the new STUDIO 54 -- NOT!
as for the door policy, well that itself is also a joke
as much as it might be hard to believe (and I'm sure others might differ on this, as to each his own), but Wass, Angelo, Megan (good old Megan from back in the day at Hiro and other places) were all naturally tough door-people, but they were seasoned, smart NYers with an understanding of NY club culture, and thus they were definitely a cut above the assclown known as gans or whatever the fuck his name is
I've actually had pleasant exchanges with Wass, Angelo, and Megan in the past, and they get my props -- Gans, however, deserves a one-way ticket back to Kosovo
No promoters at Beatrice? It's owned by Spa Wednesday's old promoter, who is maybe the most successful promoter of the last 10 years!
NYCVET --
"I've actually had pleasant exchanges with Wass, Angelo, and Megan in the past, and they get my props -- Gans, however, deserves a one-way ticket back to Kosovo"
Bitter much? I've never heard anyone refer to Wass as "pleasant", and he's been working doors for more than ten years? The Door at the box is no nastier than anyplace else, New York is a tough city for a guy.
To be fair to the Box, they spend an incredible amount of time, effort, and money to try to make an interesting show every night. You may not like it, but they are doing something different, and had a real vision for a space. (Rose bar has a very different vision, but you can't argue that they made a quite a beautiful space). You go on and on about how shitty The Box is, but Beatice has the shittiest decor of any trendy bar -- it is a lousy space with essentially furniture collected from the local sidewalk. In the daylight you wouldn't want to sit down in there.
It is arguably the best place in the city, but I think your constant urge to puke probably comes from snorting something not meant to be snorted in that shitty bathroom at the Beatrice.
For a thread that's supposed to be fans supporting the box, kind of funny how the majority thinks it's shite
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