Upstairs Update: Shutting the Place Down

After reading the earlier report that Upstairs was shut down by the cops on Wednesday night, a Little Birdy send us this email that explains the the semi-secret Soho club was closed again last night for the oh so tricky "legal problem with the sound system".

Dear beautiful people,
We have just been informed that Upstairs will be closed tonight due to a legal problem with the sound system. This only pertains to tonight - we will be back next week with the same line up plus more! We apologize for the short notice, let us make it up to you next week...!

We hate it when that happens! Still no word if they have reopened for tonight, but we will of course try to let you know. We weep for you Upstairs, and hope that you can reopen soon. NYC needs you.

Upstairs Raided

So we got this rumor from a Little Birdy in the know, but haven't been able to confirm. Anyway, our Little Birdy in the know says, "last Wednesday night upstairs got raided for apparent liquor license violations. they were shut down for the evening...not sure where it goes from here." So that's what we hear. Developing.

VIP or Not VIP @ Upstairs

And now, fresh off a still chilly Spring weekend in New York, a faithful Little Birdy files a report filled with celebrity sightings, bottle service and dancing from Upstairs. We ask that you not confuse it with Downstairs, the late night diner that most people will never go to. And now, for our LB:

went to Upstairs last night (I know, I know, it's probably passe for LB). Met up with friends at mercbar first, and as we're walking to Upstairs, low and behold I spot chase crawford out of the corner of my eye--black sports jacket, black pants, blue eyes..etc. Then he turns the corner and gone. So we get to Upstairs--getting in the front door was easy bc a friend had dropped god knows how much for a table (bottle service...really, Wayne?...eugh). this got us into the "ultra vip" roped off area to the right of the DJ. we start pouring some drinks and dancing, until I realize (you must know where this is going), chase crawford is right behind me. I think i even spotted Michelle Trachtenberg out of the corner of my eye at their corner table. then, because I actually wanted to dance (shocking thing to do at a club, i know), I stepped out of the "ultra vip" section, only to try to make my way back in later and find myself faced with a *huge* bouncer in front of the "ultra vip" steps. I swear, the only word in the english language that he knew was "NO." I convinced him to let me in only when I told him I was getting my coat to leave--which I promptly did. although entertaining, having a celebrity in a club makes everything 10 times more difficult than it needs to be.

Hmmph. How rude! We certainly feel your pain, paying good money to be told by a security guard you cannot get back to your table. Bastards! That'll teach all of you, never, ever go dance. Ever.

Danny A is Done With NYC

Tucked into Part 3 of Mr. Lewis's 3 part interview with Mr. Upstairs, Danny A, the super promoter explains why he is bored with New York City nightlife, saying

If I look at the whole club scene today, I have to tell you it’s horrendous. There’s nothing going on over here. I wouldn’t go anywhere and enjoy myself in New York now. Enjoying it is one thing, I can enjoy myself anywhere because I have people that I care about around me, but if I was a twenty-three year old guy coming to NY wanting to make myself in this scene and see who’s hot and who’s not…I remember going into a club twenty years ago and saying wow, I can’t believe it. What is there for shock value now? I’m talking about walking into the Tunnel on Friday and there are people dressed up like clowns and the room upstairs, hot crowd, all that back then, you could be in the VIP room and walk out onto the dance floor and you knew everybody. Today I walk through the dance floor only so I can get where I need to go. I don’t think I’m better than anybody else, but they’re there for a different reason than I am, they just pay twenty dollars and they’re just standing around, macho acting…

We agree and disagree. There isn't much going on around here, but it's not for a lack of shock value. Things change over 10 years, and seeing clowns, gospel choirs and double dutch shows at the Box really don't cut it. Customers are paying over the top prices to enjoy themselves, so what's lacking isn't the shock - it's the fun and service that justifies laying out all of those greenbacks.

No wonder the folks in London are going so hard these days - their currency is actually worth a damn.

Also worth noting, our pals at Guest of a Guest snagged an interview with Steve Lewis, the man, the myth, the legend, and he gives DBTH a little shout out. Go give it a read.

Danny A Pleads His Case

Gossip sites are going gaga over Leo DiCaprio riding shotgun in a car that was pulled over by the NYPD. What everyone has missed is that the driver who was yanked out of the car to talk is a celebrity in his own right. Well kind of. We'll let our Little Birdy explain, "did you know that the photos in the post of leo dicaprio's driver are of Danny A? I guess he has another title besides the worlds longest running club promoter!" There is no shame in showing a visiting friend a good time, as long as it doesn't end up with all of you getting interrogated by Johnny 5. Just proves no one is above the traffic law here. The power couple was allowed to leave after 20 minutes.

Quick Hits: Weekend Recap

It's Monday, time for a Weekend Recap edition of Quick Hits. Did you feel that? We just hit you.

1. More tales from Upstairs, no one's favorite exclusive club above Cafe Bari. A Little Birdy reports, "My friends and I were walking past Upstairs at 2:30 Friday morning and decided to see what it is all about. We approached the bouncer, who asked what party we were with. I replied, 'we are the party', which set the bouncer off on some crazy rant about something or other. After going on for a few minutes, he offered to let us in if we agreed to buy a bottle - for $1600! We laughed at him and kept walking." Jesus Wayne! $1600 is by far the most expensive bottle of anything in NYC. And we know he was talking Absolut here.

2.We aren't afraid to pass along this report from Scoopy's Notebook in the Villager, saying "that Mannahatta bar on the Bowery may be moving out soon and that the operator who hopefully will take over the space has a great record of running community-friendly establishments in the ’hood." That's bound to be an improvement.

3. A Little Birdy was at Beatrice Inn on Friday night, one night after being shut down, and seems to have had a bad time, reporting, "the place was way overcrowded, very hot, and every guy in there was rocking skinny suspenders. Awful." To each his own, we guess.

4. Finally, yours truly walked past the San Loco on Avenue A recently, and we are proud to report that they are serving booze once again. Viva San Loco! Viva El Guaco Loco!

Breaking: Diddy Fighting at Upstairs

You hear something once, and you brush it off as rumor. You hear something twice, and you start to believe a little bit more. Three times, well, that little piece of gossip is almost a fact. So here it goes.

Our old friend Diddy was busted for fighting last weekend. Not very smooth. We don't care too much about the man's comings and goings, so we let the story go at that. But the story has taken an interesting turn. Every published report puts the event at Kiosk, a store at 95 Spring Street that apparently "which hosts social events at night". Uh, we don't think so. Then a Little Birdy reminded us that this is the same block as our old friend, Upstairs, the bar that has been described as "small, intimate and PACKED with six-foot runway models."

Now, we have been hearing from a few very reliable sources that Diddy was at Upstairs on Friday night/Saturday AM. The brawl went down both inside and outside the club, and according to a Little Birdy that is most definitely in the know, "Danny A's trying to blame the bar down the street."

Now that is something that does make sense. Your club's legality is still on shaky ground. A promoter who claims to work parties there is a major DB, and now a trouble making celeb gets arrested outside. This is all bad news for Danny A. But it's great news for us.

Consider this one developing. But now you know why we were able to say, Upstairs is really ou'st.

UPDATE: The Post piggy backs on what we already knew. Upstairs is one dangerous place.

Break Down: Upstairs Bar Part II

We already Broke Down where Upstairs is. Now, based on a little note we received, we will breakdown why you go there and just how to get in. Let's begin.

Why You Go:
1. To AVOID commoners.
2. This club is for the elite. IF this is you, then GO.
3. The club is small, intimate and PACKED with six-foot runway models.

Those are all great reasons on why to pick Upstairs as your drinking establishment of choice. We hate commoners. But we love you. Now, to the second and more important breakdown.

How You Get In:
1. Call the doorman Wayne. He is black and really cool.
2. Call Wayne at 11:30 and tell him you are Danny A's friend.
3. Tell him you met Danny -A- at a model party a few weeks ago.
4. Don't get a table.
5. Go at exactly 12:30 and you better be dressed HOT and COOL.
6. If you are a guy you MUST have at least one tall woman with you OR YOU WILL NOT GET IN. Two women are better. Two or more men together WILL NEVER GET IN.
7. You should ONLY go as a couple the first time you go.
8. Go in, have few drinks, and then come down later and hang out a bit and get to know Wayne the doorman.
9. Give Wayne $20 at some point.

Lordie. That's a lot of rules. And it seems like an awful lot of lies to tell just to get in to a bar. We hate liars. How about this? You open a bar, check ID's, play good music and serve good drinks at a reasonable price. Then, and only then, we will think about coming by to hang out and spend money.

Upstairs: Really, Really Ous't

Not to beat a dead horse, but is there anything lamer than a secret club trying to get more customers by hiring promoters to promote the club's secretness. Answer: No. Another email begging us to come to Upstairs came in, and this thing is truly next level.

If you don't know who Danny -A- is or don't want to Google HIM do not try to get into this club. I was there last night and he was blowing out losers and short people. We were hanging out with Leonardio DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Shakira and a room full of runway models. This is where these people go to AVOID commoners.

It is a PRIVATE club. It is above Cafe Bari on the corner of Spring and Broadway. The doorman is a stocky, really cool black guy named Wayne. His PERSONAL phone number is 646-515-^&*(removed). Call him at 11:30 and tell him Danny -A- gave you his number and you are going to stop by in a little while. If he asks, and he probaly won't, tell him you met Dannay -A- at a model party a few weeks ago. If he asks if you want a table SAY NO, that you are just stopping by. The club opens at midnight. To get in go at exactly 12:30 and you better be dressed HOT and COOL. If you are a guy you MUST have at least one tall woman with you OR YOU WILL NOT GET IN. Two women are better. Two or more men together WILL NEVER GET IN.

You should ONLY go as a couple the first time you go. Go in, have few drinks, and then come down later and hang out a bit and get to know Wayne the doorman. A $20 tip will help him remember you. He is really cool and KNOWS EVERYONE he lets in. This club is for the elite. IF this is you, then GO.

The club is small, intimate and PACKED with six-foot runway models. If you want to whine and say sour grapes and that this is not for you, fine DON'T GO. Otherwise, to continue to get the passwords for the two other SUPER HOT new NY clubs, send us a report AFTER you get in to Cafe Bari. Once you go to Cafe Bari and give us a report, we will send you the info for the other two new super hot clubs in town.

Oh man. Someone really wrote this? A human being? This is just too much for us to handle. We have hired 3 interns to parse through all the details. But now we know, Upstairs is really, really ous't.

Ins't or Ous't: Upstairs

Time for a brand new feature here at DBTH: Ins't or Ous't, where we tackle the state of New York City nightlife establishments and decide whether they are worth your time. Get it? Got it.
Place: Upstairs
Neighborhood: Soho
Status: Ous't

It was just a few months ago that Upstairs burst onto the scene, wowing the hipserati with is semi secret location (above Cafe Bari), A-level promoter and over-abundance of curtains. Shockingly, no one really cared. And if you thought it was over before it got started, we are ready to confirm it. You know why? We recently got hit with this email:

Okay, so www.Gawker.com outed the new -A- list only hot new Soho hot spot, now we have the inside info for you... Danny A , New York's hottest promoter has opened a small private club and now you can get in. Last week Shakira, Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg hung out here. Just send send an email request to [super awesome party list] and we'll give you the address and the secret password to get in....Compliments of The Balsin.

We actually hurt our finger trying to respond to this offer. Thanks www.Gawker.com for letting the public in on this secret. In less than 2 months, Upstairs has gone from a secret club for celebs and insiders to being open to bloggers and anyone else with an email address, complete with the tease that we may just get to see Leo et al. Egggh.

Just like that, Upstairs is officially ous't.

What a Wednesday

Two Little Birdy's with two tidbits from Wednesday night that we have to pass along.

1. LB numero uno reports, "I was walking along Bowery last night around 10:30 and noticed that the Bowery Hotel was having a party on it's roof space. There were no photographers, no grand rope scheme, just one blonde girl with a clipboard. I asked blondie who was throwing the event, and she told me it was a 'private event'. No shit."

2. LB numero two says, "I just passed by Cafe Bari and noticed that they had a velvet rope set up outside that second door leading to Upstairs. I didn't see a door man, but think there was one lurking behind the glass door. There was no crowd waiting to be let in either."

Let's digest. Noting the lack of event planny type staff and activity, The Bowery could very well be in soft open. Or it could have just been a private party since the space is available for anyone to rent for a one off. As for Upstairs, you didn't think a little publicity would shut the place down did you? Puhhlease.

Get Down for the Upstairs, Everybody Get Down

Ooooh secret bar. Oooh so secret. Oooooh Danny A. Oooooh how do we find out more. You want to know more? You want to know more? We'll tell you more! Without further adieu, a very special Little Birdy.

It's actually housed in Cafe Bari, in the upstairs part of the resto. The place turns into a nightclub a few nights/week. We were clued into the fact that it was the right place because there's graffiti in the back hallway with a big "Upstairs" graff. Then you go in the back door to the restaurant. Who we assume was Danny A. was sitting there with some important looking people, looking/acting really pissed, reading the Post, looking at papers, on their blackberries. A couple of times he yelled at the waiters - we're assuming because that's where they think the leak came from.

Yelling at the waiters, nice touch. To add a few more details, the space has been long planned and is permitted. Like LB said, don't expect a 7 day a week celeb-a-thon. Danny A. and Co. only plan to let you upstairs a few nights a week. 7-Up? We dig.