The Woes of Socialista

There are thousands of cabs in Manhattan, but last night we stepped into the best. After giving our driver our cross streets, not only did he speak New York English, but also knew what was at that address. Our cabbie then began to regale us with stories about New York City nightlife, both past and present, and by the end we wanted to hire him to join this here site.

One of the most interesting tales we heard involved Socialista, Armin's snazzy little Cuban joint in the far West Village. According to our cabbie, even before the Hep A incident, Socialista was having trouble drawing the nightlife elite. It wasn't because of the location, the tight door, or the prices (although they probably all contribute), but because Armin ran such a clean joint. He has actively kept any known drug dealers out of the club, which means that his customers who dabble in that thing either choose not to come, or have to leave when the booze starts to make them sleepy. The club was in trouble before that, and this Hep A scare will either be the nail in the coffin or a real wake up call for him to change his ways.

Now, this was just the story that our cabbie told us. But the guy knew his stuff. A lot of stuff. And from our experiences at Socialista, the place is definitely on the level. But we will let you our readers make up your own mind. And don't feel too bad for Armin, Harvey W. and Cirpriani - we know a few hotel guys that would probably be happy to take that lease off their hands.

And when we asked the cabbie for his card, he politely told us "no", saying "you either already have it or you get lucky enough to get in my cab. I don't give my number to no one." And that's that.

The Shoolbred Shill

We love all of our readers and welcome any and all comments. But we don't appreciate when interested parties anonymously drop glowing praises of their own venues. What is this - yelp? So it is with great sadness that we call out Shoolbred's for breaking this rule. After running a short item on the new East Village bar/resty, a commenter says:

I was there this past weekend for a friend's birthday and we had a great time. Shoolbreds has everything from comfortable leather chairs around a fire place (it's like drinking in your living room but you don't have to clean up the mess...and there's a fireplace!) to a hidden hangout nook in the back. It has an heir of sophistication but can also be a place you go to to do Jager shots with your friends without being surrounded by college kids (although, what are you doing Jager shots for if you're out of college?!) Crowd was mostly in their 20's & 30's and the bartenders treated us great. I would say it's pretty much the full package. I'll go back.

Well, our living room has windows and no fireplace, so it isn't exactly the same. But a few hours later, another commenter follows with:

This place has a great atmosphere - love the leather chairs by the fireplace and the stained glass. It's definitely the kind of place you want to go to if you want to chill, throw back a few drinks, and hang out with your friends. My favorite parts: you don't have to stand there for 20 minutes waiting for a drink because there is ample staff and they're very good about taking care of you, and the music is not so obnoxiously loud that you are hoarse for 3 days after going out and screaming all night to someone who is standing right next to you. You can't beat that.

Well, we were there when it was pretty dead and did wait 10 minutes for a drink. And frankly, the drink wasn't that good. We suggest running your own shop, rather than interfering in ours.

Early to Bed for Upstairs

Behold, some of the first available images from, Upstairs, the oh so secretive lounge above Cafe Bari in Soho. It looks amazing doesn't it? It does. But what we want to know is, why does it close so early? Last night, Cisco Adler and his band played there, but when they mercifully stopped playing, the lights came on at 1:00 AM and everyone was forced out. Very strange for a late night spot. Very strange. Then again, it seems weird things have a way of happening there.

Flyer Follies

Nightclub promoters have always loved flyers as a means to attract guests to their events. Now, they love making one flyer and blasting it out to all of their "friends". After receiving the flyer shown above, one reader has had enough, saying, "Do these things actually entice people to go to these places? She is not even cute. I love that I am 'cordially invited to attend'. Oh, and the computer rendering of the place really makes me want to go even more. Imagine getting one of these and thinking, you know what, I'm going to go to tonight, its just too hot to miss." We couldn't have said it any better ourselves. In fact, we have nothing to add. Great job reader.

Pink Elephant Goes Blimey

The hits just keep on coming. A Little Birdy just hit us on the wire with some big news, saying "David Cabo and Shawn Kolodny are in London as we speak looking at spaces for the Pink Elephant." That's real time information folks. With Bungalow 8 already open and Cain looking to close their deal, it makes sense that the Pink Elephant crew would soon follow. Also, we have seen a clear demarcation in the New York Club world between the global players and the regional ones, with players such as Noah and Jason and the Stereo crew (who have recently been seen in Vegas looking at deals), keeping their eyes on Las Vegas megaclubs and the tourists who flock to them, while the Cain and Elephant team cater to the global scene, of which London is the capital. And Ms. Sacco? With projects in Vegas, London and her mega deal with Morgans, she is obviously the big bird of the nest.

Super Supper Club?

Yesterday, Page Six the Magazine had an article by our good friend and contemporary .Joshua David Stein peering into the oh so exclusive and utterly boring realm of the Supper Club, the new members only party circuit put together by London socialite Tamsin Lonsdale. Once every so often, these private little groups pop up, and like clockwork quickly go away. You know why? Because they are utterly unnecessary. You may think its big, but socially, New York City is quite small. Everyone knows most everyone (excluding yours truly), and when you travel to LA, London, Vegas or Miami, its more of the same. Adding Facebook, ASmallWorld and the rest of the so-called social networking communities to the mix just makes these private clubs irrelevant.

So why do they continue to exist? Because corporations see them as the perfect luxury marketing tool. Tamsin explains so herself. Get 1000 rich people on a list, invite them to parties, and hope your brand catches on. Does it work? No. But it is impressive that this counts as work for some people. More power to you. But after paying your membership fees and being seated at a table at Nobu with 12 guys from UBS for a Supper Club event, you will probably wonder what happened to the exclusivity you were promised. Our guess is back in London, having champagne coolies at Boujis and laughing about it with the old world folks on the other side of the pond.

On the Circuit: Hard Rock Hits Vegas

What: Hard Rock Hotel Hits New York
Where: Stereo, West 29th Street - Chelsea

The good folks from the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas brought their show to New York, hoping to say hello to their New York high rollers and maybe pull in a few new ones. We decided to check it out. Uh, mistake. May we suggest not walking in to Stereo while the sun is still shining. Thank you. On the plus side, the drinks were free. The negatives? Just about everything else. The crowd was 100% suits, mixed with 10 female casino hosts imported for the affair. Thus, said suits spent tried their best to woo the out of towners. (Evidence above) The success rate seemed to be pretty darn low. The drinks came in the Stereo's customary plastic glass, and they were passing around some sort of apps. But really, who is eating anything out of that kitchen? Not us. When having a party, it is pretty hard to achieve negative authenticity, a setting so contrived it reeks of contrivity. We have to hand it to them, because they did in fact achieve it.

After 30 minutes, we had seen enough. We bid adieu to our group and moseyed on out of there. You really can't win them all.

Don't forget to check our Flickr page, full of fresh intelligence.

The Love Train Rolls On

We try to be modest. But once in a while, we like to toot our own Hipster. Heh. It's crazy to think back to how it all got started. But as much as we love reminiscing, we've got our eyes set dead ahead. We hope you stay with us as we move forward. If you do, we promise you a few things.

We will always keep it fresh.

We will always keep it fun.

We will always say it with a smile on our smiling face.

We got nothing but love for everyone, especially our readers. This love train is ready to roll, so get on board.

Humbly,

DBTH