It started with a $4.75 IPA Beer. Ryan of the Ganglians insisted that we pre-game before we make our way to the dance party a block away. I agreed. We buy booze, pick up some tacos and make our way back to Kitsch Gallery. We killed an hour with talk of Jeggings, Pajama Jeans, and Tiana’s one-liners to future club hits. En route, the walk seemed wild with the Capp Street corridor ant scattered with drunks. The 2 Men Will Move You NYE party was packed to the brim. I’m now a little drunk. The energy bordered on insanity as we entered a lobby which resembled a school hallway. The usual mission suspects were smirk drunk, and the out-of-towner amateurs were losing their shit. No one looked twice at the below-the-bellybutton-baggies passed everywhere. Metallic confetti was shotgunned on everything. The countdown is a mess, and when I took a look down at my confetti covered phone I see that it’s 12:00am. It’s exciting. Now past capacity, I see a dude go tongue first into a girl wearing 2011 glasses. People are getting nasty in the building. Everyone is high. I close my eyes and it stings from sweat – it’s time for a cigarette. I make my way up the stairs to the lobby, and a new friend is completely wasted and excited, “PEDRO!” I say “Yo!” and the dude tries to feed me champagne and crashes the bottle into my face. No blood, that’s good. “Dude, let me hold that.” I take my swig, and move on to find a smoking hole. Now I hear glass break, and now I hear nonsensical yelling. I think it’s time to go. 12:30 and I find my people and tell them that we should go back to my place to chill before the next stop.
I’m home. I wash my confetti covered hair, and wonder how I’m going to make it through the night. I type out a text message, which is one coming from a few: “Afterparty: Boyz IV Men live, and DJs!! SECRET!! @ 1:30AM” (For the sake of the spot, I wont disclose the location here). My phone rings. It’s Sean — Sean is running the party and calls to ask: “Can you DJ for longer?” It turns out we’re one DJ short. I walk over to the spot, and people are already knocking on the door. Inside, Sean turns on the sound, and the system is loud and pulsing. The warehouse fills up, and is quickly at capacity. Looking around I see smiles, handshakes, hugs, and homies. There’s no reception downstairs, so I don’t know who is inside and who didn’t get in. It’s warming up down here. I crank the low end to feel more bass as the beat goes into four on the floor. Boyz IV Men start setting up to play and it feels a little chaotic. “Hey!” “Good to see you!” “Happy New Year!” – I hate small talk, but tonight is good. The Boyz are ready – sound goes down, three crash hits, and the band goes into a fury of gutty Casio dance riffs.
Details are starting to blur. It’s now 3AM and no one is ready to go home. I DJ another short set, and Primo shows up to end the night. Thank goodness. Italo-disco sounds are moving bodies. I finally take a look at the rest of the party: It’s crowded, it’s loud, and it feels like 12AM again. Maybe the Red Bull at the bar was a bad idea? Now 4AM and I see sex eyes and arms around shoulders. I’m thinking, “Primo has the best jams!” 4:30AM: “You’re misunderstanding what I said.” 5AM: “I know who you are, but you don’t know who I am.” It’s getting weird. It’s 5:30AM and I ask Tiana and Ryan if they’re ready to go. Tiana laughs – this is the first time in memory that I’ve ever asked her if she’s ready to leave. I pack my shit, drink more water, and round up the troops. Sleeping is hard, so I go to brush my teeth and look in the mirror. My front tooth is chipped. On the plus side, I only spent $4.75.
