nightlife

A friend of mine once told me that one of the most striking characteristics of the Manhattan mini-neighborhood known as the Meatpacking District was the proliferation of "baby giraffes."

Basically, what he meant were the hordes of impossibly skinny young women in mile-high stiletto heels, teetering through the cobblestone streets of the party-heavy neighborhood as though they were juvenile specimens of Giraffa camelopardalis who couldn't quite control their pole-like legs. (In case you couldn't tell, the Meatpacking District's warehouses have largely given way to pricey designer boutiques and the nightclubs that keep Us Weekly's … Read more

The coolest after-dark attractions just have to be across the pond, don't they? I'm drooling over screenshots of Twentyfour, which looks pretty darn awesome (though who knows what the crowd's like). With over a thousand LED color combinations available, this is one place where the decor won't get boring--and did I mention the walls are actually projection screens?

The video walls kind of remind me of the Nokia flagship store in Manhattan, but from what it sounds like, they're a lot more functional. Bar patrons can control, or even contribute their own scenery somehow--I should … Read more

Hey, so, I'm going to tell you about a party for a new social networking site that was hosted by a big-time blogger. But I'm not talking about the Twittering, lifecasting, Flickring kind of scene...think bottle service, trendy rap music, and a guy famous for drawing obscene Microsoft Paint captions on photos of Lindsay Lohan.

Yup, I mean Perez Hilton.

On Thursday night, the notorious celebrity gossip blogger descended upon Manhattan to host the launch party for the new nightlife-centered social networking site PMbuzz.com. Held at the subterranean midtown nightclub The Grand (click here for a video clip from LX.tv), the party was packed thanks to viral online publicity as well as numerous plugs on Hilton's widely-read blog. There was an open champagne bar, a DJ was spinning dance-worthy hip-hop all night, and if (heaven forbid) you happened to get sleepy, there were plenty of Vitamin Energy drinks courtesy of a sponsorship by the caffeinated beverage brand.

Sometimes there's some ambiguity when it comes to over-the-top Manhattan nightlife: it's hard to tell where the celebrity-culture-addicted, see-and-be-seen desperation ends and the self-aware irony and mockery begin. At a party where the celebrity guests include a Paris Hilton impersonator and a former Project Runway contestant, the motivation for the guests to show up could easily have been either. Or, alternately, there's the middle ground: free drinks, new people to meet, and the ability to say "Hey, this one time, I partied with that guy..." the next time one of your friends brings up Perez Hilton.

It's tough to discern.

Likewise, I can never tell whether to consider Hilton to be a legitimately annoying and overexposed gadfly or a schlocky cult figure. On one hand, the rotund Hilton, who regularly refers to himself in the third-person with monikers like "Perezzle" and "P-Nasty," showed up sporting bleach-blond hair and a mustache worthy of the Comedy Central cop show Reno 911. But on the other hand, he basked in the flurry of camera flashes at the event's red carpet (yes, there actually was one) and restricted his socializing to the confines of the velvet ropes that delineated the VIP section. If there's any self-deprecating irony left in Hilton's head, the fame has likely blocked its way to his cerebral cortex.

One thing's for sure: I'm fairly certain that the vast majority of the crowd, a gaggle of aspiring male models and minidress-clad girls with blown-out hair and glittery stilettos, had never heard of what the average social media junkie would consider to be the "blogerati." Say the name "Michael Arrington" and they'd probably ask if that's the guy who promotes on Friday Nights at some lounge in the Meatpacking District. Perez Hilton, however, is in his own league.… Read more

The concept of a hair-straightening vending machine didn't make a whole lot of sense to me off the bat, but perhaps that's because my hair is naturally arrow-straight and I'm always drowning it in goo in ill-fated attempts to give it a little bit of life. But my curly-haired friends assure me that--especially in these humid summer months--hair straighteners installed in the bathrooms of bars and clubs would be a godsend.

And, yes, they'd be willing to pay a bit of cash to use them.

A company called Beautiful Vending is doing just that: manufacturing hair … Read more

Generally, when we hear about London nightclubs stateside, it's because Prince Harry was spotted dancing on a table in a sarong or because some flashy playboy racked up a ridiculous tab. This time, however, it's a little bit different. The Camden Town boite Koko has introduced a new high-tech system to keep tabs on partygoers who leave the club for smoke breaks. Upon leaving the establishment, their fingerprints are scanned; they're then allowed seven minutes to enjoy their cigs, and then afterward must re-enter by re-scanning. Makes the bouncer's job a whole lot easier, I'm … Read more

When all the iPhone hype ended on Friday night, many of us bloggers covering the hullabaloo had only one thought in our heads: let's party. I, however, was unable to wrest the dreaded handset from my head, and made a conscious decision to turn the evening into an iPhone-spotting safari. After all, I'd spent the whole week mingling with the geeks, fanboys, and ubernerds in the iPhone waiting line (which ultimately turned out to be futile, as there was a major shortage of shortages) so my objective for the night was to see if I actually saw any &… Read more

Attention Seattle-based readers: you now have access to the alpha test version of Down2Night, a text-messaging service that keeps you up-to-date on what's happening after dark. Seattle's the first city that this just-launched service covers, but it's hoping to expand soon.

It actually sounds like a pretty cool idea. "Subscribe" to your favorite bars, clubs, and the like, and you'll get an SMS alert in the "early evening" that details the goings-on at your hotspots of choice that night. Down2Night also hopes to add incentive features so that businesses can use it … Read more

Move over, Mr. Softee. There's a new ice cream truck in the 'hood, and it probably doesn't play that annoying jingle, either. According to Popgadget, a UK-based company called Scoop is unleashing these flashy little vehicles, which look like the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine with a new-rave makeover, throughout London. They feature "hot lights, funky beats, and high end ice cream served in slick Chinese take out boxes." The blinged-out vans sure do look cool, and I bet they serve some pretty neat flavors (You think they'd have Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream?) On the other … Read more

As any regular partygoer can tell you, mobile phones are an essential part of the nightlife experience. You can use them to text-message from noisy dance floors, quickly grab the digits of cool new people you meet, and even find out where all your friends are thanks to social networking services like Dodgeball. But with a new service called PartyStrands, you can use your cell phone to actually shape the party.

Last Thursday night, I had the opportunity to hang out at the TechCrunch 8 Meetup party at BED (see photo), a pretty cool nightclub in NYC's Chelsea neighborhood. … Read more