2004 NYE!

This year I got a job managing the staff at an "underground" party. The promoter, Ggreg Taylor, is an old friend and the event was held totally without permits so it offered quite an adventurous start to '04.

Ggreg Taylor's Royal NYE

While it wasn't a royal pain, it wasn't royally fun for me... it was a really good night out though and certainly a great way to ring in the new year. I spent most of the night, from about 9:30 til about 4:30 working the front door of the party. I danced a bit, busted a few people for smoking or attacking an inflatable bear and got quite a few compliments from E'ed out kids who seemed oh so sincere.

Ggreg's parties are almost always inhabited by smarter, more creative people. You can always find someone to talk to, or at least someone to talk about. New Year's Eve was no exception.

Royal NYE: The Space

The building was the same one Ggreg used last summer for his Forgotten Opera Party. This time however, we were on the third floor. The interior was still a raw, commercial space that was better decorated than most illegal parties I've been to. It was large enough to have two musical areas and a chillout corner, but still small enough to find your friends if separated. The visuals and installations by Santiago were pretty amazing. The massive rotating projection screens looked etherial with the rain streaked, industrial windows behind them. And Jaunita More's red room looked so slick even in such a raw space. I wasn't a fan of the "Eyes Wide Shut Memorial Hugging Space". Not because it was set up as a chill out area for the more lasciviously inclined, but because it was difficult to spot the smokers behind all of the screens or move through the corner quickly.

When Bears Attack

Ggreg has quite a few bear community connections these days, so a giant inflatable bear doing a handstand in a corner didn't really seem out of place... though I'm still trying to sort out the connection to the 'royal' theme. It seems at one point in the evening, some drunk girl started to attack the bear. In the photo at left, it looks like my pal Jono inadvertently caught the attack on film with the girl's accomplice in the act of kicking the poor toy. Needless to say, I stationed a security guard in the area and the party bears (inflatable and otherwise) were safe once again.

Blast From The Past

My old pal Aaron came from NYC for NYE in SF. (I'm from LA and LOVE to abbreviate!) We were flatmates back in the 80s but spent much of the 90s doing seperate things. He found me on Friendster and we've managed to reconnect. I was surprised to see him with such a large posse in tow. Jenelle Chanel and Tom Madonna came bouncing back to the door throughout the night to say hi and get to the smoking area so I know they all had a great time. It's good to know we're all still alive and doing fairly well when quite a few friends from that era of our lives aren't.

Costumes

Unlike his last party, this time the costumes were not as plentiful, but they were just as creative. There were many variations on the theme of royalty running through out the crowd. The best part about working the door is I get to see all the ensembles as they parade in to the party.

I suppose nothing says "royal" quite like leather and fun fur, but I opted for a tasteful version of the tuxedo t-shirt.