well 80’s night at Club Heaven and Hell every Thursday night has been going for 13 years

all the same, i’ll be there Saturday to help Will celebrate
Bliss is always a good time

For the record, I went to that 80’s night about a month ago and it was the worst, lamest thing I’d ever seen.

7 years of suck? Has it been that long?

Ok, only the past 2 years have sucked, before that it was awesome.

Ok, it doesn’t really suck, I just like giving Will shit. (And we all know it has only lasted 7 years because of the BC bartenders (only a little offense meant Will).

Just stop playing Hip-Hop, k?

you are corny. please shut the hell up.

Heaven is campy and sometimes fun. It’s gotten worse in recent years but that’s due to the proliferation of “DJ” nights on every night of the week.

Used to be there was Heaven on Thursdays, Panic on Fridays and Mousetrap once a month on Saturdays (there was also the Cage then Nation on Thursdays).

That was pretty much it so Heaven used to be packed (yes, with many of the people who refuse to go there now they deem it has jumped the shark). And it was frequently good.

Now it’s infrequently good because many of the people who used to attend religiously refuse to go.

But it’s still campy. And fun, if you take a group.

I still hate anonymous posts where people are afraid to say what they mean and be held accountable for it. Good thing “shut up” was talking to Cale, who doesn’t care either way.

Oh and for the record, BLISS is 90% indie, electro and club. I play Hip-Hop to watch Michael awkwardly attempt to grind. (Much love, Michael!) Seriously, though I play Hip-Hop at Drop Down, Napoleon and Saint Ex. Hope to see you Sat.

Will, don’t argue, just stop.

<3 u!!!!!

AFTER PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And by “argue” Michael means whizz in the plants.

I whizz in ONE plant ONE time what, three years ago? Like you guys have never peed in foliage.

I was telling Michael to shut up not Cale. that guy obviouosly just likes to listen to himself talk. so what if its anonymous he should still stfu

Looks like I missed this thread by about 7 months, but I wanted to congratulate Will Eastman and his party. Keeping a night going in DC is never easy, so big shout out.

DJ Jon left 80’s Dance Party in 2003 after he got married to the lovely Austin. They first met at 80’s Night, so it was a match made in Heaven (I’m ENTITLED to say that!) Steve D. and his brother took over the door at that point, and I became DJ. Steve had been working with us since Jim left, promoting and helping with all aspects of the night. Steve left in April 2006 due to conflicts with the management. He’s still active in the scene, and is part of Video Killers. Jim left 80’s Dance Party something like ‘97 or ‘98, did Popstars at Club Five with Mike W., then became a part of Panic.

80’s Dance Party was originally conceived by Jim & Jon, as a part of there band project Romania. Romania did a lot of early gigs at Club Heaven because (at first) Mike W. booked them, and then when I got hired as Heaven’s sound engineer/promotor/lackey/whatever, I booked them. They’d play live, and I would do sound & play CD’s between sets (technically making me the first DJ). Then they had Jimmy H. play music (at the time, he ‘got it’ more than I did, technically he was the first 80’s DJ). Then the night took on life of it’s own, Romania got signed to Teenbeat, and Celebrity DJ’s Jim & Jon were born. They took turns spinning 80’s tunes at Heaven, I did the door (and did promotions/advertising/eMail/whatever), and Romania shows started getting booked at bigger places like the Black Cat. I continued to do sound and roady stuff for Romania. Eventually, though, Jim & Jon had a falling out. Show biz does that to people.

I’m glad Will Eastman has a supportive management staff at the Black Cat. It is no secret that the management at H&H are very difficult to work with (ask any of those people I’ve mentioned), to the point of being hostile about the night’s success.

That said, I’m very proud of 80’s Dance Party. I’ve put fourteen years into it (It turns 15 in Dec 2008), as well as (I feel) my best efforts. Sound, lights, video, promotions, trivia, themes, balloons, & the mix. I’d invite people to come out and have a second look sometime, or shoot me an eMail & tell me what they don’t like. You might be pleasantly surprised. The crowd is typically a little more alternative oriented, and the heart is still in the right place. Lily is right, the night has ALWAYS been kitsch, ALL the way back to Jim & Jon’s sets, and if you take it too seriously, you probably won’t dig it. I’ve tried to keep the night going in the that same spirit. I think Michael’s comment is correct, there are a lot more DJ nights now, and some of them take obvious inspiration from 80’s Dance Party (Anti-Prom, That 80’s Prom, etc. – I was very grateful when CrapDC came along, because I felt it took the pressure off of ME to play Starship!)

Anyways, I’m sorry for blathering on, this page is really more about the success of Bliss (again, congrats), but my schpeel DOES include some accurate historical notes (I WAS there for all of it, after all). And it (apparently) is still a subject of discussion (!)