» Yo!
T’was the night before the Euros
And all through the block
Not a bama was stabbing
Not a hammer got cocked.
(Well, maybe not hammers …)
You’d think they were butcher shops, what with all the slicin’ and dicin’ that’s been going on at Club 5 and Eighteenth Skeet Skeet Lounge. But only the former was unlucky enough to get its liquor license yanked, while the Lounge — like the rest of the area’s armory of bamas — skated, continuing to play host to herds of World Bank temps and bridge-and-tunneliers. Even less luckier were them Nouveau Riche dj’s, who’d planned on getting their bigger-better-stronger-faster on w/ guests Spiggy, Gameboy/Gamegirl and Miami Horror (from Australia, duh) at Club 5, when they got late word of the club’s extended shut-down. NR brushed their shoulders off and moved the party to the top floor at MCCXXIII, which happens to be a completely different animal compared to venues they usually play. Firstly, like Chroma downtown, there are 3 massive, sound-proofed floors to choose from; you could be in anyone of those spaces and have no clue what’s happening in the others. Secondly, the security detail is no joke, except for the slight whiff of WWE about them. They all appear to be immigrants from a planet with little more than free-weights and loads of red meat. And maybe some giant workout-schedule in the sky that all inhabitants must obey, lest they shrink to normal homosapien size. Lastly, the entire floor looked like one giant VIP section. Kids lounged like Roman gentry on these giant bed-like things, minus grape-bearing slaves. In every way, for Nouveau Riche it was a giant step up from the group-suicide pacts that their parties at DC9 were becoming.
Overall, the night went disastrously well, from where I stood (in all my jager-blindness). The entire floor was packed to the tits. Bartenders were struggling to spread their aloofness evenly. Syke, they were actually very cool, although many of our men and women suffered painfully long waits for drinks. Though I don’t recall seeing either Steve, Nacey or Gavin actually djing, I did see Spiggy open things up, followed by the Miami Horror dj’s. I was confused (or maybe just wasted) when these two girls with mics started singing this chorus, talking about some “OH E Oh. Oh E Oh E Oh E Oh” sort of like E.U.’s “Da Butt”, and a whole lot of paper-thin-veiled dirty shit about “I got the sweaty wet, I got the dirty damp”.
So filthy.
:)
This was your standard Nouveau Riche party: shit-tons of bodies, everyone going nuts, a joyful chaos that makes you promise yourself to drink more water next time around, and probably many more crazy things that I blacked out on. How I got to the next party is a mystery I can never solve.
» Complete photo-ee-o set is here
go gavin!
June 30, 2008 at 3:28 pmFitsum lives in Dupont.
Across the street from my parents.
I know this because my Mother and I run into him on street corners.
I took a pass on 1223 because that place is lame, soundproof floors and DB segregation or no.
Part of the charm of the newly-old days of NR was that DC9 and RnR were dives — lovable dumps but dumps nonetheless — at least as far as dance venues go. It would have been nice to upgrade in size without heaping on the glamor.
If only there were a legit warehouse venue in this city that could be all-inclusive…
June 30, 2008 at 3:32 pmSvetlana - stay off street corners, they’re dangerous. Post in the erotic section of Craigslist instead.
June 30, 2008 at 3:33 pmHoly christ, Svetlana. that sounded so, so wrong.
June 30, 2008 at 3:35 pmit only sounds wrong because everyone’s mind is so depraved it is out of control.
and that is why I love you all.
@eddie - sorry, but we’re all dbs.
Vieux - Cover prices, a dress code or relatively high-priced drinks don’t necessarily make a place lame. They just make it a place with a cover price, a dress code and relatively high-priced drinks. I got no problem with exclusivity, either.
that said, the club was pretty accomodating to the NR crowd and they’re not the ones who set the cover price.
Conversely being an all-inclusive dumpster of a hairy butthole of divebar doesn’t immediately make a place cool. call me old — more acurately call me banned — but there’s no charm in in rubbing shoulders with crackheads, whether homeless or not. But whatever, different strokes. At least I’ve been to both, so I know what’s what.
June 30, 2008 at 3:53 pmretracing the steps of my night… I SWEAR I heard Fitz singing along to some KLF Saturday night! Further proof that well… KLF is gonna rock you!
Can’t wait till Thursday when we start it all over again @ the 930 Club
June 30, 2008 at 4:04 pmyup. I was singing along to “3 AM Eternal”
June 30, 2008 at 4:06 pmsf - no need to apologize, but speak for yourself. not everyone is a db and you see more in some places than you do in others.
however, if this party was on one level and you had to pay a cover specifically for this event then i’m sure it was fun (and it was great for the club to be accomodating). i was just pointing out that the staff were probably not used to seeing the type of crowd they saw that night and that place (from what i remember) is not a place that most of the people there for NR would want to hang out on any other night. just a guess. wouldn’t you say so?
+m
June 30, 2008 at 4:12 pmand heards=herds. god, i’m retarded
June 30, 2008 at 4:13 pmFitsum, I’ll go to an expensive club with expensive drinks and a long line when what is inside is worth the $$$ and hassle. I find 1223 is generally not worth it, e.g. lame. Would rather drop my cash on good eats and live music than glitz. Then again, as you say, different strokes.
Our little Nouveau Riche is all growed up. Sorta.
June 30, 2008 at 4:18 pmIt’s one of those places where the regular NR crowd wouldn’t *consider* hanging out. Same goes for me, and I’ve been there before a few times. But there are lots of those types of places. All a bar or club needs is good music, cool staff and a cool crowd. I think 1223 had that. In my humble opinion, bars frequented by alot of BYT readers, including myself, in a former life — Black Cat, DC9 and RnR — have totally lost it as far as being cool places to hang out goes.
As far as being a db goes, we’re all db’s to somebody. That word is a pet peeve of mine, right up there with “hipster”. At least you’re kind enough to abbreviate.
June 30, 2008 at 4:23 pm“All a bar or club needs is good music, cool staff and a cool crowd” - agreed. and i guess you’re right; everyone is a db to somebody.
you should go to sticky rice tomorrow night and demonstrate your mic skills.
is a db to everyone.
June 30, 2008 at 4:48 pmChrist, thanks to everyone for coming out to 1223 (and for not completely hating on us for doing so). I went from a mix of fear and shame (on Wednesday) to joy/euphoria/triumph (Saturday night). Miami Horror and Gameboy/Gamegirl had a great time and they were impressed that the crowd had followed us to a “swanky” club.
Five plans on re-opening soon, so we do hope to do things there again in the late summer or early fall. Until then, I’ll be scoping out warehouse venues and the like…
There is one very important thing… everyone needs to see this photo. Svetlana, if you can make this show up right here in the comments, please do that. Anybody else see this guy? He was… something.
http://i27.tinypic.com/2uelo5u.jpg
June 30, 2008 at 6:25 pmHow the fuck did Sideshow Bob get this shot and I didn’t.
Oh yeah.
.
.
.
Drinkin’
Holy shit, I have that man’s shirt! We totally shop in the trendy menz’s section at H&M together. I feel special.
Anyhoo, I have nothing against shiny shoes, freshly pressed button ups, and the lingering scent of Polo Sport, so I still thought it was great. The music was still bangin and (somewhat surprisingly) people were still friendly.
However, by the time NR makes it to Club 5, I’ll probably have passed out in a puddle of my own drool from the anticipation.
June 30, 2008 at 8:25 pmlovin’ that guy in the pink shirt with the s curl and louis vuitton wallet full of 20’s.
June 30, 2008 at 9:47 pmi’ve been to 1223 before for friend birthdays and i am never into it but noveau riche there made it a bit more tolerable…drinks were expensive for my tastes, bartenders were nice, but it’s just a carbon copy place of many other bar/clubs with no character
July 1, 2008 at 12:32 amThe location makes the party:
Who the hell wants to drive around for 30+ minutes and/or pay $10+ to park? I would guess that the people who kick it at DC9 do so exactly because they don’t like the Adams Morgan or Dupont Circle scenes.
Cheap drinks make a party:
Period. I think I paid $8 (plus tip) for a red bull at MMCCXXII. Not red bull vodka. JUST A RED BULL. $5 for a CLUB SODA. That sh*t is just fizz water from the spout.
The crowd makes the party, not the DJs:
The NR guys took a party that was Baltimore-esq and made it DC-esq. Being the former in DC was the exact reason this party was popular. Also, who wants to deal with the tweakers and euro DBs with their cologne, fauxhawks, tight untucked cufflinked shirts, and Diesel shoes all night?
NR is definitely moving away from the crowd that made the party. I’m sure that there will be a few regular fans that hang on but that’s about it. Only the name will be the same.
July 1, 2008 at 1:43 am“The location makes the party:
Who the hell wants to drive around for 30+ minutes and/or pay $10+ to park? I would guess that the people who kick it at DC9 do so exactly because they don’t like the Adams Morgan or Dupont Circle scenes.”
Sounds like someone should learn to use the metro.
July 1, 2008 at 8:28 amTrue. Both Dupont and Adams Morgan have convenient metros and buslines. I take the L2 to asylum, pharmacy and napoleon all the time. speaking of adams morgan ’scenes’ — along with the three bars I mentioned, there’s also heaven and hell, the angry inch and maybe a bar or two that I don’t even know about that are cool places to hang out.
granted, I have no problem going out by myself and meeting people and taking their pictures. way more often than not, that’s how I’ve always discovered new bars and club. As long as I’m not stuck w/ a bunch of Klansmen, I usually have a good time whatever ’scene’ I’m in. but that’s me.
July 1, 2008 at 1:02 pmI live in Mt. Pleasant, but not everyone lives in DC or in a Metro-accessible suburb …
July 1, 2008 at 1:44 pmI understand where Carleton is coming from, but I have to strongly disagree with him on several points.
First, Nouveau Riche hasn’t done well because we work in a Baltimore Club sound at times during the night. Honestly, what DJs playing current music are ignoring what’s coming out of Baltimore? For example, Tranter from Gameboy/Gamegirl… i.e. Australia… was familiar with almost every Baltimore name on my hard drive. What’s made Nouveau Riche awesome is that we’re willing to play whatever strikes our fancy, our friends are open to dancing to that music, and they’ve kept showing up to our parties, month in and month out, wherever we’ve done it for the past two years.
Keeping Nouveau Riche at DC9 is no longer an option. That is an absolutely fantastic venue, but it obviously can’t hold the number of people that want to come out to the party. Our focus now is to elevate Nouveau Riche — and DC — to national and international status. When Five re-opens, we’ll be able to bring in some of our favorite artists from around the world, AND have more time to spin for ourselves, AND because it’s 18+, we’ll be bringing in a whole new younger crowd. Yes, college kids. Don’t hate on ‘em. When I was in college, I loved listening to new music and dancing to it. I hope to bring some of these fine young individuals to Club Five to keep things fresh.
SO IN SHORT — we’re not moving away from our crowd, we are making Nouveau Riche even bigger, even crazier for our crowd. The name will be the same, there’s going to be a whole lot of new people coming out, and we sure hope the original gangstas follow us there too, as they have in the past. Judging by Saturday night, it looks like they already have.
July 1, 2008 at 2:13 pmThis is like when Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1966 and people yelled at him. Gavin is like Bob Dylan. Whereas other DJ’s are like Ritchie Havens with an electric guitar. And shit on their face.
Word.
N.
By “baltimore-esq” I wasn’t referring to the music selection. I meant the type of crowd that was attracted to the party (except the party right after the City Paper Best of…that was a VERY non-hetero night). I should have clarified.
I would offer that changing the neighborhood, venue, crowd size, minimum age, AND drink prices will change the party.
For me, NR is a fairly intimate party where I could count on knowing many of the people there, which is why I personally go. While a sea of people and bigger and crazier is cool but that’s not what I was looking for*. I never said to myself, “Man I wish that this party was 18+, bigger, and crazier.”* Sometimes small is good.
Can we have a NR Lite? :-)
*This is just one man’s opinion. I’m sure others feel differently.
July 1, 2008 at 6:09 pmreally?
July 1, 2008 at 6:59 pmYeah. There was an abnormally higher number of gay dudes (not that there’s anything wrong with that) there that night. I figure that it was just a random blip on the radar of the party since the City Paper article had just dropped.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/bestof/2008/artsandentertainment/show.php?id=35284
July 1, 2008 at 7:29 pmNR lite is SHORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTSSS!!!!
duh.
July 1, 2008 at 8:50 pmI propose that all further shots of kanye west shutter glasses be banned. forever. retroactively, and into infinity.
July 1, 2008 at 11:39 pmDoes it count if the ones in the picture aren’t actually mine? No?
Damn.
July 2, 2008 at 12:00 amduh. Says:
NR lite is SHORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTSSS!!!!
duh.
July 1, 2008 at 8:50 pm
DUHHHH!!!!!
July 2, 2008 at 3:26 pm
the normal heards of db’s who usually frequent 1223 must have been shocked that kids were getting in with t-shirts on. i’m sure this was a different crowd than the staff is used to seeing.
June 30, 2008 at 2:57 pm