CP NEWS: Rock and a Hard Place at Crash Mansion

[ddm-news]

Clubplanet's fearless nightlife reporter, Erin DeJesus, checks out New York's weekly parties.

-Erin DeJesus

The Gimmick: A change of pace.

BLVD’s basement club Crash Mansion sports a bar, killer sound system, and stage space for local underground rock acts. The weekly Rock & a Hard Place party, presented by New York Underbelly, promised drink specials, an hour long open bar, and a nice combination of live bands and danceable tunes – a concert plus club experience sure to be found only in BLVD’s entertainment megaplex. Right?

The Peeps: Mixed.

The youngish crowd was a strange mix of the pretty and the punky, self-segregated just like your high school cafeteria. The ones in miniskirts and popped collars plopped themselves down on the couches or at the bar, while the more ardent music fans mingled around the space. The music fans all seemed like Crash Mansion regulars (or maybe mutual fans of the bands, or MySpace friends, or maybe they were just super friendly or super drunk) – entire groups of people stopped to say hello to each other and chat over the music, which gave the space a fun, communal feeling.

The Beats: Live and loungey.

As a live music venue, Crash obviously isn’t the place to go if you want to inappropriately grind up against your date. The night we were there, unknown acts WJ and the Sweet Sacrifice, Radio America, and Carlon all hit the stage. Though the bands we saw (and I’m not too sure which ones they were, honestly) were pretty talented, unfortunately, none of them played anything particularly memorable. In between sets, the house DJ spun some awkward lounge-like background music – giving a vibe totally different from what you’d expect at a rock show.

The List:

Although I specifically requested a “+1” on the club’s guestlist, the girls at the door refused to let mine in – super lame, considering more “exclusive” places often parade guestlist people in without the slightest fuss. Make sure each person in your party gets their first and last names on the list personally, or they’ll have to pay up.

The Big Event: Where the party at?

At Crash Mansion, bands and booze = business as usual. Because Rock and a Hard Place is a recurring event, the partygoers treated the night like the normal Friday night hang, not a blowout party. Which, come to think of it, is probably a good thing.

The Bottom Line:

I’m usually a fan of live music – in fact, despite the fact that I write for a nightlife website, I much prefer live bands over the pounding house beats of most other clubs in this city. But something wasn’t meshing correctly at Crash. We cut out early and headed to another indie music party where the tunes were more recognizable and the people dropped the cliquey vibe. If you’re into live music, head over to Rock and a Hard Place when a band you’ve heard of is playing. If that’s not your scene, well, know what you're getting into.

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