The Juice Box

Rating: 2.5 Out of 5 Bottles of Water!

by Steven Satyricon

Before I begin my review in earnest, I’d like to say that I really hate to speak poorly of a party franchise that has brought me so much joy and so many fond memories over the past 5 years of its now 10-year run. However, if said party is in New York City, of all places–a city which considers itself an epicenter of global culture–and the accompanying hype leads you to believe that this is a celebration worthy of a party that’s run successfully for 10 years…well, expectations are understandably high. It is the opinion of myself and many of my friends who attended that these expectations were, unfortunately, not met.

The definitive Alegria venue, Crobar, has been shut down for a miasma of shady circumstances, so this event was held at the Nokia Theater on Broadway. While there were some nice features of the venue–such as well-organized entry and ticketing lines, unobtrusive security, and clean, easily accessed bathrooms–overall the space simply felt, in the words of a friend, “too corporate.” Part of the fun of Crobar was its slightly seedy, adult-funhouse vibe; the space held a certain tarnished charm which the overly polished Nokia lacked. In some vague way the Nokia did remind me of the legendary former club Roxy in Manhattan, but whereas the Roxy featured an entire separate upstairs area opposite the main dance floor, the Nokia simply holds standard stadium seating. And while there was a small side room area with another bar and a few places to sit, overall this was a one-room venue. One advantage to this setup (for me, at least) was that one was almost certain to see the performances–an aspect of the Alegria experience I’ve largely managed to miss, in spite of my multiple times attending–and the stage was, naturally, an easy focal point, this being a theater. Overall though, there was no shaking the sense that this was not a club, but a venue. While I certainly don’t fault Ric Sena for the issues which kept Crobar from being an option, I can’t help but wonder if this is really the second-best that Manhattan had to offer for a globally-renowned party.

Similarly, I found the decor to be rather a disappointment. This was (again) not my first time at the Alegria rodeo and I can vividly remember themes past that evoked Cirque du Soleil, Gotham City, a construction site, and many more. As any Alegria devotee knows, these elaborate design scheme elements are custom-made in Brazil and shipped especially for one specific party. Ric actually put out an email to assure party goers that the decorations had been received, as there have been problems in the past with them getting delayed by Customs and failing to make it to the party on time. This was another element in which expectations were set high–I assumed that the 10-year anniversary would feature decorations that would impress regular attendees and somehow surpass themes that have come previously. Instead, we were mostly treated to custom-made Subway stop signs which, while clever and entertaining to those who follow Alegria, DJ Abel, and NYC dance culture in general (my personal favorite being the stop for “Cha Cha Heels/Roseland Station”), failed to match the imagination and grandeur of prior themes. When the stage curtains were drawn back, they revealed an elaborate and partially digitized Manhattan skyline with a round, lighted Alegria logo center stage beneath the party’s iconic rotating globe. While this set was certainly pretty–and again, I get that the intent was emphasizing the “legendary New York-ness” of Alegria–it simply felt anticlimactic after weeks, even months of buildup surrounding the epic nature of the party. I for one would have enjoyed a more creative flight of fancy for the evening rather than this unsubtle reminder of the urban “realness” of the event. Overall I found the ambiance to be lacking in a very visceral sense; by definition, ambiance is something which should pervade the space, but I felt that this was simply a rented theater in which decorations were hung.

Now, a word about the entertainment. Expectations were once again set high in this regard by both the nature of the anniversary as well as the almost daily email blasts from Ric Sena. Having missed witnessing personally (but hearing accounts of) performances in the past by multiple dance divas, elaborate onstage skits sometimes featuring the DJs themselves, as well as circus acts and choreographed dancing, I was underwhelmed by much of the content of the “shows” featured throughout the night. The highlight was definitely Zoe Badwi singing her crowd-pleaser “Release Me”–though why she didn’t stay onstage to sing her more current single “Freefallin’,” I can’t say–which, while slightly jarring by virtue of the music stopping (albeit very briefly) both before and after her track played, did seem to hold the majority of the crowd’s attention and deliver a positive reaction. The other acts, while certainly less of an interruption, seemed to mostly consist of colorfully-costumed-and/or-painted “dancers” who appeared to be largely free-styling onstage in time with the music, rather than demonstrating any actual choreography. While I would never object to go-go dancers, the emphasis created by placing them all onstage under full theatrical lighting caused an expectation of something a little more rehearsed, in my opinion. From a production standpoint, I would like to say that I was impressed by the confetti cannons which were utilized multiple times throughout the night–they seemed to produce an almost unending stream of colored paper for minutes at a time, which made the venue feel temporarily almost akin to a giant snow-globe. Finally, the main digital screen onstage was put to a certain satisfying use during the song “Hey Hey” by Dennis Ferrer (a current ear worm of mine), in an almost sing-along manner: the word “hey” flashed onscreen whenever it was shouted in the song, presumably with intent for the crowd to shout along, which I for one did with gusto.

Sad to say, musical highlights such as the one mentioned above felt few and far between. Hector Fonseca was the opening DJ and he seemed to set a darker, more driving tone early in the evening, which I believe many attendees had trouble connecting with. Vocals were not terribly emphasized, and while I personally tend to be relatively easy to please so long as there’s a beat to follow, a number of my companions for the night complained that there didn’t seem to be much soul in the music Hector played. I actually met one local who literally exclaimed “Thank God! Abel’s on!” when Rosabel took to the decks, and by that point in the night, I found myself in agreement. Abel and Ralphi Rosario staked their claim musically from the very start, playing signature tracks full of tribal drums, horn sections, and Latin soul flavor, but by that point my attention had started to wander, and I was on and off the dance floor. For the first time in my multiple Alegria experiences, I was keenly comprehensive of the wisdom of arriving at 3AM or later. Indeed, the above-mentioned track “Hey Hey” was the last song I heard in full, prior to leaving shortly after 6AM (relatively early for a party that runs until at least noon, but then, we’d arrived at about 1:15). It wasn’t that I’d stopped enjoying the music; I actually felt that it had greatly improved…I was simply feeling spent and slightly disengaged from the celebration by that point.

One redeeming feature of the party–and a reliable plus–was the crowd in attendance: as always, consistently one of the hottest packs of international men (and a select few women) to be seen in one room, most of whom are friendly and sociable. This facet of the experience was particularly punched up by the extraordinary number of San Francisco folks who’d come–easily two dozen in all, with around 15 comprising our core group on the dance floor. It felt like a school field trip, and the exuberance of sharing this experience on the opposite coast kept a smile on our faces. As always I met, danced with, and exchanged information with multiple sexy strangers (many of whom will be in SF for Folsom at the end of the month and were pleased to make contacts in the City). It’s this sense of, well, of Alegria which dulls the sharp edges of the experience and makes me remember the night with an overall sense of fondness.

In conclusion, however, I observe that an overall sense of fondness and the nostalgia brought by a decade of memorable parties does not make up for what was by and large an event that failed to live up to its prolific hype. Most of my Posse seemed to agree that, while enjoyable, this event could easily have been just any other night out at mostly any other decent circuit club, instead of a pricey and heavily-lauded event sold to us as an epic landmark in New York City nightlife. I’ll certainly attend future events by Ric Sena (though hopefully in more suitable venues), but the burden of his own reputation and success just might be catching up with him after a decade.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Tags: Alegria