by Jenny S. on Never been kicked out so nicely before by such nurturing bouncers...they kept giving me water and escorted me out the door quite subtly, making sure I had a nice seat on the steps - haha Definitely one of the more upscale clubs - venue and crowd. DJ was good, but I was not completely satisfied after the night because they didn't play enough reggae / hip hop for my taste, but that's me! And I'm sure the DJs vary on different nights. I would definitely go again, and again...and again!
by ryan m. on on a cold winters night, i lay curled up on my bed, warm, drinking tea (and rateclubsing, of course!) when my roommate comes in, rips the blanket off after calling me a grandma, and tells me to go with him to RockIt Fridays at Amalia, in the Dream Hotel. Rockit Fridays is a huge gay dance club night that takes over the Amalia restaurant located in the Dream Hotel in midtown, on 55th btw b'way and 8th ave. the space is gorgeous...very baroque meets industrial, but REALLY well done, and if youve ever been to the hotel or restaurant, you know they spent some cash in this place. its a relativel new-comer on the dance scene, i think its been going for maybe a year now, and ive been just a few times, as its just a few blocks from my house, and is probably the biggest friday party within walking distance. the music on the main floor is generic top 40 dance hits, from a dj who doesnt do anything other than play is ipod (or so it would seem, he has a bunch of equipment in front of him, but when i hear three beyonce songs in a row, with no mixing or transitions, i have to assume he forgot to hit shuffle!!) the music downtstairs is WAY better, but try getting the gays into the dark basement when her majesty, lady gaga is on repeat upstairs (barf) the place is always uber crowded, and ive come to appreciate a dive bar because its NOT this way...you get pushed all over the place by drunk kids who just think they are so fun and cute you want to punch them in their junk. i am 30 but felt like a d-i...n-o...s-a...u-r now, im no grandma (or dinosaur), but after a long week, on a negative temp. night in nyc, the last thing i want to do is battle the cold at midnight. but he really wanted to go, so i decided it couldnt hurt, and there is always the possibility of meeting someone. bad idea we had to wear our coats out since it was cold as balls outside, and that means coat check, which is something i hate in NYC, its not like we have an option of wearing a coat, and to pay to hang it up is stupid, especially since they wont take responsibility for it if its lost or stolen, awesome!?!?! when we got there, we waited in the coat check line for 15 minutes, no exaggeration, but did chat up a super cute girl in the line to help pass the time, so at least we made the best of it...that was me, trying to be optimistic as i watched all the people i would never want to talk to pass by me....we were in the basement, so at least dj lady bunny was spinning some really fun, retro 90s hits to pass the time...$3 later, and we headed upstairs to check out the crowd and dance. after being pushed and shoved around for five minutes, we stood at on the poorly designated area they use as a dance floor, and while "dancing" to what i could have heard if id been wearing my headphones, it seemed all i was really doing was being pushed from side to side as people tried to enter/exit the space. i dont know what was wrong with the music, but not only was it completely generic and mostly unlistenable (im sorry miley cyrus, party in the usa is NOT acceptable if you are over the age of 10..and male) there were long pauses between tracks...literally, an ipod would have been more seamless. taking a restaurant and turning it into a nightclub might seem like a good idea, but the traffic patterns dont lend themselves to the same crowd, and rooms of banquette seating are turned into bars with folding tables and warm carafes of mixers...yum.... if i could give this place negative stars i would, but i know that many people enjoy this kind of place, its a largely attended gay dance party, and there were a lot of cute BOYS there..but i guess maybe i am a grandma, because i am over this kind of atmosphere...maybe its because i dont do drugs anymore that mask the ridiculousness that is rockit
by Lyndon Paluk on Miami meets Midtown Manhattan. Great to go with a group of girls, because that's the only way you're getting in or remotely going to have fun at this place. We even had the doorman question whether my friend's girlfriend "knew" our group, which is pretty disconcerting when you know you're going to drop bills at a place and you're made to feel like a bunch of schmucks. Though I've heard great things about other locations, Nikki Midtown just didn't do it for me.
