When I started GofG 3 years ago I had to do so anonymously. I had to sneak photos in at 1Oak and dodge emails from Amy Sacco's supposed Body Guards. It was messy. I mainly did it because, being the competitive person I am, I was incapable of letting this twit over at DBTH.com beat me. (see exibit A and ex.B). I'm not even sure if I knew what we were competing at or for but I knew that getting photos from the Box's opening week were crucial to my score. I had a slew of moles, many also anonymous. It was a fight for who could cover cool. It was the yuppies vs. the hipsters, and many times, I'm not even sure which side we were representing. We were enemies but only in that in order to be an enemy to anyone you must first come from a common thread. Ours? No one wanted us doing what we were doing. Even post my "discovery" I was getting death calls from promoters (I'm not going to name names). God it was exciting. Today, I come across photos from the New Year's Eve party at Le Bain. I found them from a link to the club's Facebook page from their hotel's Tumblr page. So this is what's happening people....
Le Baron is going to open soon in Chinatown and Purple Diary will no doubt be there, so will Terry. Le Bain has a Facebook page. Everyone is "tweeting." Tweeting! There are no secrets to discover anymore.
Okay, this is a bit melodramatic. Still.
[Photo on left of Beatrice Inn taken illegally back in 2008] I spent moments contemplating Le Bain's FB page. The merits of this decision from a business standpoint can, of course be dissected. Is this a joke? Is it meant to be? Is it genius or lame? And that's for another post on another day. Whether Le Bain needs exposure or not (I don't have their financial statement sitting in my lap), they are cool. They are an aspirational club for young people to feel cool in. Yuppies and hipsters alike. I have about 3000+ promotional emails on Facebook from clubs in NYC ranging from Pacha to Skyline something or other, but Le Bain?
No one is screaming at me in emails any more. DBTH works at Eater.com. Beatrice Inn is being used as a landfill. Everyone's getting soft or something. Social media is causing us all to lose the plot....and I'm not happy to admit my part in it.
Okay, below take a look at the bounty. Professional photos inside Le Bain's NYE party posted on their public Facebook wall.
Then, before you get really depressed like I just did, go take a look at this post from my editor in LA, complete with illicit photos that were NOT approved and surely riled some people up: [10 Signs A Girl Needs To Call It A Night At Chateau Marmont]