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Built in 1886, it housed costume balls and gay
bacchanals—as well as a Madonna pajama party. In the years when it
was known as the Ritz, performers such as Tina Turner, Prince, Pink,
and KISS ruled the stage. Small wonder that earlier this month, the
city of New York designated Webster Hall a historic landmark—and
fitting also that this past Sunday of Black Party weekend in New
York, Webster Hall became the latest home of Ric Sena’s Alegria.
It’s never easy to move—but Alegria has done it
before, moving from its first home at Sound Factory (now Pacha), to
the brand-new and much-loved Crobar (now Mansion)—and now into the
East Village for the start of its third chapter—and if the packed
house on Sunday night was any indication, the party remains as
strong as ever.
Of course, adjustments will be made, as
explained one of the majordomos whom Ric had brought over from
Crobar. “This is our first night,” he said. “We’ll get it right
with time.” For the most part, everyone was patient. The coat
check line was orderly—almost reserved, as if party peeps were on
good behavior, recognizing the import of making a good impression
during the current anti-nightlife atmosphere prevailing in New York.
We were guests in a new house, hoping to be invited back—because
given the rate of club closings, what else is left but the streets?
Once called the “Jewel of the Village,” this
house has character: marble staircases (albeit somewhat steep) and
original porcelain urinals the size of closets. There are numerous
nooks and crannies, beading and bordello red lighting, tessellated
floors and marble landings. Imagine the Addams Family on a night
out, with Tim Burton as set designer—and then open the doors to the
Alegria cult.
At one
am, the dance floor was packed: a sea of gorgeous torsos bobbing
beneath four phosphorescent glowering gryphons perched atop an
immense iron ring suspended from the ceiling. Safe within the
ramparts of an onstage medieval castle, Alegria gladiators and
nearly naked knights reveled in an all-night bender. Abel was their
leader, throwing down “Solitary Lover,” “Apologize,” “Feedback,” and
to a massive cheer, “Please Don’t Stop the Music,” before sealing
the deal with “Besito Pa Ti.” Mike D werked the lights—red and more
red—and gold and white. It was dark on the floor and in the corners
of the ballroom. Black Party warriors got busy—before their return
to life’s front lines. From the balcony, DJ Escape watched,
mesmerized, with his gf—and there was Rich Campbell and his posse,
and Ric Siclari and his posse, and photog David Morgan, and doorman
William F., and Chris Harris, and the MedEvent team, insuring safety
for all. There were boyz from Providence and a whole slew of boyz
from South Beach, and Joe Caro, of course, and Chris, and Eddie from
Rumania, and Alex B. Euphoria, and Gorm and Tod, and Michael Circuit
Dancer, and Michael from Boston, and Michael Adorable Superman, and
adorable Kevin T., and the usual battalion of bodacious Alegria
bartenders—and overseeing it all, missing not a detail, was Ric Sena,
mentally noting what was working and what needed adjustment—to “Make
It Last,” as Abel put it.
There were also novitiates to the Alegria cult,
first-timers who’d read about this party, and seen the
photographs—and heard their friends—and now they were here, at the new
castle keep. The stairways were packed; the boyz kept pouring in as
Jeanie Tracy took the stage and sang “Happy Birthday” to Abel. And
in the corners of the ballroom, it stayed dark and dirty—as dark and
dirty as it once was in the corners of Sound Factory where Alegria
found its first home. It was hot and the warriors were sweaty. And
then Abel threw down “Hills of Katmandu,” a Black Party weekend
staple, a classic by Tantra from 1980—but tweaked into something
even more clanging and propulsive, thereby showcasing the increase
in life’s speed in the nearly-thirty year interim since the song was
first released.
With a ballroom capacity of 1400, and an overall capacity of 2500,
Webster Hall was filled to the rafters with the Alegria
brotherhood—and remained so throughout the morning and into the
afternoon. The next gathering of the knights of Alegria occurs on
the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, the first of a series of
Saturday night Alegrias. It’s a new chapter for Alegria, one that
promises to add even more beauty and brawn to the already-legendary
legion of Alegria warriors.
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