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As New York’s Roseland prepares for the
demolition ball in April 2014, the
storied Manhattan dance hall hosted
Black Party one last time for the 35th
anniversary of the LGBT circuit event
that has become synonymous with strange
live acts, leather fetishists,
libidinous music, and sex.
For the past 24 years, Manhattan's
largest ballroom has been Black Party's
home and the scene of 42 events produced
by the Saint at Large, the successor to
what was, arguably, New York’s most
legendary gay club, The Saint.
Opened to great fanfare at midnight on
September 20, 1980 in the East Village
at the erstwhile home of the Fillmore
East, the Saint produced the first Rites
(aka Black Party) in 1981: a two-night
affair that stretched into three nights,
with entertainment by Grace Jones (as
well as a anal-compliant boa
constrictor).
Since then, the Black Party has evolved
into a weeklong celebration of the
vernal equinox and its priapic excesses,
attracting more than 5,000 revelers from
around the globe to Manhattan for the
Saturday night signature 18-hour
bacchanal at Roseland.
This year’s 35th edition of Black Party
was a sold-out event subtitled “A Ruined
Paradise: Un-Holi Rites,” a subversive
take on the Hindu Holi festival of
colors that transformed Roseland’s
signature rose carpet and gold-brick
arches into an amalgam of Bollywood and
the Taj Mahal, overseen by a massive
Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of
beginnings, rituals, and ceremonies.
The thunderous musical soundtrack was
provided by a salacious sextet of
illustrious deejays, including Jason
Kendig, Tom Stephan (aka Superchumbo),
Nita Aviance, ND_Baumecker, and local
favorite Boris, whose infectious sunrise
set ushered in the party’s second half.
The closing set went to Robbie Leslie,
who recently played Berlin’s uber-club
Berghain and who, from 1980-88, was one
of the original Saint’s most beloved
resident deejays. Lighting wizard Guy
Smith created a resplendent spectacle of
such color and movement as to rival the
Northern Lights.
Each year, the Saint-At-Large's
executive producer/owner Stephen Pevner
and his crackerjack team of artists and
designers create the equivalent of a
sexual Neverland for a carnal crowd of
concupiscent dancers. With a history of
salacious shenanigans and an atmosphere
as surreal as a film by Dali or Buńuel,
the Black Party has a reputation for
extremism and pushing the boundaries
beyond the comfort zone, such as a live
circumcision or a groundbreaking
performance by a transgender porn star.
This year’s theatrical extravaganza
featured more than 100 performers in a
series of provocative performances that
included aerialists and fetishists.
As always, what elevates Black Party
into the pantheon of world-class events
is its enthusiastic crowd of lustful
devotees who romp and wander and dance
in a spirit of collective joy (in the
words of feminist Barbara Ehrenreich)
befitting the spirit of Bruce Mailman,
the creator of the original Saint. Or as
Pevner said modestly, "We hang the
wallpaper; the crowd brings the magic."
Originally built in 1922 as an
ice-skating rink, Roseland was also a
roller-skating rink and, since 1981, a
concert venue for everyone from the Pet
Shop Boys to Beyoncé, the Rolling
Stones, and Madonna. After a final
seven-show gig by Lady Gaga in April
2014, Roseland will close for good.
Those who attended the legendary 72-hour
closing party of the original Saint in
April 1988 (where Leslie played the
final set) might have imagined that it
was the end – and yet, nearly thirty
years later, Black Party lives on.
When asked what the future holds for
Black Party, Saint-at-Large co-producer
Mike Peyton answered, “Reinvention.” |
