Urban Marinade

We Have Officially Moved!!!

2010-03-08T12:39:00.003-05:00

Well hello there. You're still here? Still visiting this old blog? Did you know we moved? Yep, Urban Marinade now has a home on Tumblr. We decided that since Google was doing away with their ftp uploading capabilities, we'd move to something more fresh, dynamic and exciting. So we think you should leave this old blog and visit the new one. Seriously, it's much more enjoyable on that side of the river. No sense in hanging around this old abandoned area when nothing new will ever happen again.

So update your bookmarks. Change your rss. Set your browsers to www.urbanmarinade.com and enjoy our new look and feel. See ya there...

This blog has moved

2010-03-08T12:37:00.003-05:00

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Backstage With Thievery

2010-02-03T16:21:00.002-05:00

If you do a quick Google search on Thievery Corporation at the 930 Club, you're sure to find plenty of reviews from professional publications and local blogs. I threw my hat into that ring two weeks ago when I posted a quick summary of the Thursday night performance at the venerable DC music venue. I didn't go into the bloody details about the show because everyone and their brother would. But I did want to take you back to that 5-night stop in the District because I had a rare experience with Thievery that I'd like to share.

As a nightlife photographer, I'm used to being close to some of the world's best DJs. Getting a shot right next to the artist is the basis of my art-form. Throughout the process, you learn to operate like a ghost-sneaking in for your shots and then moving the heck outta the way. So after shooting photos of Thievery's Thursday night show from the press pit at the front of the stage, I contacted their publicist about going back for something better. I showed them some photos from past nightlife shoots and asked if I could be granted access to shoot both Rob Garza and Eric Hilton in the DJ booth. Access was granted.

You see, the problem with shooting a concert like this is you can't use a flash. I'm sure you could try, but you'd be moved out of the photo pit quicker than it takes to snap your shutter. That makes it pretty tough trying to capture quality shots of the two stars of the Thievery show, who are perched up behind a wall of lights manning the turn tables. You can capture some sweet silhouette shots, but the range of light and lens are limited. I knew shooting from backstage would provide me with a better angle to capture Rob and Eric and allow me to bring the fans even closer to the names behind the band.

I wish I could say my problems were solved that easily. Shooting backstage was amazing. But damn if I didn't need that flash. I spent the first few songs at the front of the stage capturing shots I remembered would be good from the first show I attended. I should add that the photo pit had been expanded because Thievery was shooting their tour DVD that night. This required a very tall man with a very large HD camera to move himself from one end of the stage to the next. The pit was wide, but we had to keep one eye in the view-finder and the other looking out for the film crew. That was interesting!

It was around the 3rd or 4th song I moved backstage to capture some shots I rarely see of Thievery. I'm told I was like a Whac-A-Mole in the DJ booth, popping up for a shot and disappearing just like that. I spent a bit more time near Eric because he was in front of the tradition DJ gear I'm used to shooting. Rob however moved from turn tables to a keyboard, which did offer me something different from my typical nightlife perspective. I probably spent a grand total of 2.5 songs in the booth with Eric and Rob because I never want to seem like I'm taking advantage of my position.

The rest of the time I simply looked for shots that were unique to the Thievery show. The bassist sitting on the floor having a spiritual experience was one. Guitarist Rob Myers expressing all of his emotions through his pick was another. These things along with the experience of being on stage with artists of this level made for an unbelievable experience. I'm honored to have been granted that access and delighted to be able to share those sights with you through this blog and the complete photo gallery on Dougvansant.com.

Photos by Doug Van Sant

4Play Thursdays Changes Venues

2010-02-01T15:20:00.005-05:00

For the past several years, myself and dance music fans around the District have gotten used to spending Thursday nights at Ultra Bar. The promoters at Glow have used the Penn Quarter club as their home for 4Play Thursday in which they feature world-class DJs from all over the globe. As you might recall, I've had the pleasure of shooting photos of DJs like George Acosta, Blake Jarrell, DJ Dan, John Dahlback and many others at this 4-level venue.

So it came as a small surprise when the folks at Glow announced 4Play Thursdays would be moving to Lima Lounge starting Thursday, Feb. 18th. Now don't get me wrong, I love Lima. I just produced one of my favorite collection of images from Lima last month and think the venue is one of the more stunning clubs in terms of lighting, textures and design. But what happened to Ultra Bar? What will become of Ultra Bar on Thursday nights? If you have more info regarding this move, please let us know.

Here is my guess... the last night I shot there was Blake Jarrell two weeks ago. The main room was reserved for Jarrell to bust out some of his latest tracks from the same label as Armin van Buuren. Blake is one hell of a name to bring in for a regular Thursday night. Should pack the house...don't you think? Well the crowd was less than stellar. More went upstairs to the generic hip hop rooms and barely glanced when making their way through the main floor. This isn't to say Glow or Ultra Bar did anything wrong. This is simply a product of the mass appeal hip hop has attracted. I personally find it to be generic, lacking character and soul and similar to dining at a chain restaurant in a strip-mall. But that's me.

My guess is the crowds at Lima tend to appreciate the talents of DJs like Jarrell and Acosta more so than the folks who regularly attend Ultra Bar. Lima has catered to house music for quite some time and there aren't competing genres on differing floors that can split your crowd in two, or 4 as was the case at Ultra Bar. And the DJ set-up at Lima is pretty damn sick. I see this as a good move for my friends at Glow and look forward to shooting more photos from the booth at Lima Lounge. As for Ultra Bar, I still think it's a beautiful club. But unless they host house or trance DJs, I'm not likely to attend any of their weekly parties. But that's me. *wink*

Photos by Doug Van Sant

BT: Music Should Be An Experience

2010-01-28T13:38:00.004-05:00

I've been following the Tweets of BT this morning and was intrigued when he mentioned a big announcement was in the works. With a gig at Ibiza this coming Saturday and the subject of an Urban Marinade post yesterday, I can't help but think BT and his music are on our minds as the weekend approaches. Well, below is the announcement via his blog at bt.tumblr.com.

BT Brings the Album Experience Back to Digital Music Consumers

BT Releases His Double-Disc Sixth Studio Album, These Hopeful Machines, as Two Individual Tracks on iTunes and Amazon

January 27, 2010, NEW YORK, NY - Internationally renowned artist, visionary producer, film composer and technologist BT has always been known for being unpredictably groundbreaking. From his artist albums to his film compositions to his production for superstars such as Sting, Madonna, and Britney Spears, platinum-selling artist BT is consistently looked to in the music community as an innovator and pioneer, constantly pushing the envelope of what is possible in both music production and innovation around the modality of his music. In an unprecedented move, BT has chosen to release his new album, THESE HOPEFUL MACHINES (February 2, Nettwerk), as two individual tracks on iTunes: Disc 1 and Disc 2.

“I have always believed in the album experience,” recounts BT. “So much is lost by picking and choosing tracks and shuffling them together randomly. I strive to create an active, rather than a passive, listening experience. I am always opting to engage listeners in a meaningful way. The experience of music should be just that: an experience. Not a passive or secondary activity. These are my fondest memories of music, listening as an activity, and this is the experience that I wish to share with my audience.”

These Hopeful Machines is a double-disc opus that carries listeners through 2 hours of sweeping orchestral arrangements, pulsating electronic beats, heartfelt vocal melodies and even simple acoustic guitar. These Hopeful Machines embodies BT’s ability to weave both his technical prowess and compositional mastery that reminds listeners why he is the composer that all other composers and producers study.

This album is the follow up to 2006’s This Binary Universe, an album that created an entirely new genre of evocative electro-acoustic music. Keyboard Magazine wrote in a review, “In a hundred years, it could well be studied as the first major work of the new millennium. It’s that good.” These Hopeful Machines continues to evolve BT’s distinct technical, lyrical and compositional vision and execution, but his usual melodic complexity and bleeding-edge electronic techniques permeate the album from start to finish.

From an early age, BT, born Brian Transeau, demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for playing and understanding classical music. He was heavily influenced by avant-garde and romantic composers such as Stravinsky, Bartok, Debussy and Rachmaninov. His biggest influences, however, were from everyday sounds that most would take for granted, from noticing the meter of the grandfather clock in the foyer to the micro-rhythms of crickets and cicadas to the ambience of passing trains at night.

“When examining my creation process, it makes perfect sense why I am a forced technologist,” he explains. ”I frequently face the fact that the tools I need to compose music simply don’t exist. It is like being an architect without bricks or mortar. I routinely create my own bricks and connective tissue as the diving off point to the compositional process.” The drive to actualize the tools BT envisions has led to his evolution as one of the most cutting-edge programmers and technologists in music today. He has expanded this reach into a visionary software venture, Sonik Architects, which launched its critically- and commercially-acclaimed iPhone application, Sonifi™, last fall.

Says BT, “My ultimate goal is to keep the emotional counterpoint and the integrity of the song intact, even when pushing the envelope with style and technique. The faster things get, the less people are willing to take in a body of creative work. There are so few things now that will engage us. The intent of consuming music is usually to have an awareness or a feeling, to have a truly, empathic connection to others. My hope is to create something that makes people feel that they have consumed something that completes a void. I want to create something lasting.”

These Hopeful Machines track listing:

Disc 1
1. Suddenly
2. The Emergency
3. Every Other Way
4. The Light Of Things
5. Rose Of Jericho
6. Forget Me

Disc 2
1. A Million Stars
2. Love Can Kill You
3. Always
4. Le Nocturne De Lumiere
5. The Unbreakable
6. The Ghost In You

I know I don't need to say this, but you should buy this double-disc album. And you should be at Ibiza on Saturday night for a sneak peek of BT's innovative and artistic skills.

Photo by Flickr user Travis Cripps

So...You Want To Go Clubbing

2010-01-27T14:49:00.005-05:00

Now that we've taken care of the whole business side of this Urban Marinade (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr), it's time we write about the meat of the weekend. We have more damn DJs spinning great electronic music in DC this coming weekend than I know what to do with. How is a respectable nightlife photographer and fan of dance music supposed to choose? Seriously, I really wish I could be in two places at the same time.

So you want to go clubbing? Well this is your weekend to do it. When I go through my list of venues and parties being thrown, it's usually pretty easy to map out a weekly agenda. You know from my past photo shoots that I tend to gravitate toward Ultra Bar on Thursday nights. Well the Glow crew is doing it up right again this week featuring Nic Fanciulli at this Penn Quarter gem.

Fanciulli has gained massive respect from DJs across the spectrum for his unique take on house music. Many of the biggest names in the business have labeled Fanciulli one of hottest rising stars in Europe while Pete Tong proclaimed him the finest resident in the UK. What it all boils down to is yet another great DJ set will be thrown down inside "the box" at Ultra.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention DJ Manifesto spinning at Lima Lounge on Thursday night as well. If you recall, I captured some freakin sweet images of Manifesto and DJ Jason Greene at the inaugural Love of Haus party at Lima. What you can't see in those images is the hard hitting house that tickled my ear drums all night long. I can't tell you which event to attend. That has to be a game time decision for you to make. But either way, you can't go wrong with either Lima or Ultra Bar.

Friday nights are usually saved for dinner somewhere and a stop at my favorite Chinatown club Muse Lounge. Muse has done something very few clubs attempt by featuring electronic music on multiple floors. Listen, I totally understand having each room of your venue feature something different. You have a better chance of making everyone happy. But what Muse is doing is making dance music fans downright giddy.

This Friday, Muse and District Ignition present Snatch Rewired featuring the sounds of Treasure Fingers, Spiggy and Steve Bugbee on the first floor. Not enough? Head up to the third floor where Tanc, Aligning Minds and Amitai will be spinning house all night long.

Tired Yet?

This brings us to Saturday. Ah Saturday in the District! Put your hands up for DC, the lovely city... But seriously folks, Saturday has two parties that I have absolutely no idea which to choose. You can't go wrong either way. Both are being held in our biggest and best nightclubs. Both feature world-class DJs respected around the globe. Both will leave your heart buzzing and your adrenaline boiling.

My friends at Glow will feature Cedric Gervais at FUR Nightclub. My heart leans toward this party because I personally had tremendous success shooting photos of Gervais. The one featured at the top of this post remains one of my favorite nightlife shots of all time and is hanging on my wall at home. The last time Gervais spent time on the FUR decks, I remember a crowd that stayed amp'd all night and a certain photographer (this guy) who didn't want the night to end. Of course we shoot nightlife photography because we love the music. But sometimes you just don't get into a set or maybe it's just not enough to keep you out super late knowing you'll need to find a cab after 3 a.m. But Gervais is one of those DJs that can keep your energy high all night and keep you wondering how each track seems to get better and better.

For years, Gervais has captivated clubbers and partygoers as he reigned supreme over the Miami dance scene. Although originally born in Marseilles, Cedric Gervais has chosen Miami as his adopted home, and the city has been more than happy to embrace him. He has held residencies at Crobar (now Cameo) and the world famous Nikki Beach, before taking over the Space Terrace. Cedric’s presence at the Space Terrace was felt immediately as people in the thousands began lining up to witness him devastate the after-hours scene. He'll bring it on Saturday night which is why you can't go wrong spending the evening at FUR.

But here is the kicker. Because of a little snow storm we had back in December so affectionately known as Snowpocalypse 2009, this Saturday night features another world-class DJ. Ibiza will feature the sounds of Maryland native and dance music pioneer BT.

From an early age, BT demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for playing and understanding classical music. He was heavily influenced by avant-garde and romantic composers such as Stravinsky, Bartok, Debussy and Rachmaninov. His biggest influences, however, were from everyday sounds that most would take for granted, from noticing the meter of the grandfather clock in the foyer to the micro-rhythms of crickets and cicadas to the ambience of passing trains at night.

The drive to actualize the tools BT envisions has led to his evolution as one of the most cutting-edge programmers and technologists in music today. He has expanded this reach into a visionary software venture, Sonik Architects which launched its critically- and commercially-acclaimed iPhone application, Sonifi™.

So as you can see, techno-wizardry will be on display at Ibiza DC this Saturday. And the choice of which party to attend won't get any easier as you do even more research on both of these artists. I won't tell you which one I plan to attend because that's a secret. You'll just have to come back to this blog to find the answer.

Photos by Doug Van Sant

A Call for Photographers

2010-01-27T14:18:00.003-05:00

Up until this point, I've been feeding the Urban Marinade experience with photos from my own collection and photos I find through search. But part of my mission with this blog is to expose the reader to high-quality nightlife and high-quality nightlife photography. And from what I've seen online, there are a ton of great photographers out there.

So... to accomplish this, I created a Flickr group called Urban Marinade DC. My hope is that other nightlife photographers will upload their images and add them to this group so we can feed the blog with your images. If all goes well, I'll run a weekly feature highlighting some of the photographers who uploaded images to the group, in hopes of giving them some exposure as well.

So if you enjoy photography, nightlife, and urban settings, please feel free to join the Flickr group and/or upload your images as often as you'd like.

Photo by Flickr user Sam Jones Photo

Thievery Corporation Does DC

2010-01-23T18:20:00.007-05:00

If you live in DC, you probably have a pretty good idea who Thievery Corporation is. Even if you're not really into their version of dub, acid jazz, reggae, world meets lounge aesthetic style, you've probably had a friend mention them at some point. If you go out in DC, there is a good chance you've paid a visit to any number of clubs (18th St. Lounge, Local 16, Marvin, etc.) connected to the duo. That's because this widely popular band/DJ group was founded by Rob Garza and Eric Hilton right here in our great city at the lounge that shares the name of their record label. And like most bands on tour, Thievery spends an extra few days of their tour in their hometown performing for their most beloved fans.

I was lucky enough to get a chance to attend their second night of performing at the famous 930 Club in the U Street neighborhood of the District. I had never seen Thievery in person. I've known about them and their music for at least 7 years because good friend Matt C. introduced me to one of their CDs back in the days of North Carolina. But after all this time of living in DC, I still had never taken the time to see them live.

The show was incredible. If you're like me and simply enjoy all types of music, Thievery is for you. The stars of the show are obviously Eric and Rob behind the decks of the metallic DJ booth. But from start to finish, different lead singers take the audience on a musical journey. We go from Middle Eastern inspired sounds driven by the strings from a sitar to Reggae Dancehall. You're literally taken from one corner of the world to the other while Rob and Eric blend it all together.

From a photography perspective, the show was interesting to say the least. Of course there are great colors to work with and the differing music and singers make for colorful characters to focus on. But what struck me was how small the actual photography pit is at 930. Honestly, there is less than a foot between the stage and the steel wall separating the audience from the band. And somehow we're supposed to squeeze in there and capture the vibe of the concert. Oh, and if you can get in there and get some good shots, you still have to figure out how to let other photographers get past you. Yeah... a small waistline is a prerequisite. The other issue is because of the nature of the show, your stars are in a DJ booth. From directly in front of the stage, you get half of their face in clear view.

Here's the good news. I was able to capture some good shots, as you see in the two included in this blog post. The better news is I get to go back tonight for more photos. The incredible news is not only will I get to shoot photos from the small-ass pit in front of the stage, I'll be taken backstage to shoot Eric and Rob inside the DJ booth. This is an honor I can't even describe in this blog. Shooting photos in the booth with Thievery is something you rarely see. In every search of Google I did, I never found a photo actually in the booth. So hopefully tonight I'll capture even better images and bring you as close to the action as you could possibly get without being there. This is gonna be good...

Photos by Doug Van Sant

Another Round of Drinks

2010-01-19T14:31:00.003-05:00

I'm typically not one to repost things that show up in other blogs. We want to keep this original, ya know... But the following little item from Cockeyed (reposted by Brightest Young Things) caught my eye and had to be shared with my readers. It's the Cocktail Calculator and it lets you calculate just how much that drink you just spent $15 on really costs.

I mean, the very nature of this blog just begs for something like this. We all go out to these bars and clubs and pay an arm and a leg for what we drink. Haven't you wondered just how much it actually costs the bar to produce that drink?

I plugged in my drink of choice, which is a Crown Royal Whiskey and Coke. I'm usually charged $8 to $10 for this drink at most DC drinking establishments. The true cost to make it? $1.34. Yep, the bars and clubs that serve this drink are making close to $8 profit on my drink.

I sent a quick note to my friend Daniel B. who works at Luka's Taproom in downtown Oakland and asked him what he typically finds is the best drink bargain based on true cost to the bar. His answer was "wine, for sure!" So there you have it. Drink up my friends!

Photo by Flickr user Jake Holt

What's Your Point of View?

2010-01-18T21:59:00.006-05:00

Have you ever gone into a bar or club and had just a horrible night, only to return a few months later and have a completely different experience? Or what if your original experience wasn't terrible, but it wasn't worth another visit for...oh, a few months. Well this is what happened to me this past week in DC.

If you recall from early last summer, I checked out the newly opened W Hotel and POV Lounge. My experience wasn't horrible. But there were some bumps and bruises from that visit and I frankly haven't had any real reason to return. Granted, Dan K. and I have made stops in the W Hotel lobby for a drink or two. But it wasn't until last Thursday that we returned to the rooftop terrace and lounge of this swanky DC hotel. My impressions have changed.

The first notable element of change is that the obnoxious lines trying to gain entry to the elevator upstairs are gone. This was a Thursday night, so it's possible you could find a line on Friday or Saturday night. But remember, it was a Wednesday night when I encountered close to 50 people dressed to impress waiting for their chance to experience the ultimate DC point of view. The next element of improvement was a staff prepared for anything. We were escorted upstairs, taken to the terrace, offered a place to sit and even offered drinks before I could take off my coat. This was a major change from the first week where POV couldn't decide if they wanted to be a velvet rope club or a tapas restaurant. Clearly, POV has accepted its role as a smooth character on the DC lounge circuit and the composed attitude reflects that.

Another stand-out element from last Thursday was one of the best Bailey's and coffee I've ever had. Dan K. asked me, "how could they mess that up?" I replied..."simple, bad coffee." This particular drink is made with a very smooth bean and brewed at what had to be the perfect temperature. I know it was late, but I ordered two.

POV has also added great music. DJ 2-Tone was spinning a groovy down-tempo hip hop that fit perfectly with the lounge mood. Honestly folks, sitting there sipping my coffee with soulful hip-hop feeding my ears while the Washington Monument stood brightly out the window next to me was a nocturnal dream come true. It was like taking a vacation from the usual high-energy K Street rat race and finding yourself at a rooftop oasis surrounded by history. Is there a better setting for this stuff or what?

The two photos in this post reflect what I saw that night. They reflect what POV has become since opening and what POV was destined to be. They reflect a beautiful rooftop lounge in a beautiful hotel with the best point of view in our city.

Photos by Doug Van Sant

A Sample of Restaurant Week

2010-01-17T16:59:00.005-05:00

Twice a year here in DC, we're treated to an event known as Restaurant Week. Assorted restaurants all over the region open their dining rooms to guests to enjoy a three-course prix-fixe menu at a set price. The obvious advantage is it gives folks a chance to enjoy some pricey restaurants at a fraction of what it might cost. Plus you get a pretty good sample of each menu and what should be the chef's signature dishes.

But there are also a lot of complaints to go along with restaurant week. I've heard restaurants limit what they place on their prix-fixe menu and leave off some of their best dishes. I've heard the staff at many of these restaurants slack-off because they feel the clientele isn't their normal customer base and probably won't return for the full-price menu. I've also heard some of the chef's use this particular week for when they take vacations...leaving their menu in the hands of sous chefs and kitchen apprentices. I've also noticed more and more of the big-name restaurants staying off this list all-together, making bargain dining hard to find.

For the first 3 years of living in DC, I embraced this concept. The moment restaurant week is announced, diners jump on Open Table and grab up reservations. I always look at the price listing and try to grab one or two reservations from the most expensive on the list. This year I snatched up a spot at Vidalia. After another sub-par experiences, it's probably one of the last Restaurant Week's I'll take part in.

Let me make something real clear. It is possible to have a great dining experience during this week. Last winter I had a great dinner at Art and Soul and Cafe Atlantico. During the summertime restaurant week, I enjoyed one of the best meals at Oval Room. Many restaurants get behind the concept and see it as a chance to show off and capture the attention of potential customers. I just seem to have lost interest in the idea.

So this time we hit up the subterranean power spot of Vidalia. Chef Jeffrey Buben describes Vidalia's cuisine as original American with a subtle Southern influence. The dining room is convivial yet elegant and exudes sophistication and confidence. We were greeted at the door where the hostess took our coats and quickly whisked us off to our table in a small room off the bar. I liked the intimacy of the small dining room until our neighbors decided to belt out laughter that could probably be heard on the other side of DC. We're talking serious decibel levels here. We thought we were safe when they left, only to hear the table next to theirs pick up where they left off. I mean seriously? Was it improv night at Vidalia.

Back to business. Our server was nice but a little aloof. He took a bit of time to make his way to our table but quickly retrieved our wine selection. He then proceeded to spill drips of the wine all over our table and our glasses. Not a big deal, but not what you'd expect in this fine dining establishment. But with wine in hand, we proceeded to eat.

I enjoyed a mushroom risotto with smoked gouda fondue, elf mushrooms and a broccoli rabe. The dish was smooth, well cooked and hearty for a cold night, but lacked the punch you might expect from a James Beard winning chef. My second course was a maple leaf farm duck breast with emmer wheat, dry cranberries, pecans, leg confit, duck egg and a bourbon barbecue. The duck was perfectly cooked and presented atop the cranberry confection. Mixing the sweet flavors of the bourbon bbq with the cranberry was a total delight. And the duck literally melted in my mouth. This was my favorite course of the night. We also added Vidalia’s baked macaroni with Amish cheddar, goat cheese and smoked ham for an additional cost, which was well worth it. Not only was it a creamy/cheesy plate of goodness, it helped us make up for a rather small second course which was nothing more than our proteins and some garnish. They were all good, but not quite a hearty amount of food.

I wrapped up my meal with a whoppers dessert, which was malted meringues, malted-milk chocolate mousse and chocolate sauce. This little creation was light, airy and a perfect sweet ending to the meal. The flavors together really did match what you'd taste when enjoying a box of malted milk balls at the movies. As my dad would say... how'd they do that?

Overall the food at Vidalia was great. The service was spotty but it was a busy Friday night and our waiter was very nice. The overall mood of the restaurant was simple, elegant and well done and the entire staff made us feel accommodated. In most cities on any given night, this restaurant would easily be one of the best. But this is DC. And on this night, Vidalia was just...eh. We're not New York or SF, but we're getting there. And we have access to some of the best chefs in the world now. If a restaurant doesn't put their best effort forward, you can definitely tell. I'd be very curious to see if Vidalia was any different when it's not restaurant week. Because to be perfectly honest, I got the impression we didn't get the best of this supposedly great DC restaurant. If I go back, I'll be sure to update you with what we find.

Photo courtesy of Vidaliadc.com

Rising Dance Music Star Headlines Ultra Bar

2010-01-12T14:04:00.004-05:00

One thing most of my friends don't realize about DC is how great this city is for dance music. Sure, Miami has great DJs spinning house and electro in the local grocery store. And babies seem to be born with headphones in NYC. But of all the cities I've lived in, The District holds it's own when it comes to local talent and national draw. And thankfully we have promoters and club owners who embrace the popularity and passion that comes with bringing in world-class performers.

Such is the case with the folks at Glow, who booked Chicago dance music star Blake Jarrell this Thursday at Ultra Bar in downtown DC. If you're searching for things to do and think you'd like to try your hand at some really good dance music, this is your best bet!

I had the chance to listen to and photograph Blake during his last visit to DC at Club Ibiza. I recall pausing for a moment in the middle of the shoot thinking to myself, damn this is good music. Blake is quite literally a natural behind the decks. He knows how to blend smooth trance-like music with driving rhythms. And he can work a crowd as good as the best in the business. I think this is what has helped place Jarrell on the upward trajectory in the electronic music world. A good DJ can mix well. A great DJ can read his crowd, feed off their energy and tap into their senses for a stunning musical journey. Think I'm making all of this up? Come to Ultra on Thursday and you'll see what I mean.

But the journey for Jarrell hasn't always been as spiritually uplifting. Blake carved himself a niche in the underground dance music scene in his hometown of New Orleans, performing at some of the cities biggest venues while producing and releasing singles on various labels. But when tragedy stuck the city during Hurricane Katrina, Jarrell packed his car with whatever he could and set forth to Chicago.

It was in the windy city where he fell in love with the booming house, techno and trance scene, which further helped shape his sound. It also brought a chance meeting with Armin van Buuren, who Blake passed along a CD of his productions. “It’s bittersweet that I had to lose my hometown to Hurricane Katrina to find such a musically nurturing city as Chicago,” says Blake who claims the storm as “simultaneously the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me.”

After listening to a few of his original productions, Armin contacted Blake and soon after he joined the Armada artist roster. Since that time Armin has invited Blake on several of his world tours as an exclusive special guest performer. Finally, Blake cemented his relationship with Armada Music when he joined a select group of international stars for full summer residencies at Armada’s weekly shindig at Amnesia in Ibiza in 2007 and 2008.

Blake put himself at the helm of a very unique project with his recent “Concentrate 2009″ album. Unlike other mix compilations, Blake painstakingly hand picked music selections to completely rework and remix them in the studio from the ground up in order to carve his signature sound into each of the 25 tracks, creating an incredibly cohesive journey across a vast storyline of sound.

The story continues this Thursday at Ultra Bar.

Photos by Doug Van Sant

USF Fires Coach for ... Coaching

2010-01-11T14:40:00.002-05:00

I don't typically stray too far from the nightlife reporting on here. But outside of my passion for the nocturnal life is my love of sports. So I couldn't help but comment on the recent firing of former USF football coach Jim Leavitt.

Having lived in Tampa for a few years, I'm well aware of the job Leavitt has done at USF. Folks have to remember the the University of South Florida didn't have a football program 14 years ago. Jim Leavitt was their first and only head coach. He built the program from ground up when they operated out of trailers held together with duck tape. Today they are members of the Big East conference, are a major player in South Florida recruiting and are routinely featured on national television playing other high-profile programs. To say USF football would not be where it is today without Jim Leavitt is an understatement. Leavitt is USF football!

So the controversy stems from a player who Leavitt "reportedly" grabbed by the throat and then slapped. And yet the player in question and his parents are denying those claims. Most of the close to 100 players at USF stand by their coach. USF however fired Leavitt because "internal and external" investigations found two eyewitness accounts that said otherwise.

Forgive me for thinking this, but we are talking about football right? I mean, this is the sport where you hit people, is it not? And it is a coaches duty to get their team fired up for games and/or when their players might be down on themselves along the sidelines...right? I mean, what type of football team is USF trying to produce?

One of the best quotes I saw in the comment section on ESPN said... "South Florida: fired their coach for grabbing and slapping a kid to get his attention. SLAPPING. The same thing a woman could do to you for an inappropriate pick up line in front of a police officer and not get charged."

Yeah, I'd like to recommend the next coach of USF keep a minimum of 2ft. distance from any player and bring lollipops to practice to keep the kids happy.

A Grand Opening at Recess

2010-01-08T12:28:00.004-05:00

Since we're in the process of catching up after the holidays, I figured it was time I update you all on a new nightlife venue opening in downtown DC. Just prior to Christmas, I had the pleasure of attending the soft-opening of Recess Lounge on December 16th.

Recess occupies the space that was once Geisha Lounge just one block from the White House. The location couldn't be more perfect for this type of club because of the recent arrival of the W Hotel and it's nocturnal contributor, POV. Each of these venues cater to a well-heeled DC crowd and offer patrons a little bit of everything along the 15th Street corridor. And with the addition of Recess, we now have several nightlife establishments all within walking distance of the K Street clubs like Lima, Tattoo, Lotus and Park at Fourteenth. Downtown DC has never looked so good! Or vibrant for that matter.

I've been to my fair share of opening parties. They usually dress up the clubs to look extra special and bring in "VIP" guests. The problem is most of us have no idea who the "VIP" guests actually are. And the night following the opening is usually a letdown; a true taste of how the club will operate. But Recess was different. They did bring in cocktail tables for guests to mingle near and converse over drinks. But the club operated and looked pretty much like you'd expect a finely tuned venue. Had I not known this was the first few nights of operation, I would never have been able to tell. An awful lot of thought was put into making this operation run smoothly...and it showed.

The venue itself can be described in one word. Beautiful! It's dressed in dark woods salvaged from centuries old walnut trees. There's a bar the entire width of the lounge near the front and a DJ booth dead center toward the rear. The entire room features an abstract lighting feature that can change based on the mood, music or whatever else your heart desires. There are tables and couches that run along one side and split the DJ booth, but most of this lounge is a dance floor. After spending several nights inside this venue, I can best describe it as a very large recording studio. The sound and acoustics are pretty much what every studio is designed to be and from what I can tell, there are zero flaws in the Recess system. I've only been in one other lounge that can match that type of sound quality and it's the venerable Cielo in NYC.

Owners Fisayo Esconsay and Brandon Howard, former DC club promoters, tell me Recess was designed around the music. I like to hear this! They also tell me they'll have at least one night that features house, one that features hip hop/top 40 and another that will cater to the smooth R&B and jazz fans. One thing is certain, you'll have a hard time standing still in this joint.

But above all of the promotional sounding verbage, high-end sound and fancy cocktails created by a bevy of mixologists, Recess comes with class and soul. Most of the nightlife venues I spend my evenings in are dressed up nice and have the latest and greatest gadgets in sound. But very few are able to touch each individual personally. From the moment I walked into Recess to the moment I closed my tab at the bar, they made me feel like they really cared to have my business. Both Brandon and Fisayo mingled with their patrons like everyone walking through the door was a friend. It's this attention to their customers happiness that will make this lounge one of the better in our vast District of a nocturnal abyss. I hope each of you will take the time to visit Recess because the people behind this lounge are dedicated to their concept and it shows.

The top photo and those below are part of a larger photo gallery I created from the soft-opening party. As you'll see, the design and colors in Recess make it very easy to shoot photos and very easy to capture the vibe of this beautiful club. If you'd like to see more, check out the complete gallery, otherwise enjoy your Recess...

75 Bars DC: Passenger

2010-01-06T10:00:00.005-05:00

There comes a point in your daily schedule when you realize you've got some unfinished business. You could continue to charge forward and ignore the unfinished business. But it will stick there in the back of your head like that annoying beeping sound construction vehicles make when they back up. You have no choice, you need to address it. Such is the case of The Passenger, the newly opened bar at the northern tip of Chinatown/Penn Quarter.

I'm about 4 weeks behind on posting this 75 Bars review of The Passenger. I probably could have posted it a few weeks ago, but we got socked by Snowpocalypse 2009 and then the holidays. And even after I got back to DC from vacation, I tried to find ways to ignore the impending crush of an otherwise good bar. In other words, I really, really wish I could say good things about The Passenger, but I can't. I've avoided the unavoidable up until this point. But I'm now faced with the fact that I went to a bar I wanted to like and walked away pretty damn disappointed. And as Dan and I had promised, we'd report on what we found on our visit. Seriously, I thought about going back to give them a second chance. But this particular column isn't about second chances. It's about what we find on our one visit to a particular watering hole. That being said, here goes.

When I heard about the opening of The Passenger, I was hopefully optimistic. The 7th Street location just north of New York Ave. really turned me on because I used to live 3 blocks away. I used to walk by what was then the bar at the Warehouse Theater on a daily basis and always felt this particular block was ripe for development. And I liked the idea of pushing the Chinatown/Penn Quarter development north into Shaw where the neighborhoods seamlessly connect. It all made sense. Upon arrival to The Passenger, I was greeted by a warm exterior and a rush of patrons coming and going. It was nice seeing so much foot traffic in my former hood. The interior was simple but comfortable. Even slightly stoic if you wanna go there. Soft, well placed lighting with ivory archways trimmed with dark woods made for a soothing introduction to the new Mt. Vernon haunt. There is a room off the back that's supposed to resemble a re-created dining car, but I never made it that far. The smooth and warm interior was pretty much the only thing I can say was good. Okay, there are other things, but we'll get to that.

I met up with good friends Dan K., Eric D., Ryan H. and Robert F. We grabbed a table just past the bar near the rear of the front room. The actual bar in the venue was quite small. Trying to make your way past the happy hour crowd at the bar seemed almost as crazy as tackling rush hour on 495. I stood behind the throng of people for - oh - just about 5 minutes before I realized I'd never get a drink. Thankfully they had servers wandering around and Dan and Rob had flagged one down. Here is where things get tricky. The Passenger is owned by two of DC's top mixologists, Derek Brown and his older brother Tom. The two can make literally any cocktail you want. And so they designed the Passenger that way. There are no drinks on the menu. You tell them what you like and they make something creative. Sounds like a neat gimmick, but it leaves a lot to be desired.

First off, I'm not a bartender. I never have been. I know I like Crown and Cokes. I know I like gin. Otherwise, I'm at the mercy of the individual behind the bar making beverages. So it's nice having suggestions on drink ideas. Asking me to name a cocktail or tell them what I like is as bad as asking me to name my favorite Chemist. You tell me what's good. You're the bartender. The problem is, unless you have Derek standing in front of you making your drink personally, it leaves you a bit lost. Not to mention, there aren't any prices for drinks listed anywhere. I figured I'd go safe and order my usual Crown Royal and Coke. Dan ordered his usual Seven and Seven. 20 minutes later the waitress returns to tell me she doesn't have Crown. No Crown at a bar? Fair enough, I bite on the creative drink idea. I tell her I like gin and off she goes. I'm still unaware of how much I'll be paying for my beverage. I just know something will come back based on my enjoyment of gin. At least, I think a drink will return.

20 minutes after I corrected my drink order, the waitress returns to tell Dan they don't have Seven. Mind you, this is 40 minutes after Dan first ordered his drink. I take the opportunity while we have the waitress nearby and order one of their Slaw Dogs (hot dog). My cocktail creation arrives about 10 minutes later. "What is it?", I ask. "Dunno" says the waitress. Um, seriously? I bought into your crafty bastard drink idea, the least you can do is tell me what I'm drinking. "There's gin in it" she says. Well now, that makes me happy. At least I know there is gin in my drink... (rolling my eyes).

10 minutes later, my slaw dog arrives. One hour after placing his order, Dan is still standing there without a drink. He's trying to ask the waitress, but she seems to be space cadeting off somewhere other than The Passenger, or even DC for that matter. Lord knows where her head was at that point. Approximately one hour and 30 minutes after ordering his drink, Dan is finally presented with a cocktail. Don't ask what it was... the waitress didn't know. It didn't matter at that point. It had alcohol in it, so Dan was drinking it.

Clearly the drink issue, the waitress and the timeliness of the bar was a problem. I can accept certain things when a business is just opening. I realize this is a new bar and it's quite popular. But the waitstaff should know what they are serving their patrons. And any wait over 20 minutes for a drink is unacceptable. An hour and 30 minutes is cause to be panned, which is what I'm doing.

With all due respect to Derek and Tom, my drink was very good. And the slaw dog was one of the best hot dogs I've had in DC since moving here. Imagine a perfectly cooked dog with just the right amount of char and a slight hint of honey BBQ. Seriously, the quality of the food and drink could easily make this one of the better bars in the District. But the wacky name your own beverage idea, lack of prices anywhere and horrible service simply wasn't enough to overcome. I'd be willing to go back, but any bar that puts out such a poor first impression really needs to iron out these kinks before it's worth my time. As I've said before, there are just too many places in DC that offer me a valuable nightlife experience to accept anything less.

I'm hoping The Passenger can improve. I really, really want it to do well. Better yet, I want my old hood to do well. Fingers crossed DC!

Dan K. points to his watch after receiving his beverage one hour and 30 minutes after ordering.

1st Photo by Jim Webb
2nd and 3rd Photo by DVS

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party 2009

2009-12-25T00:01:00.003-05:00

The weekend before Christmas is usually a time of last-minute shopping, packing for travel and holiday parties. In fact, Dan Kelly and I had put together the details to host a sweet holiday party featuring the famous ugly Christmas sweater. But not this year!

Our grand plan to host the biggest and baddest ugly Christmas sweater party was thwarted by Mother Nature when a winter storm dumped roughly 16 inches of snow on the District. Would-be-guests were left snowed-in at their homes as Metro shut down above ground stations and city roads were nearly impassable. So many ugly Christmas sweaters never saw the light of day because of this rare winter dumping.

But because Dan and I have that never say die spirit, the party went on as planned. Sure, it was just 5 of us donning our funktified holiday garb. But damnit, we had some fun. And I have to give a shout out to Robert Fairbairn for being the only one to brave the blizzard and drive to the party. Granted, Rob has a vehicle that can handle the snow and did go to college where snow is plentiful. But I digress, we had a blast, played some Wii and Rock Band and documented the madness with a few images. We'll try again next year, so start looking for your ugly sweater today.

After you've looked at these images, I'd like to point out that finding an ugly Christmas sweater isn't as easy as you might think. Everyone thinks, "gosh, those are easy to find. I mean who wants those!" But hell, it took Jo and I quite a bit of leg work to finally track some down. We ultimately found two girls Christmas sweaters at the Georgia Ave. Thrift Shop in the Brightwood neighborhood, which turned out to be perfect.

Snowpocalypse 2009

2009-12-21T17:25:00.003-05:00

The weekend before Christmas is usually a time of last-minute shopping, packing for travel and holiday parties. But plans were changed in 2009 as a winter storm dumped roughly 16 inches of snow on the District. Some areas of Virginia saw as much as 26 inches. Instead of buying last-minute gifts, people were in a mad rush buying toilet paper and milk. It was a little crazy.

Since I'm lacking in the snow apparel department, I didn't wander too far away from my house during the height of the storm. But I was able to capture some neat shots in the Capitol Hill and Navy Yard neighborhoods of DC. Enjoy...

75 Bars DC: Galaxy Hut

2009-12-04T16:30:00.007-05:00

We continue our 75 Bars adventure in the great Commonwealth of Virginia with a stop at the ultra hipster hideout, Galaxy Hut. I'll go ahead and admit here that I had not heard of Galaxy Hut prior to reading the Washingtonian 75 Bars issue. Even after reading, I couldn't get a sense of what to expect. All they said was "it's small." Okay, but that can mean anything. What's the crowd like? What's the decor like? Are the drinks good? Dan and I found out!

We hit up Galaxy Hut after our visit to the wonderful Liberty Tavern. We had already experienced a great bar in LT, so it would be hard to top what was presented to us there. And frankly, I kinda expected some disappointment based on what I already knew about the venue. After parking the car on a side street, Dan and I agreed, "this would be interesting."

Galaxy Hut is located almost dead-center between the Clarendon and Court House Metro stops along Wilson Blvd. It's an unassuming white building clustered in with a bunch of other unassuming white buildings. Your only sign to locate the bar is a flag hanging out front and some pretty funky colored lights and a crafty sign hanging in the window. This was a Thursday night, so street traffic was light and there was no band playing. But upon entry into this little hangout, I was overwhelmed with a sense of artistic expression. Galaxy Hut is basically what every coffee shop strives to be. It's quaint. It's unique. It's rustic but not dirty. It's small, but not a shoebox. And best of all, it truly is a hipster bar...not some prefabricated venue designed to look hip but is actually an Ikea showroom that serves beer. The art on the wall is all original and local. The patrons are all loyal customers and local. The music that is performed at Galaxy isn't necessarily local, but the support is truly grassroots.

The bar is dark and gets it's lighting from those funky lights in the window and from the video games that serve as tables. Near the back of the bar is a kitchen that serves up a nice assortment of vegan and vegetarian friendly fare. They don't sell hard alcohol, but have a very large assortment of draft and bottled beers. Yes, people were drinking Pabst, but you get the sense they drink it because they like it, not because Urban Outfitters says it's cool. In other words, this bar is straight up real.

Dan and I found a seat at one of the video game tables and ordered our beverages. I wish I could remember what Mr. Dan ordered, but I got so giddy about my own selection. Galaxy Hut was elevated in my eyes the moment I saw they had a Belgian lambic. It gets better kids! The Belgian lambic was priced at a very reasonable $7. I almost fell out of my seat when I saw that. Oh, but we're not done yet.

Remember the food menu I mentioned? Well I couldn't let the night go by without ordering their tater tots. Yes, you read that correctly. They have tater tots on the menu. I mean, is this a real-life DVS dream-come-true? Raspberry lambic and tater tots? My mouth waters right now thinking about it. And I wasn't the only one stoked about the tots. Dave from DC said it best when he confessed "I'm not going to eat dinner. I'm just going to stay here and eat tots!" I couldn't agree more.

You see, the thing about Galaxy Hut is you get a real sense of expression and uniqueness in this little bar. While sitting there enjoying my lambic, I really felt like I was enjoying someone's truly unique bar concept. As I said before, it might be a hipster magnet, but it's real. Galaxy Hut is a geek-chic bar with an artistic edge that knows exactly what it wants to be and will stay that way as long as the DC area echo boomers continue to visit.

I will most certainly go back to this bar. Because no matter how much I enjoy the fine dining establishments of the District, there is nothing better than a lambic and tater tots!

1st Photo by Flickr user JackiePants'
2nd Photo by Flickr user Tim Serge
3rd Photo by Flickr user Waleed123
4th Photo by Flickr user HoiPolloi

Celebrating A Year of Excellence at Muse

2009-11-30T08:01:00.010-05:00

It was a quiet Thursday evening in the District almost one year ago when Dan Kelly and I wandered into a nightclub on 6th Street in Chinatown. I had just started writing for the WB and Dan had an idea to do a drink of the week concept for my blog. We had a drink at this new establishment and continued on to our main destination, Josephine. The evening at Josephine was a bust, so we returned to the Chinatown nightclub because of the warm hospitality we had received. And for one year now we've been going back to Muse Nightclub almost weekly.

I've had the pleasure of seeing some of the best house DJs hit up the turn tables at Muse, including the likes of Marques Wyatt and King Britt. I also had a chance to teach a weekly dance class at the club and see some of the world's best Lindy Hoppers tear up the dance floor. In other words, Muse has been good to us over the past year.

So on November 13th, Muse Lounge celebrated their 1-year anniversary of epic parties in Chinatown. And of course, Urban Marinade was there to document the chaos and celebrate the success of this downtown nightclub. And in true Muse fashion, they hired world-class artist DJ Icey for the evening.

Icey has a long history within the electronic music ranks as being one of the innovators of "Florida Breaks." He's influenced the likes of Baby Anne and Kimball Collins and was the DJ that convinced the Chemical Brothers to do their first show in the States. So yeah, the guy knows his way around a DJ booth and knows how to make you move. He was also one of the first DJs I had the pleasure of covering in Tampa when I started writing Nocturnal Vibe 6 years ago.

The following is a collection of photos from the evening. Not enough for a full gallery on dougvansant.com, but enough to whet your appetite for more of what this great DC nightclub has to offer.

75 Bars DC: Liberty Tavern

2009-11-29T12:41:00.004-05:00

Since our 75 Bars DC adventure has kept us in the District the past few outings, Dan and I figured it was time to visit our friends to the west in Virginia. According to the Washingtonian list, there are 12 bars in the Commonwealth worthy of our attention. And while I don't get into Virginia that often for nightlife, I'm sure there are others not listed worth a visit. If you own a bar or know of one you really enjoy, let me know. It doesn't matter if it's in DC, Arlington, Vienna or Greenbelt. We're here to serve you with the most accurate and real-life accounts of these drinking establishments.

That being said, I have one thing I have to vent about today. I don't know about you, but I get really annoyed by the whole bridge and tunnel crowd that seems to be growing in numbers in our city. You know what I'm talking about. These are the people who live in DC but act like there is a vast wasteland of rednecks and strip malls just across the Potomac River. They talk in dramatic tones about how great DC is and sound exasperated at the thought of even thinking about Virginia. You almost get the impression that they fear they'll sprout a mullet, lose a tooth and start talking with a twang if they even look in that westerly direction. I didn't encounter these types on my 75 Bars night but overheard a young guy last night at Zaytinya trying to impress some lady-friends. The funny thing is, I think the guy who was acting like a DC-snob sounded more like a tourist than the people who live in the suburbs. I mean, he talked about his neighborhood and the bars he visits like he's going down a checklist pulled from Travel magazine. Dude, no one cares if you go to Marvin all the time. With all due respect, everyone has been to Marvin and it really isn't that cool. So you can understand why I was excited to trek into Virginia on this particular evening to experience some of what the Old Dominion has to offer and rub it in the noses of these District snobs that probably grew up in...Virginia.

Our first spot was Liberty Tavern in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington. Like DC, Arlington is a cluster of defined neighborhoods. Clarendon sits along a corridor of tightly compact neighborhoods all connected by Metro and Wilson Blvd. These neighborhoods are newer and seem to cater to a large young population looking for city-life but suburban amenities. Liberty Tavern sits at the corner of Wilson, N. Irving St. and Washington Blvd. It's housed in an historic Masonic Temple building and decked out with black awnings, a hard-to-miss neon sign and outdoor dining. The interior is nicely appointed with dark-warm woods, high ceilings and an imposing staircase to an upstairs dining room. The downstairs bar has a long communal table fit for sharing food or enjoying a cocktail after a long day of sitting at a desk.

The first thing you notice at Liberty is the buzz of energy throughout the bar. Most of the crowd is fairly young in the early-to-mid 30's range. The fashion - button down shirts, khaki pants and pleats (oh God, pleats!) - definitely agrees with the suburban work-life vibe most of the patrons exude. I'd bet half work in DC and half work in Virginia, but almost all of them come back to this neighborhood and visit Liberty because of it's friendly neighborhood pub appeal.

And the bartenders certainly contribute to the atmosphere with their welcoming demeanor. We were greeted within 20 seconds after settling in to our bar stools by a very friendly bartenders named Nick. In true Cheers fashion, Nick introduced himself, asked our names and shook our hands. It might seem simple, but this greeting always props up a venue in my regard. We ordered our standard drinks of choice and sat back to take in the atmosphere.

One thing I'll say for Liberty is everything about this bar is done well. I believe the proper word would be balanced. I had a standard Crown & Coke for drink #1 and a glass of Malbec for drink #2, both of which were very enjoyable. Dan enjoyed a Belgian wheat beer to start and the aptly named Masonic (Evan Williams Black Bourbon, Lemon Juice, Mint, Water, served in a mason jar) for his second beverage. All of which were made well and clearly show an attention to detail behind the bar.

We ran into our fair share of drunk ladies heading home after a successful happy hour and a young girl who almost lit her eyebrow on fire while trying to have a smoke out front. So thankfully there was some color in the evening. But overall Liberty Tavern is a solid neighborhood bar worthy of another visit. And a little side note about this tavern is they host a very nice Sunday brunch that comes complete with a candy table offering selections of Pez. Seriously!

I know I'll never convince some people to visit Virginia for a nocturnal experience. Clearly Mr. Happy at Zaytinya is proud of his cookie cutter nightlife selections that Zagat keep telling him are cool. But for those looking for a balanced night of great cocktails, warm and inviting atmosphere and friendly bartenders who will remember your name, Liberty is the spot.

It's All Gone Pete Tong

2009-11-23T11:27:00.004-05:00

I recently got around to posting a few more galleries on my site and wanted to share with you this collection from a night with Pete Tong at Glow.

For those not familiar with Tong, his work transcends many years of dance music artists and styles. As a DJ, Pete has graced the decks of the best clubs and festivals worldwide. As a producer he's assembled the music for many different soundtracks and was the inspiration behind the hit film "It's All Gone Pete Tong."

Pete's success as a broadcaster, clubland DJ and music industry maven is his ability to create a balance between credibility and commerciality and is not afraid to drop the hits on the decks. "People forget it's entertainment," Pete explains. "I wouldn't be doing this if I couldn't champion new music, but a mix is the key. And it's supposed to be fun."

I was pretty excited to see Pete for the first time because he's a name I've become familiar with through the BBC-One essential mixes. I can't even begin to tell you how many DJ mixes I've listened to with the BBC (Radio)-One call sign announced. You almost begin to expect to hear it while listening to any dance music mix.

I wish I could say I was as excited about the images I captured from the evening. I like some of the color in these shots, but I was very disappointed with the clarity and sharpness of the photos. I've been over-thinking my nightlife photography, trying to use different techniques to pull out more color and style in my shots. What's happened is that I'm getting vibrant the color but losing some of the crisp and clean, noise-free shots I've captured on recent outings.

The following are some of the better images from the gallery. To be perfectly honest with you, the best shot came during the opening DJ set. I had everything set correctly and just got a little happy with my exposure settings throughout the night. I really can't wait to get back out and continue to refine my nightlife style and try to correct some of my mistakes in these shots. In the meantime, enjoy these photos and please let me know what you think.

Spooky Evening at the Skyline

2009-11-16T08:51:00.006-05:00

I'm seriously way behind in updating this blog with details on parties and events, so I figured I should try to get everyone up to speed. As our 75 Bars DC experiment continues, I'm finding time to check out other parties that you should know about. That's why I wanted to post a few words about this year's Capitol Skyline - Metromix Halloween Party.

Halloween was definitely more special to me this year because I was sharing it with Joelle and we had decided to team up for our costume. If you're looking at the photo and wondering what in the world we were trying to be, you probably don't watch True Blood on HBO. It's okay, I didn't either until Jo came up with the idea. Anyhow, I'm Bill Compton, the vampire and Jo is Sookie Stackhouse, his "woman." The show is actually pretty neat and engaging, so it was easy getting behind this costume idea. And those who know the show immediately picked up on us. I think the best part of our look was the Tru Blood bottle Jo created using a photo I printed and some contact paper. It was actually pomegranate tea, but damn did it not look like the bottles of Tru Blood from the show?

So we hit up the Capitol Skyline because my friends Alyssa Shelasky, Spike Mendelsohn and Angie Goff were hosting the Metromix DC party there. Now it seems like every bar, club and hotel hosts some type of halloween party. So it takes some research to figure out which one will actually be "fun." Thankfully the Capitol Skyline was! I spent several Sunday afternoon's at the Skyline pool for Spike's weekly party and had a blast, so I had no reason to think this party would be any different.

I think the thing I like most about the Skyline is they attract a diverse and well put-together crowd. This party had all the makings of a great evening...DJ Flounder, local celebrities, a costume contest and hotel rooms just a few feet away for the buzzed and tired. And almost everyone dressed up. We saw several versions of Superman, a whoopie cushion, Stewie from family guy showing his ass, Billy Mays of Oxi Clean and even Interstate 495. Yes, someone actually dressed up as the freeway.

So when it comes time to start planning your Halloween adventures next year, peek at the Capitol Skyline web site and see what they're offering. If Alyssa and crew do it again, it's sure to be THE Halloween party to attend. Below are a few more shots from the evening and you can see all of them here on Dougvansant.com.

75 Bars DC: The Gibson

2009-11-13T15:47:00.007-05:00

It's going on 9 p.m. on a recent Thursday night. Myself, Dan, Rick and Rob are all enjoying libations at Bar Pilar, part of our 75 Bars DC experiment. I look at my watch and realize we need to get going. We have a reservation waiting and we can't be late. We slug our drinks down as quickly as possible, settle our tab and exit Bar Pilar to the vibrant 14th and U Street corridor. We don't go very far...just two blocks to our final destination of the evening. We stop in front of what looks like an abandoned building. No signage, no lights, not even a hint of activity. The windows and doors are closed and covered with steel garage security doors. The only sign of life comes from the DC socialites gathering out in front of Marvin directly next door.

We try the front door. It doesn't open. We ring the doorbell and after about a minute a young doorman steps out and brings us into a dark hallway. You get the feeling you've just walked into a crack house. He asks if we have a reservation. We do. A couple had walked in behind us and so he asks them if they have one. They do not. He takes their cell phone number and says he'll be calling. They leave. He then opens a black door and walks us in. Welcome to The Gibson.

The Gibson opened on 14th Street just about a year ago with little fanfare. That, of course, would go against its speakeasy concept, which comes from owner Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation, the Eighteenth Street Lounge and neighboring Marvin. I remember my first visit proved it's easier to just book a reservation days ahead than try your hand at the door, which that couple that followed us in quickly found out. The Gibson has a strict "no standing" policy and does not allow lines out the door. They simply take your cell phone number and call you when (if at all) a spot opens up.

On this evening, the four of us planned ahead and were walked straight in to our table. The bar is made of lush appointments with intricately embossed black leather and warm unfinished wood on the bar and cozy booths. There's a patio out back, and the back room sports an absinthe fountain. A chalkboard is updated with the list of drinks to give imbibers a quick view of the menu. The Gibson isn't a place to be seen. It's a bar dedicated to the drink and allows you to settle into your own little world and forget all of that narcissistic showboating that goes on at most nightlife establishments. If anything, the trendy side of The Gibson is simply being able to tell people you've been there.

On this night Rob and I both started out with the Blue Blood, which consisted of Laphroaig 10 Year Single Malt Scotch, Leopold Bros. Tart Cherry Liqueur, Grand Marnier and Dolin Dry Vermouth. The drink was decent but had an awfully strong peaty flavor coming from the scotch that overpowered the drink. I don't mind scotch, but I really don't want my beverage to taste like a campfire.

Rick enjoyed the Obituary Cocktail, which was Tanqueray 10 Gin, Dolin Dry Vermouth and Kubler Absinthe. Rick described the drink as clear, neat and innocent but packs a strong little punch. "The cocktail hits the nose with the strong scent of black licorice but quickly fades into a classic gin flavor" says the Rick. "Almost as soon as it appears, the Tanqueray dissipates as a fleeting memory and settles back into the smooth flavor of licorice."

Dan went with the Tennessee Rose, a drink he enjoyed at Off the Record and I assume was just as good at this drinking establishment. I didn't see it on the menu, so I'm going to assume it's prepared in a similar fashion.

My second drink was a Planters Punch, which was Appleton Estate Light Rum, Myer's Dark Jamaican Rum, Orange, Lemon and Grenadine. I wish I could give you details on this drink, but my palate was pretty much ruined after finishing off my strong peaty Blue Blood and trying Rick's second drink. As a friend recently said on Twitter, ZOMG!!! Rick's second beverage was known as The Upstate. His description pretty much says it all... "Pure gas! Don't smoke next to this puppy or it'll blow. The rye overpowers the drink but does end with a hint of citrus. Not for the faint at heart." He wasn't kidding. If your taste buds aren't numb after a few drinks of The Upstate, I'm impressed.

The drinks weren't the only thing that left us a little ruined. If there was one thing I seriously didn't like about The Gibson, it was the sudden time limit put on our table. I'm not kidding. After about 30 minutes of enjoying great cocktails and appetizers, the doorman comes over and says we have "30 more minutes before we have to give up our table." WTF? When's the last time you had a bartender tell you you've got 30 minutes before you have to give up your stool for another hearty drinker? We asked the waitress and she informed us he was wrong, we have about an hour left. But still... you're timing us? The Gibson had started out so perfectly but was quickly and quietly crashing our 75 Bars party. I understand the nature of the bar in their reservation policy. But I think once you're in, you should be able to stay. I know The Gibson would be the type of place I could spend 2 or 3 hours drinking and enjoying conversation. It's not the typical bar in DC where you're asses to elbows and have to yell just to say "What's up dude!" The Gibson is about savoring your drink and so it came as a surprise that we were being hurried along to finish these types of drinks.

I won't completely rip the place because of this policy, but I will let them know it kinda sucks. But in fairness to The Gibson, it's an awesome little bar and worth some of the bumps and bruises that go with trying to maintain a different type of nightlife establishment. And I suppose it's good they impose a time limit or else most of the patrons wouldn't be able to walk much after drinking more than 1 or 2 of the supremely strong beverages.

The Gibson is hot folks. But make sure you book a reservation and don't plan to stay all evening.

75 Bars DC: Bar Pilar

2009-11-09T14:40:00.004-05:00

75 Bars DC made a triumphant return to the streets of the District last week with 14th Street as our target. The neighborhood is known simply as U Street, but it could be argued that it's also the northern borders of Logan Circle. Whatever you call it, the 14th and U area of DC has become one of the hottest neighborhoods in our city. It's chocked full of trendy restaurants, galleries, theaters, Whole Foods and of course, bars.

We kicked off our evening with a stop at the well known and local favorite, Bar Pilar. This little tavern is a small Ernest Hemingway-inspired bar that sits near the corner of 14th and T Streets NW and is owned by the same people who own the popular Cafe Saint Ex. "El Pilar" was, as devoted Hemingway aficionados know, the name of Hemingway's fishing boat that he kept at his home in Cuba. So it should be no surprise that Bar Pilar has several fishing and nautical items posted along the walls.

I'll admit that I haven't had the best of experiences in this bar prior to this night. Mainly, I've always found it to be incredibly crowded and rather hard getting your hands on one of their crafty beverages. It always seemed like one of these popular yuppie/hipster joints that serve hard to find brew and alcoholic concoctions that leave you scratching your head. But I'll go ahead and say, Bar Pilar impressed me on this night.

The place was crowded as usual and as Rob said in his follow-up report to me, it's vibe was "a little on the emo/counterculture side." I got the impression the crowd was a combination of neighborhood residents and local activists. Simply stated, it was a diverse group of grazers who don't want to spend a fortune but want some variety with their cocktails. Either way, we settled into a spot at the bar, took off our coats and began exploring the drink menu. Pilar serves a whole assortment of beverages and hard-to-find beers, but their specialty cocktail list is what they're known for. I order a Bee's Knees which is an excellent blend of Plymouth Gin, lemon juice and honey syrup. It's like a slightly sweet and sour version of a gin and tonic, taking a rather bitter drink and giving it a full-body of life. In a city where specialty cocktails are pushing towards the $20 range, paying $10 for this drink is a steal.

Dan tried the Golden Bulleit, which was Bulleit Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey with an orange-clove syrup and Rob enjoyed a Dark N' Stormy, which was Gosling Black Seal Rum and Fentiman's ginger beer. Our good friend Rick joined us a few minutes later and ordered one of my favorites, a tasty Lindemans Framboise Belgian Raspberry Lambic. As far as I could tell, everyone thoroughly enjoyed their fancy pants cocktails, which added to a pretty spirited vibe throughout the bar. I specially like the attention to detail our bartender paid to our drinks and she even took the time to explain why certain drinks were her favorites. The last time 75 Bars hit the streets, we seemed to run into cerebral bartenders who gave us funny looks for even asking for recommendations. When you have a talented craftsman behind the bar like they did on this evening at Bar Pilar, it's no wonder they enjoy explaining and showing off their goods.

I closed out my stop at Bar Pilar with an aptly named Hemingway, which was Plymouth Gin, green coconut water, Angostura bitters and fresh lime juice. It sounds freaking amazing but it pretty much fell short of anything exciting. Wasn't bad, but the Bee's Knees is where it's at! Overall Bar Pilar serves as a well thought out and well run tavern in a neighborhood where excellence and competition is to be expected.

Stay Away From This Restaurant

2009-11-08T18:35:00.002-05:00

When I used to write my weekly nightlife column Nocturnal Vibe in Tampa, Florida, I tried to keep things positive. My motto was, if it's great, I'll tell you about it. If it sucks, I just won't recommend it. But then over time I've learned the power of prose. I've learned that sometimes you just have to speak your mind and make others aware of unsavory situations you may have experienced. Such is the case of a recent visit to DC restaurant Oya in Chinatown.

Let's set the stage for you really quick. It's Friday night. I booked an 8 p.m. reservation for 10 to host a secret birthday dinner for my girlfriend Joelle. The idea was that everyone would arrive by 8 and be seated. We would arrive around 10 after 8 and, surprise...everyone is there! Up until this night, Oya had been one of my favorite restaurants in a city of culinary heavy-weights. The design is impeccable, the vibe is smooth and hip and the food has always been some of the best I've had. And I've always appreciated their inexpensive prix fixe 3-course menu.

Oh, how quickly they fall!

My negative experience began when I called the restaurant earlier in the day to confirm everything. They explained they wouldn't seat anyone until we all had arrived. I explained the situation of the surprise birthday dinner in hopes they'd understand. No go. They simply would not seat our table unless we all were there. Well that sucks. Way to work with me there Oya!

So we arrive to the restaurant on time where everyone is waiting to surprise my lovely girlfriend. All is well so far despite the strict seating rules. That is until we see a party of 20 sitting at our table and realize we'll have to wait until they are done to be seated. Now, this has happened before at Oya. Dan and I waited an hour and a half one evening for a reservation Dan had made for a party of 8. We're thinking, can this truly be happening again? Well, it was and the staff at Oya didn't seem to care. In my opinion, a reservation for 8 p.m. means a reservation for 8 p.m. I'll accept a 10, maybe 15 minute delay on the table. But what's a reservation system for if you still have to wait 30 minutes or more? I could probably be seated next door at Zaytinya for the same amount of time without a reservation.

So we're taken to our table at 8:35 p.m. and everyone is still in good spirits. Joelle was happy, so that was the most important thing on this night. We ordered our various courses, drank wine and enjoyed conversation. Things started to go really bad when we realized it was 10:30 p.m. and had not been served our main course. In fact, almost an hour passed between our first and second course. Some of our guests had not ordered a first course, so they had been sitting the entire time without anything. And now, as 10:45 approaches, a few of our guests had to leave to get to prior engagements. If you had told me you had somewhere to be at 11 and our reservations were for 8, I'd tell you there would be more than enough time. But oh, not tonight at Oya!

As time continued to pass, we realize our waiter has gone missing. We finally see him and he rolls his eyes when we tell him we want our main course. We tell him we'd like to see the manager and he cops an attitude and walks away. Clearly he didn't care either. So I get up and find the manager and tell him our situation. It's now 11 p.m. and we're finally eating our main course. But my salmon was overcooked and others were finding their food to be overdone or downright cold. As Dan says, these have probably been sitting under a hot-plate for 30 minutes. At this point I didn't care. I was hungry!

The night finished with our dessert course with little fanfare. Things wrapped up with the restaurant finally realizing we existed and bringing Jo a nice little happy birthday written on her dessert. And the manager did finally stop by to tell us they were reducing our check. But to be honest, the damage was done long before they took the time to come talk to us. As Dan said, there are far too many great restaurants in DC to stand for this type of service. And it's not like there was a large tourist bus sitting outside that could explain for the excessively long wait. The two large tables next to us with just as many guests were served their meals and had gone before we were done our second course. Clearly someone, somewhere in this joint had dropped the ball. And clearly our waiter decided to step away for an hour long break while we sat wondering when, oh when our dinner would arrive. Joelle did enjoy the evening and I think everyone enjoyed the great company.

So there it is. What was once one of my favorite restaurants is now officially history. I'd love to tell you I'll go back and give Oya another chance, but I just don't see it. Not when I have literally hundreds of other choices.

Random Photo of the Day: Nov. 8th

2009-11-08T17:54:00.003-05:00

On Monday, November 2nd, my lovely girlfriend Joelle celebrated a birthday. I had a secret birthday dinner at Oya planned with a bunch of her friends later in the week, so I decided I'd cook her dinner at my place the night of her birthday. On the menu was a ginger teriyaki salmon, jasmine rice and organic asparagus cooked with butter and garlic.

Lord knows, I'm not the best cook. I may be a DC foodie and love watching cooking shows, but I certainly don't have the skills in the kitchen to be a contestant on Top Chef. But there are a few dishes I'm good at, and this was one of them. The surprise dinner at Oya was a whole different experience that I'll write about shortly. But I thought I'd share a photo of the meal I cooked on Joelle's birthday night.

Random Photo of the Day: Nov. 3rd

2009-11-03T11:52:00.003-05:00

I started going through some files on my desktop and came across this adorable photo of Joelle and I. It was taken two weeks ago on a Saturday night at Muse Lounge by one of their party photographers working for DCNites.com.

The funny story about this photo is that we had no intention of hitting up Muse that night. The original plan was for Joelle and I to get together with Francis and Samm and to see Armin van Buuren at FUR. But mother nature decided to open the skies and dump rain all across the region. We braved the colder temps and Hurricane FUR (this is what we decided to call it since it felt like a damn hurricane swept through on our walk from Metro to the club) to attempt to get into the club. But we decided against it when it was clear only my name was on the guest list and everyone else would have to pay a high price for their ticket. Not that Armin isn't worth spending a little money to see. But on this night, it just seemed like everything was working against us.

So we jumped into a cab, went downtown and enjoyed cocktails at Zola and some dancing at Muse Lounge. The weather sucked, but the night was a huge success because of the great company and awesome management over at Muse.

Miami Sound in Vegas

2009-10-23T12:08:00.004-04:00

AARP's Vegas@50 has been pretty exciting so far. Going into the event, I really had no idea what to expect. I knew it would attract a ton of people and the schedule would be packed, but wow! Day one kicked off with an opening session with our CEO A. Barry Rand delivering a great speech on health care reform. Magic Johnson became an official member of AARP and received his membership card. And the evening highlight was a concert with Gloria Estefan.

We were incredibly tired from the full day of activities and coverage, but I'd have to say the concert was my favorite part of the day. Brian and I were the only photographers allowed to shoot and so we had the best seats in the house. And just prior to the concert we got word that celebrity blogger and TV personality Perez Hilton would be showing up.

Near the end of the concert, our PR director grabbed me and practically threw me on stage because Perez and his mom were dancing with Gloria. It made for some awesome photography.

And the best part was getting my picture taken with Gloria after the concert. I mean, how could you not enjoy a night like that? Below are a few more photos from the concert. Enjoy...

Quick Hello From Vegas...

2009-10-21T21:54:00.004-04:00

As some of you know, I'm in Vegas this week shooting photos of the AARP member event. The whole conference is being held in the Sands Convention Center. I'm staying at the luxurious Wynn Hotel & Casino. Oh my god!

Anyway, just thought I'd post two photos of what I'm seeing so far. Enjoy...

A Little Slice of Home

2009-10-21T14:07:00.002-04:00

I'm sitting in the terminal at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and figured I'd post a little note about something I hold close to my heart. Food!

As you can see in the photo above, I love food. Specifically, I love my egg sandwich with a side of bacon. The image above was taken one morning just after I finished cooking. I couldn't help but notice the great contrast of colors on the plate and figured I should share this culinary delight with everyone.

It's not a weekend without my egg sandwich and College Gameday on ESPN.

75 Bars DC: Off the Record

2009-10-12T16:25:00.005-04:00

The next stop on our tour of the top 75 bars in DC took us to a little hotel bar inside of the historic Hay-Adams Hotel. Now I'll admit, when Dan mentioned to me we'd visit Off the Record in the venerable hotel next to the White House, I was somewhat confused. Of course I had heard of the Hay-Adams. Every Washingtonian who spends more than five minutes in this city has heard of the amazing Hay-Adams. But there was a bar inside? And it's one of the top 75?

Ah, how could I be so unlettered about the existence of this place. How could I, a true resident of this great capital not know of this revered watering hole right next to our most famous residency. Such is the case of my night wandering into Off the Record.

As we walked toward the majestic hotel along 16th, one can't help but feel like you're about to step foot inside one of the great hotels of our nation. The Italian Renaissance-style facade commands attention as do the large flags flying high above the grand entrance. The dark wood and marbled floors are oozing with distinctive luxury.

Dan asks the bellman at the door if he could direct us to the bar. Rather than just verbalize directions, the obviously French bellman walks us into the hotel and down a set of stairs. He points to a set of doors where a buzz of activity gives way to a small and yet opulent hotel bar. Apparently Off the Record isn't such a secret after all. This place was hopping!

Dan and I grab two seats at the octagon-shaped bar and browse their drink selections. At first glance, Off the Record is exactly the type of bar I would expect this close to the White House. It's the type of bar I figured I'd find more of in this city of lawyers, lobbyists and politicians. It's dressed in dark woods, red-velvet covered couches, high-back leather chairs and ornate trim. Most of the clientele were wearing suits and business attire and to be honest, most looked like they were brokering back-room policy deals. I could have been sitting next to one or two (or maybe 12) members of Congress.

I order my usual Crown and Coke and Dan orders a what's called the Tennessee Rose. I'll let him give you the juicy details on his drink over at 75barsDC.com. He drank about 6 of them, so I'm guessing it was pretty darn good. As for my stand-by Canadian whiskey drink, I absolutely loved it! As I've said before, it's not a hard drink to make, but clearly the Off the Record bartender still cares to put his heart into even the simplest of adult beverages.

That's where the night started to get fun. Dan and I struck up a conversation with a couple from San Francisco. Actually, they asked what my tattoo meant and somehow we started talking about nightlife, bottle service and cocaine. Why do I always find the tourists who want a quick fix??? Maybe I just give off the impression that I know "where they can find some." Whatever the case or their vices, they were a neat couple who said they visit DC about 4 times a year and absolutely adore our city. They said they read about the Hay-Adams once in a magazine and have been staying there the past 4 years. At some point in the conversation, a young lady comes over to Dan and asks if he's Doug Van Sant. Dan laughs and points in my direction as the man she was looking for.

Turns out, the young lady was Ardina Kievits, assistant restaurant manager for the hotel and was directed by the hotel manager to come down, find us and offer to buy us a drink. I know... crazy right? The hotel manager had noticed my tweet about 75 Bars DC and us being at Off the Record, and wanted to thank us for stopping by. My first reaction is, how the hell did he find my Twitter account? Then it dawns on me that you can search keywords that display when someone tweets about a particular venue. I've gotten personalized responses before from places like Wolfgang Puck's bistro in LA and the Tabard Inn here in DC.

So we tell the bar manager about the project and I proceed to order a raspberry rickey. The drink was quite tasty and designed perfectly for those seeking a lighter, more refreshing cocktail. That's when I began to talk to bartender John Boswell about 75 Bars DC and the history of drinking establishments in the District. Remember I mentioned the bartender who made my simple Crown and Coke with heart...well there is a reason for his attention to detail. Bartender John Boswell is regarded in many circles as the best bartender in Washington, DC and has been bestowed that award 4 times by Washingtonian Magazine. John told stories of hotel bars and local watering holes that hold more history than the Smithsonian. He gave me a list of places we need to visit and the long-time bartenders we should talk to. Clearly John has seen his share of celebrities and politicians come through the Off the Record doors, but it's his affable personality that makes even the average patron feel famous.

To sum up my experience at Off the Record, I'd have to say I walked away feeling connected. I felt connected to the city I call home and to the people who share our great structures, monuments and grand thoroughfares. I left Off the Record feeling like I spent the previous two-hours engaged in an activity so many DC residents had prior to that evening. I felt like I was truly...home.

75 Bars DC: Old Ebbitt Grill

2009-10-10T14:23:00.002-04:00

Every city has a staple. Whether it's a monument, an iconic sign or building or general tourist attraction, they exist in most of our major cities. And like these staples of tourism lure, most cities have an iconic restaurant or bar that lives through the decades. Greensboro had the famous Rhino club. Tampa had the historic Tiny Tap Tavern. Heinhold's First and Last Chance has been serving as a local watering hole on the Oakland waterfront prior to the great quake of 1906. These bars and restaurants are no longer destinations in their respective cities, they are institutions.

DC is not without it's share of iconic buildings and historic bars. One could argue it's "the" city of iconic structures. But there is one restaurant and bar that's been serving residents and tourists of our nations capital longer than any other...Old Ebbitt Grill.

This historic institution was founded in 1856 by William E. Ebbitt and has lived in various forms throughout the downtown DC area. When I moved to DC three years ago, I was told by locals this was "the spot to go to see old school DC." Like previous places I've lived, I embraced the history of DC and wanted to embrace her local institutions of imbibery. I had been several times for dinner, but never did I go to Old Ebbitt just for drinks. So Dan brings forth the 75 Bars idea and off we went. Our first bar in this adventure would be the oldest in DC.

First impressions of Old Ebbitt as someone walking in off the street is chaos. This place is incredibly popular. I'm not sure how many of the people crowding by the door waiting for tables were from DC or visiting tourists, but you can't deny Old Ebbitt is certainly not hurting for business. My gut would immediately tell me to leave by walking into a dining room that crowded and loud. But as DC residents, Dan and I both knew there was another bar to the left of the entrance, so we excused ourselves through the crowds to this less inhabited part of the restaurant. Let me point out, less inhabited doesn't imply no crowds. Anytime between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Old Ebbitt is pretty chaotic because you get the happy hour crowd. The back bar was more inviting to us to order a drink, but it was by no means quiet.

I noted to Dan that every one of the people gathering for drinks had yet to go home. Clearly we were surrounded by DC enjoying their happiest of what had become many hours. This is important to know because the main dining room bar is next to impossible to get a drink at and you'll more than likely be sharing bar space with a plumber from Iowa. (not that there's anything wrong with that)

According to our rules, I ordered two drinks. My first was my drink of choice, a Crown and Coke. My second was based on the house speciality, a Crown and Coke. Why the same drink you ask? I'll tell ya...

Dan figured he'd go for the house speciality with his first drink. He asked our first bartender to recommend something. The bartender looks at Dan with a confused look and says, give me somewhere to start. Clearly the question "what do you recommend?" doesn't get asked very often. So I ask the second bartender about their menu of drinks and which does he suggest. This time I get a more clear picture of what Old Ebbitt specializes in as he tells me to avoid that drink list. According to the bartender, the drink list changes for each season, so right now these drinks are full of creme and designed to appeal to a cold tourist looking for a warm and comforting beverage. What does Old Ebbitt do well though? Whiskey, Bourbon and Vodka.

Like most of DC, fancy schmancy cocktails are saved for the ultra lounges and trendy house music bars of K Street and Chinatown. This venue is a drinkers bar with an emphasis on the quality of the liquor and less on the number of different alcoholic shots you can throw into a glass. Old Ebbitt is designed and built as a bar for the hard-working lawyer, lobbyist and politician of old-school DC.

On top of our drinks, Dan and I both had an appetizer. I enjoyed a cup of the creamy clam chowder, which hit the spot on a cool rainy evening. And about those Crown and Cokes, they were pretty darn good. I can usually tell a big difference in the venue based on how much ice and how flat the coke is. Old Ebbitt hit the mark on delivering me my favorite drink with a well poured hand.

My only complaint with this bar is the mixture of tourism and local flavor. Any time you take a bar or restaurant that's become a fixture in a scene and infuse it with hundreds of tourists each day, you lose some of the local connection and flavor. Old Ebbitt is beautiful and makes good drinks, but I can't see myself going there on a random night because I don't get the sense I would be remembered. A good bar that's billed as a local institution should bring you a sense of home and welcome you in like you've just sat down for a drink in your own living room. With thousands of tourists coming and going each night, I doubt Old Ebbitt will ever exude that type of charm.

75barsdc.com

2009-10-10T12:41:00.002-04:00

The title of the blog pretty much says it all. Two weeks ago Mr. Dan Kelly calls me up with an idea. He had been out the night before at the Pour House on Capitol Hill and got into a conversation with a young lady about the Washingtonian Magazine top 100 area restaurants. The young lady tells Dan it's her goal to try each and every restaurant on the list.

So Mr. Dan, being the adventurous individual he is, thinks...hmmmm, Washingtonian Magazine did a top 75 bars list as well...

The following is an excerpt from his blog:
So the idea hit me. Why don't I check out all of these "Best Bars" and tell people about the experience. I can visit 75 bars and have drinks, not a problem, but how to make this more interesting? That's easy I have to complete this before March 1st 2010 when the next Best Bars issue comes out. Now this is getting interesting. So 15 bars a month... 30 days in a month... 1 bar every 2 days. PHEW! My liver is going to get a workout on this one.

Dan then enlisted my help with this project because as he says, you need a partner in crime on something like this. Besides, Dan and I have been moving and shaking up the nightlife scenes from DC to NC to all-over the state of Florida. When it comes to bars and clubs, we've built up some credibility with our various newspaper columns and marketing concepts.

So we developed the "rules" for 75 Bars DC. (I can hear some of you laughing right now as we talk about rules and drinking.)

1. We both must be at the bar.
2. We must have at least 2 drinks at each bar.
3. One of the drinks must be a "specialty" of the bar. Wine at a wine bar, Martini at a martini bar... you get the picture.

As Dan says, we have to have some guidelines that make this project somewhat official. And our goal is to provide you with an "off the street" perspective of these bars. In other words, we don't want to act like or write like we're a long time restaurant critic who goes through a cerebral review process. We simply want to give you an idea of what to expect at these places if you were to wander in off the street yourself.

And so the next step was for Mr. Dan to register the domain 75barsdc.com. This was important because we need something to help with our marketing of this little project. I'll continue to post here on my blog, but we needed a domain to direct our friends and bar patrons that we meet along the way to. And so there you have it. 75barsdc.com is now official. The project has begun.

Photo Archive: Hurricane Charlie

2009-10-05T00:14:00.004-04:00

Since I've been sick much of the weekend, I decided to take some time today to go through my old photo archives and see what could be posted and what could be discarded. Needless to say, my 2006 folder left very little worth keeping that wasn't already on my site. But I did find this folder called Punta Gorda that caught my eye. The folder contained photos that were taken by myself in the small Florida gulf coast town of Punta Gorda. The images you see here were taken about two weeks after Hurricane Charlie had ripped through the town and literally flattened it. I was living in Tampa at the time and was on my way home from Miami. I knew there had been devastating destruction and wanted to see it first hand.

Now you have to understand something about me...I grew up in Delaware and had been through many hurricanes. I remember a time vacationing with my family in St. Michaels, Maryland and sitting in a hot tub outside as a hurricane swept through the area. I figured I knew hurricanes and knew what to expect. When I moved to Tampa, everyone in my office talked about our amazing hurricane coverage and how engaged the entire newsroom would become. When Hurricane Charlie turned north, crossing Cuba and heading into the Gulf of Mexico, it began. Our newsroom went into 24-hour operation mode. We had daily updates, path projections and wind speeds. Charlie was heading right at Tampa. I lived in St. Pete, two blocks from Tampa Bay, so my neighborhood was under a forced evacuation. I put everything in my house up on the second floor, raised the furniture on blocks and boarded up the windows. I packed my bag and went into the office for what became 48 hours of basically living in the newsroom.

Again, I figured I knew what to expect. I've been there, done that! But I remember the ominous statement from our anchor around 8 a.m. the day Charlie was supposed to make landfall. The hurricane was still heading directly at Tampa and the anchor says "it looks like our worst fears could come true here in the Tampa Bay region." I remember I needed to go take a nap since I had been up all night but suddenly felt uneasy. It was that moment I realized this wasn't a joke. And it certainly wasn't the same type of hurricane I had been through in Delaware or Maryland.

Hurricane Charlie was a category 5 monster. It wasn't very large around and was moving quickly, but it packed winds in excess of 155 mph and a destructive storm surge. The idea of a hurricane of that force hitting Tampa would be apocalyptic for a city of it's size. It was, quite literally, our worst fears.

I remember waking up from my nap about 4 hours later and coming down to our newsroom. I remember thinking the wind outside would surely have woken me up, but it had not. I remember seeing our anchors looking at a hurricane path that looked different than the one we had been watching up until then. Instead of it taking Charlie up into Tampa Bay, it had now shifted in-land towards Orlando. Hurricane Charlie had turned right about 100 miles south of Tampa, right smack into Punta Gorda.

I went through 4 hurricanes that year. I packed up and evacuated more times than I had moved in the last 6 years. I spent most of August and September with plywood on my windows because we got sick of taking down the wood only to have another Cat 5 storm heading our way. After Charlie, Ivan, Jean and Francis all made landfall in Florida. To many residents of the sunshine state, it was the summer of hell.

Hurricane Jean struck my home in St. Pete and left me with a flooded house, no power or water and basically homeless for 2 weeks. I survived. Most of us did. We even joked about it that winter. Soon we wore t-shirts parodying the Master Card commercials with slogans like "Surviving hurricanes in paradise, priceless!"

Not long after I left Tampa for Oakland, CA, Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast. We all remember that one! It was one of the most publicized, tragic and costly natural disasters in American history. But I took away a different feeling on Katrina than most did. I, like most of my former colleagues in Tampa, remembered what it was like. I remembered what I saw in Punta Gorda. The rest of the country had forgotten about these Florida cities that were completely flattened. Heck, most still claim Katrina made landfall in New Orleans. It didn't. Ground zero for Katrina was Biloxi, Mississippi. There was nothing left of that town. Most neighborhoods had been reduced to foundations. Some foundations were even gone. New Orleans was a disaster. Biloxi was simply...gone. Wiped off the map in one day.

I remember all of the anger directed at our President, FEMA and the DHS after Katrina. And yet I recall directing my anger at the Mayor of New Orleans, the governor of the state and their local population. You see, having gone through 4 disastrous hurricanes back to back, I knew the details of evacuations, first responders and hurricane preparedness. We listened to it for 24-hours a day for almost two months the previous year. Bush, FEMA, DHS... they followed standard protocol. They did the same thing with Katrina they had done with Charlie, Jean, Ivan and Francis. You didn't see the same problems in Florida the previous year that you saw with Katrina. Hell, you didn't see the same problems in Mississippi that you saw in Louisiana.

The fact is this, the city of New Orleans was failed by it's leadership. It was failed by the very people the residents elected to protect and manage that city. Look at these photos. The people of Punta Gorda lost everything. But the majority of them survived and went on to rebuild. And they did so because of the leadership in their city, in their county and in their state capital.

I'll never forget that day driving through Punta Gorda. It changed my whole perception on hurricanes and the power of nature. It made me realize - when my house was hit, flooded and lost all utilities for a few weeks - that I was lucky to still have a roof and be alive. I never complained again about evacuations and all the mind-numbing talk about hurricane preparedness.

Some will still disagree with me about this post. I've wanted to write something like this for about 4 years now. I sat there in that Oakland newsroom and let my personal experiences stay silent while all of inexperienced Californians raged on about who was right and who was wrong. Armchair quarterbacks were on every channel. But in my silence, I never forgot Punta Gorda, FL. Or Pensacola, FL. Or Gulf Shores, AL. Or Port Saint Lucie, FL. Or Biloxi...

Summer of the Rooftop

2009-10-04T14:23:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago I got together with Joelle, Rob, Francis and Samm for a little rooftop party action in Bethesda. The party was called "Surrender Dorothy II" and featured some of DC's finest house music DJs including Jubilee and George Karmokolias. There is honestly nothing better than a rooftop party in the city with good friends and great music. Below are more photos from the evening...

U2 360 Tour

2009-09-30T17:41:00.007-04:00

The above image is not a space ship. Nor is it a large claw from a creature crushing down on FedEx field and the DC area. It's the crazy over-the-top stage that goes along with the U2 360 Tour. And I've been sitting here the past two days trying to find the right words to describe this concert and mega-light show that went along with it.

You know what? I can't! There is no way to truly describe what I saw and experienced on Tuesday night, Sept. 29th. The U2 360 Tour came to DC and left 80,000 fans charged, out of breath and speechless.

The fact is, I don't typically go to big-time rock concerts. I was telling Joelle on our walk back to the Metro, my last real concert was Velvet Revolver in Tampa back in 2005. Prior to that I think it was either Jimmy Buffett or the Beastie Boys in North Carolina sometime in 2002. I just don't go to these big concerts, nor have I been real impressed. I recall a DMX concert that sounded like nothing more than muffled grunting. Jimmy Buffett was fun in the parking lot because of all the tailgating, but all I could see in the venue was the side of the stage and very little of Jimmy Buffett.

But U2 has officially changed my impressions of a big-time rock concert. The combination of inspiring technology, mythical lighting and amazing music left me completely astounded at the entire production. I would look over at my buddy Dan (who got us the tickets in a suite by the way - Thanks Dan!) and just shake my head, unable to say anything. There were moments throughout the show where I almost teared up from the emotionally charged messages sprinkled throughout. Watching some 50 or so members of Amnesty International walk into the 360 degree stage, all wearing the mask of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese pro-democracy leader who has been in and out of house arrest the past 20 years was incredibly powerful. Or Bono welcoming the young man wearing a turban and embracing the American flag to the stage for a sing along. All of these things added to a show that literally touched all of your senses.

I could go on and on about the production and details of the concert, but like I said, it's really hard to put words to this experience. I'll just leave that to Washington Post music writer Chris Richards. I will say this...if you enjoy music and theatrics, U2 is worth the money and efforts to see.

Below are the images I shot with my phone. They basically suck because it's, um, a phone. But you get a sense of the sheer magnitude of this production and why it's making noise in every city it visits. And I'll leave you with one last quote from U2 front man Bono that stuck with me all night... “America, a Great and Powerful Idea.”

The same could be said for U2 and their tour.

Random Photo of the Day: Sept. 23rd

2009-09-23T13:43:00.003-04:00

This edition of the random photo of the day actually comes with two photos. So consider this your mid-week, hump day special treat. =)

The above photo was taken at Muse Lounge this past Saturday, September 19th. As you can see, it was myself, Rob Fairbairn, Francis Luong, Joelle Williams and Samantha Quigley. We hit up a rooftop party in Bethesda earlier in the evening featuring some of DC's best house music DJs and then made our way downtown. After a quick stop off at Stir, we decided to cap our evening at one of my favorite nightlife destinations. And sure enough, the hyper-active club photographers were out capturing our random moments of silliness. At least Francis and I aren't holding our boobs. But the angle on this photo makes it look like I'm grabbing someone else's boob.

This next image was taken earlier in the evening by Mr. Francis Luong. This one captured my cat Ernie drinking from the kitchen sink.

I have no idea why he does this, but ever since I moved into the apartment in downtown DC, Ernie has been begging for water from various sinks. He's sitting on the counter when I get out of the shower. He waits on the kitchen counter as I cook. The cat can't get enough of this water from the faucet. Oh, there is plenty of water in his water dish. But no, he wants this water and will talk to you until you give it to him.

Working on the Weekend

2009-09-17T14:36:00.004-04:00

Most of you know by now, I spend many nights at the clubs shooting nightlife photos. So it's always fun to come across images that have captured me in action like these included here of #8 DJ in the world, Markus Schulz.

This small passion of mine started a few years back when I worked for TBO.com and produced a weekly nightlife column. I started snapping photos of people at the clubs to enhance our nightlife pages and give these folks a reason to click on our site and read my column. Then I found it to be very challenging and yet enjoyable shooting photos of the artists on stage, while trying to capture the overall vibe of the nightclubs.

It was in 2006 when I finally purchased an SLR camera that gave me the flexibility to shoot in these low-light settings with limited or no flash. I quickly fell in love with this artistic side of nightlife photography.

Three years later I find myself rarely shooting photos of people at the clubs, but focusing my time and lens on the DJ's themselves. Of course, I try to capture wide-angle shots of the crowd and the occasional glow-stick kid. But my version of nightlife photography is built more on the artist moving the crowd and the lights providing the energy and excitement of a true nocturnal vibe.

National Press Club 5K

2009-09-14T16:03:00.008-04:00

Just thought I'd throw this photo out there as record of the fabulous AARP team that took part in the 12th Annual National Press Club 5K. The team consisted of myself, Kim Keister, Marlece Lusk-Karamitsos and Tina Johnson-Marcel (not pictured).

The race took place in downtown DC on Saturday, Sept. 12th, with a course taking us down Pennsylvania Ave. towards the Capitol Building, Union Station and back. It's been about two months since I really got into running, so I was anxious to see if I could improve on my personal best time. And wouldn't ya know it, I killed it by about 3 minutes. I finished the race, according to my clock, at 24.53 minutes with a pace of 8.01 minutes per mile. I can definitely be happy with that. Of course I'd love to get my time down to the 21 minute range, but at-least I'm making some progress.

On a side note, the race actually had an interesting twist that made for a colorful run. The 9-12 Project was hosting their protest of big government, socialism and nationalized health care. They lined up at Freedom Plaza, which was right at the start and finish of the race. As we came around the corner to start and on the way back, we were cheered on by thousands of protesters. They lined the streets and made a nice path for the runners to go through. Honestly, it felt like I was finishing the New York Marathon, running through a crowd cheering from both sides.

The most interesting part of this was the mixed reaction from some of my fellow press colleagues. Some took such offense to our fellow Americans exercising their 1st Amendment rights. One man standing near me gasped "they were so mean!" Another sitting at my table post-race said "such nasty people cussing us out and flipping us the bird."

I gotta tell ya folks, I think these members of the press ran in a different race. I didn't see one nasty thing done when I ran by. I didn't see one "mean" person or "nasty" gesture. I saw lots of cheering and clapping. But the words "mean" and "nasty" would never come my mind when thinking of these particular protesters. Then again, I tend to agree with the protesters limited government/free market ideology, so I'm not as quick to label them or belittle them. The fact is, most running in the race didn't agree with their message of freedom and liberty. So they didn't take a second to notice the celebratory mood of the protesters or the fact they were actually showing us support as we ran by. It's pretty interesting how two people can take away completely different experiences based on our political ideology.

ILHC 2009 - The Review

2009-09-14T12:10:00.006-04:00

I honestly can't believe how time flies these days. I started thinking about writing a small review of the recent International Lindy Hop Championships the day it ended and next thing you know, we're half-way through September. So now I'm going to attempt to put into words the greatest and yet most disappointing Lindy Hop event I have ever attended.

Did that catch your attention? You don't expect to see the words "disappointment" and ILHC used together do you? It's not really what you might think.

Let me get this out right away...ILHC was amazing. I've been lucky enough to attend some of the biggest Lindy Hop events around the country over the past two years. Almost all of them are fun simply because it's next to impossible to gather a large group of Lindy Hoppers into a town and not enjoy yourself. I think it's in our blood to have a good time. But ILHC is more than just fun. It's the perfect combination of talent, competition, innovation, organization and, yes, fun!

I walked away from the first ILHC feeling it had set the bar among dance competition weekends. Everything moved so smoothly and the transition from workshops to competitions to dances was seamless. And never before had I seen as many professional Lindy Hoppers in one room. Well the organizers of ILHC improved upon 2008 (seriously, was there even room to improve?) and made the 2009 version of ILHC even better. This year they had a Thursday night dance at the hotel, great bands, excellent DJs and even more professional dancers than the previous year. Not to mention, there was a crazy increase in the general level of dance talent. It's hard to imagine topping the inaugural event, but they did. I'd say it's safe to assume ILHC is now the premier Lindy Hop competition.

The Disappointment
I hope it's clear by what I just wrote, ILHC is in no way a disappointment. No, the disappointment here is within me and my desires to improve as a dancer. I've gone back and forth over writing about this particular feeling. I don't want to come off as arrogant or selfish. And I don't ever want to assume I'm a better dancer than what I really am. But this is my blog, and this is where I can express myself and vent my frustrations. And with some encouragement from The Godfather and ILHC organizer Jerry Almonte, I'm going forward with it.

In 2008, I made the open jack and jill finals and placed 4th dancing with Krista Parrish. In 2009, I didn't make finals. You have no idea how upset I was over this. You see, I've taken to competitions because I see them as a chance to judge my progress, take in some constructive criticism and because they embody what Lindy Hop was in Harlem in the '30s. So when you feel like you've made tremendous progress over a year, you expect to either move up or place higher.

I've had a personal rule to stay in a certain division until I place in the top 3 of that division. Because of my 4th place finish last year, I figured I'd stay in the open level, hopefully place and then move up to advanced in 2010. Prelims are always interesting because you have no idea who you're going to be paired with. And more and more, you're not sure you'll even know the person you're dancing with. I've embraced this idea all along and usually go into these comps feeling pretty good now. That was until I was paired with a few dancers who couldn't swing out and couldn't follow a basic tandem charleston. (For the record, my second dance with Sharlene Choy was awesome!)

Like I said, I've always tried to be modest in rating my abilities as a dancer and understand what level I'm truly good enough to compete in. But not making finals a year after you've placed 4th is pretty hard to swallow. And then watching the finals knowing you could/and probably should be out there really left me wondering. I suppose I walk away wishing more dancers would employ a similar personal critique I use and understand there is a time and a place to compete. And maybe ILHC is not the best time to throw your hat into the competition field when there are basic skills you have not mastered. Trust me, I would love to be out there in the advanced level looking like I belong. But this is a competition. I know my limits. I just wish others did as well.

The Memory
For me, there are a ton of memories to walk away with. We'll start with Thursday night, seeing a few of my JCC dance students show up. They sat along the back wall and were mesmerized by the effortless dancing of Carla Heiney. They watched Crista Seipp and Andreas Olsson put on a show - one that was leading up to the two winning the open strictly. Side note on that: you could just tell Andreas and Crista were poised to win. Watching them dance that first night, it was clear they were "on." They carried it all the way through the finals. DC!!!

But I digress... my second memory comes from Friday night, competing in the open strictly with Caroline Seipp on my birthday. When we walked on to the floor, the amount of cheering and happy birthday wishes really warmed my heart. One thing is certain among the lindy hop world, we're a close bunch and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday than to spend it with them.

My third memory and the one that stands out comes from the Champions strictly final. So much has been said about this one particular competition. Putting these dancers on a floor against each other makes for natural excitement and inspiration. But what we saw that Saturday night was more than dancing. It was the entire spirit of Lindy Hop take hold of two couples and engulf the entire crowd watching. The spotlights ended with the standard swing out line. Most of the couples went into their own thing. Skye and Frida and Max and Annie continued to swing out. They didn't stop until a few moments before the end of the song. Each swing out lifted the crowd higher and higher to the point everyone in the room was screaming for them. Watching Skye's face light up in the middle of all this, feeding off the crowd and the music is something I will probably never forget. This is why we dance!

The Summary
You know, there really isn't much more I can say about ILHC 2009. If you didn't go this year, you missed out on one of the best Lindy Hop events of the year. Congrats to the winners and thank you to everyone who helped make the event possible.

Go Home Already

2009-09-08T09:05:00.005-04:00

Okay, okay, so I know I'm terribly slow in my updates as of late. I guess I've been telling everyone that I would post photos of my new apartment and never actually did it. And sure enough, I was called on it this past weekend. So last night I busted out my camera and shot a few photos of the new apartment. Without further adieu, Casa de Doug...

Folks have been asking for me to throw a house warming party, but I'm not so sure I'm going to do that just yet. I'm thinking I may host something in my clubhouse or rooftop, but I still need to learn more about the building and any rules they might have in place. So stay tuned...

Movers and Shakers

2009-08-17T10:07:00.007-04:00

So as most of you who typically follow my blog know, I've recently moved into a new apartment near the Nationals baseball stadium. Well after one full week of being in the new pad, I think I'm finally settling in. I've still got my own photography to hang on the walls, but otherwise everything is unpacked and in place.

So with the new pad comes a new neighborhood. And thankfully the Navy Yard/Ballpark District is turning into a pretty neat place to live in DC. One local attraction is the Capitol Skyline Hotel and their weekend pool parties. I've blogged about this before but finally had a chance to attend Spike Mendelsohn's weekly "Spiked Sunday's" weekly pool party and cookout. After spending over 5 hours in the sun and enjoying a great burger, all I can say is... I'm hooked! It was honestly one of the best Sunday afternoon's in the city one could ask for.

I arrived closer to 1 p.m. with friend Michelle S. We quickly learned it's better to arrive early as all the tables and lounge chairs were now spoken for. So we grabbed some deck space, threw our towels down and wandered over to the bar. The whole pool area is quite large and can accommodate a pretty decent crowd. There are two bar areas set up, so you really don't wait long for drinks. And the price of mixed beverages is a very affordable $5. We got hooked on the mojitos and orange crush.

The other great thing about Spiked Sunday's is with your $10 admission, you get a burger served to you by Spike. We're not talking a smashed up quarter-sized wafer of meat hiding between a crusty bun. No, these are sizable mounds of ground beef with delicious cheddar cheese, fresh potato roll buns and a side of chips and a pickle. I'm talking good eats here my friends!

The party was relatively quiet for the first hour or so. But at some point Michelle and I were hanging in the shallow end of the pool and started a small game of volleyball with one of the inflatable balls. Before you could finish a drink, the game had grown to almost 30 people. It went from 5 of us volleying the ball between us to everyone around the pool joining in. When someone missed the volley, anyone close to them would shower them with splashes of water while the entire pool boo'd. Spike walks over to Michelle and I and says... "you guys started this eh?" After some conversation and introductions, Spike joined in.

Closer to 4 p.m. I turn to see a large boom mic and cameras rolling in. Oh lord, there goes the neighborhood! Real World DC had arrived. Frankly I could care less where these kids go or what they do, but it was interesting to see the flock of groupies and the production process that goes with it. After about 20 minutes the Real World kids were forgotten and it was back to our party-wide game of volleyball.

Here's the thing I take away from Sunday.

1. The Capitol Skyline has it going on. They have a great pool, a great deck and some great people with creative minds throwing some fun events in an up-and-coming neighborhood. I've yet to visit another pool party in DC that combines just the right mix of food, drinks, music, relaxation and chaos. The age range is just about perfect. The prices rock. And it's only a block from my new pad.

2. Spike Mendelsohn is pretty neat guy. I've watched him on Top Chef and seen him on various Food Network shows. His TV persona comes off as arrogant and crass, and yet in person he's totally down to earth, warm and friendly. My first impressions of him at the Skyline was seeing him along side hotel workers carrying furniture. You don't expect to see celebrity chefs engage in manual labor. Getting a chance to actually talk to him further proved he's a great chef who simply enjoys a good time and meeting good people. So go support this guy at his Capitol Hill restaurant Good Stuff Eatery.

3. The Real World DC is lame. To be fair, some of these kids might be good people. They were simply selected by MTV to be lavished with a fancy house in Dupont Circle, get free drinks everywhere they go and pretty much party for 6 months. You can't blame them for getting on the show. What I do think is lame is the celebrity status some attach to these kids. Seriously, within 2 minutes of arrival there was an entourage of people surrounding these kids. Why? Because there is a camera near? C'mon DC, we have cameras and TV crews in every corner of this city. Do you really need to "get on the show"? It's pretty easy to forget the camera crew and cast is there, provided the wannabe's and stalkers leave them alone.

So there it is, my first review of the Capitol Skyline Hotel and Spiked Sundays. You can bet I'll be back there next week provided it stays insanely hot. Here's hoping the event organizers and the hotel let these parties continue after labor day.

Return to Camp Hollywood

2009-08-10T11:50:00.007-04:00

On Wednesday, July 29th, I returned to Los Angeles, one of my favorite cities in the United States. I've had many people ask me why is this one of my favorite destinations? Surely the cough inducing smog, cluttered freeways and endless miles of sprawl would turn anyone off. But that's not the LA I see. It's not the LA that I fell in love with on my first visit and continued my love-affair with this time around. You see, to me LA is a combination of everything I want in a city.

As you'll see in these photos I shot, LA is photogenic. It's a city that has it all. It has an amazing skyline with fabulous architecture, historic buildings, art-deco influences and modern impulses. It's a city that has grit and glamour. It has walkable neighborhoods with cute boutiques, wonderful coffee shops, and awesome restaurants only natives know about. It has energy, excitement and a spice of chill with the nearby beaches. It's warm. It has palm trees. And the population is made of up virtually any walk of life you could imagine. Trash, sprawl, traffic...they go hand-in-hand with any major city. But try finding the same type of glamorous sun-drenched energy of Hollywood on the streets of Chicago.

But the other reason I'm drawn to LA is for Camp Hollywood and the amazing dancing found in this part of the country. Last year I came to Camp Hollywood only knowing what I saw in pictures and YouTube clips. This year I returned knowing exactly what the event was all about and why I enjoy it so much. We spent 5 days in the California sun enjoying the city, shopping, eating great food, relaxing at the pool and then dancing the night away, sometimes until sunrise.

This year I competed in the Amateur Strictly Lindy and the Amateur Jack and Jill competition. The strictly was a completely last minute decision with my good friend Lora Abe from Las Vegas. We didn't expect to make finals or place because we hadn't danced together in almost a year. But we had so much fun getting out there and winging it just for the hell of it. The Jack and Jill however, was something I had looked forward to since placing 10th last year. After some pretty stiff competition, I ended up placing 5th. On one hand you want to win these things. But on the other hand, I'm honored to have placed at a competition that hosts so many amazing dancers.

I think the highlight of the weekend for me was the Underground Jitterbug Championships. The UJC was started last year by Nick Peterson of Las Vegas and was a huge success because of the no holds barred approach to dancing and air steps. It's an unsanctioned jam format competition that starts at 2 a.m. and is literally anything goes. You'll see kips, waterfalls, pancakes and even people doing the worm. If you can get the crowd fired up, you move on. Lora and I considered entering and just throwing whatever aerials we knew. But starting a comp at 2:30 a.m. has us rethinking the idea and so we figured it was better to just watch and enjoy. The final two couples ended up being Tiffany Wine and Kenny Nelson from Denver matched up against Dax Hock and Max Pitruzzella. It was a full scale battle on the dance floor with Tiffany and Kenny getting the victory. I personally enjoyed seeing Dax toss Max in a lamp post and pancake, but you gotta hand it to those Denver folks throwing tricks right up until the final measure of music. The video is below...

Overall LA and Camp Hollywood was exactly what I expected it to be. It was great dancing, great people and a great city wrapped up into a mini-vacation. Stay tuned for my full Los Angeles photo gallery to be produced sometime in the next week...

President Obama Visits My Office

2009-07-28T13:44:00.003-04:00

President Obama just arrived at my office to take part in an AARP Telephone Town Hall to answer questions about his health care plan. Regardless of what you think of the plan, it's pretty darn exciting to see our President drop by the AARP national headquarters.

When I walked to lunch, I had determined where he would pull into the building. So I camped out next to the window and snapped these photos. Equally impressive to having the Prez visit your office is the Secret Service detail that's camping out front. As I said on Facebook... I love DC!

Indepen-dance in the District

2009-07-21T11:49:00.006-04:00

I figured it was time to post some photos from a shoot with Swedish house music DJ John Dahlback. This is now the third year in a row that I've found myself shooting photos of a DJ the Thursday before a July 4th weekend. I think this year was the best so far because of the range of images I was able to capture along the way.

We started our evening on the terrace where I was able to catch some amazing shots of the club and the lasers permeating the crowd of house heads below. I also captured some shots of my friends who were happy to give their best Zoolander face and pose for some provocative silhouette shots throughout the club. Having friends who are models is so rad!

So the part of the evening I enjoyed most was finding the ability to shoot some of these shots with such a low ISO setting. ISO settings for non-photo geeks measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. The lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds (for example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze the action in lower light) - however the cost is noisier shots. You can see this in some of my previous photo galleries where either the lighting was poor or the DJ bounced all over the place and I needed to speed up my shutter to keep my subject from blurring across the shot.

By shooting with a higher sensitivity, my shots of John Dahlback came out much crisper than normal. This was specially satisfying knowing I can print these shots in a much larger format now because the grain was kept to a minimum. It also doesn't hurt that the lighting in the Ultra Bar DJ booth is brimming in blue illumination.

The following are a few more shots from the evening. The complete gallery can be seen right here on dougvansant.com. Enjoy...

I Was Running...

2009-07-14T10:24:00.005-04:00

Those of you who know me fairly well and keep in touch know that two weeks ago I began running every morning. This has actually been a lot easier than I expected and now something I actually look forward to when my alarm goes off. The fact was, with work, dancing and lifting weights, it left very little time for me to concentrate on my cardio. So it seemed like a smart idea to actually go to bed an hour or two earlier and get my run in before work. So far so good! I'm averaging 3 miles each morning and get to run past some of our nations most familiar icons. And my work day is filled with so much more energy it's insane!

Well recently I came across an email about a running club at the new Lululemon store on P Street across from the Whole Foods near Logan Circle. I decided this week I would check it out and push myself to run a bit longer than I normally do. Now I don't typically pimp out retail stores on my blog. I'll go to clubs and restaurants and tell you what I like and dislike, but retail has been an animal I've typically left alone. But I've got to say, this running club and the staff at Lululemon who run it are awesome! We did our run from the store down around the mall and returned to stretch, do some ab work and enjoy free bananas. The thing that I really liked about all of this was it seemed like a genuine effort to reach out to the neighborhood. There was no sneaky side-arm tactic to get you to buy things. It was simply people who enjoy running getting others to run with them. I'll most certainly be back next week!

Random Photo of the Day: July 12th

2009-07-12T17:53:00.003-04:00

Now that's something you don't see every day!

W Hotel Opens in DC

2009-07-11T11:47:00.003-04:00

This is my first initial review of the brand new W Hotel in downtown DC.

Based on my three years of living in DC, hotels have never really been a nightlife destination. Some are graced with amazing restaurants, but rarely did my nocturnal agenda include a stop at a hotel bar. But all of that has changed recently. Hotel's in DC are getting into the nightlife act. The Beacon Hotel hosts a pretty sweet Sunday afternoon party on their roof known as The Coolout. The Capitol Skyline Hotel is using a beautiful redesign and swanky pool to host parties Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And now the premier upscale and trendy W Hotel has opened their doors just yards from the White House.

While living in San Francisco, I had the opportunity to spend many evenings at the W Hotel in downtown SF. Their lounge, XYZ, was always a hot destination among locals in the city and so I was excited to think we'd have something like that arriving in the District. Enter POV.

POV - which I'm sure stands for Point of View because of the location - is a rooftop ultra lounge and terrace with some of the cities best views of the Washington Monument and other DC landmarks. It's quite literally 100 yards from the east wing of the White House. Word on the street was that POV would be providing drinks influenced by owner Sasha Petraske, who's made a name for himself in NYC mixing wonderfully-unique concoctions for A-list crowds. One NYC publication suggests, "he is responsible for the recent cocktail renaissance this city has experienced." Sounds good eh!

We decided to book a table on the rooftop terrace Friday night, just 3 days after their official opening. We arrived to the Hotel walking down 15th Street and were greeted with velvet ropes and a line typical of any hot nightclub. Large doormen in suits with clipboards were there to make sure those on the list were granted entry and those not so connected stood in line. You know this is a classic trick of any club to give the impression of exclusiveness, because the places are never full inside. In fairness to the W Hotel, it was clearly the place to be among the DC nightlife mavens.

We walked into a beautiful lobby that was a mix between classic renaissance design and Alice in Wonderland funkiness. White ornate walls with grand arches surrounded a lobby bar with shiny red patent leather sofas and black and white chairs with exaggerated backs. Crystal chandeliers with purple lighting gave the entire room a sleek atmosphere you'd expect from the W Hotel. We were then greeted by more bouncers and a girl with another list who then allowed us to take the elevator up to POV.

This is where things got a little unorganized, which we have to remember is expected of any new venue on their first big Friday night. Coming off the elevator we were greeted by another hostess, this time with an electronic reservation system typical of any restaurant. But we then stood for 15 minutes waiting for them to "clear" our table because random guests were apparently planting their butts in seats marked reserved. So while we stood and waited, we peeked inside the ultra lounge side of POV. This room impressed me the most of everything I saw at the W. It was about as sleek as you can get with shiny black floors and black walls, all accented with red trim and red ambient lighting behind the bar. But it was the view out of the large windows that left me breathless. There...right behind the DJ spinning deep house, was the Washington Monument in all her glory. It was a scene I could never get tired of seeing and recommend everyone visit this lounge for a chance to see this inspiring city-scape.

We were finally moved to our table on the terrace where we found ourselves lounging in plush couches and enjoying cocktails just yards from the most famous house in the world. The setting is untouchable in DC as far as I'm concerned. It's a rooftop terrace with some of the best views in the city. The music is decent. The crowd is attractive and well dressed. The drinks however left a lot to be desired. I don't know if Sasha Petraske has anything to do with what is mixed on the terrace, but my "pina colada" cocktail was pretty damn lame. It arrived in a goblet that was about 3 quarters full. The drink itself had hints of pineapple and hints of rum, but the excessive ice just watered it down. Francis enjoyed a mojito that had definite hints of mint flavor but lacked the smoothness and refreshing flavor I've found at other bars. And at $15 per drink, I walked away feeling scammed more than impressed.

We ordered a warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice creme dessert to see if their happy endings were truly happy. I think they got this one right except when the waitress told me it was a Jean-Georges exclusive. I honestly don't care who created the idea of a molten chocolate cake...I just want it to taste good. And this one definitely hit the mark.

Overall I have mixed feelings about POV and the rooftop. I loved the setting, the atmosphere, the design and of course the view. I will most certainly go back. But I get the impression they are having a bit of an identity crisis right now. On one hand you feel like you're going into an exclusive club with a strict guestlist. On the other hand it's a restaurant where we made actual reservations to have a table. Clearly half the people on the terrace had not reserved a table, so there needs to be some direction on how to deal with those just coming for drinks and those actually sitting down to have dinner and/or desserts. I think with a few weeks under their belt things will smooth out and they'll get everything under control. The staff (or as they call them, "talent") was a bit overwhelmed with who was coming and who was going, who had reservations and who was just on "the list." This isn't new territory for the W, so I'm anxious to go back once they've got this baby operating as a well oiled machine.

Caption This!!!

2009-07-09T17:19:00.003-04:00

Obama to Sarkozy: "Kinda hard to blame Berlusconi when they look like that." Sarkozy back to Obama: "Uh huh...see what I'm saying!"

U.S. President Barack Obama (C) and France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) take their places with junior G8 delegates for a family photo at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, July 9, 2009. Leaders of the Group of Eight major industrial nations and the main developing economies are meeting in the central Italian city of L'Aquila until Friday to discuss issues ranging from global economic stimulus to climate change and oil prices.

But clearly Obama and Sarkozy are thinking of a different type of stimulus in this photo...

How would you caption it?

Sounds of a City

2009-07-09T11:26:00.005-04:00

This morning while walking into the office, I was reminded once again why I love DC. I had just turned the corner at 7th and F Streets NW, walking past the Verizon Center. It was closer to 10 a.m., so the streets were more quiet than usual as most of the foot-traffic had found their way to their respective offices for the day. That's when I noticed the slight hum of the city. It's a sound so exclusive to city life that sometimes we forget it's there. It's every large building for blocks running a/c or heating units on their rooftops, creating a buzz that never seems to go away. And it's a sound I can remember hearing whenever I would visit a city considerably larger than my hometown.

I was very lucky to grow up in Dover, Delaware. Dover is probably the perfect setting for a child to be raised. We had safe streets, good schools, a good mall and we were really close to the beach. But Dover has a population right around 30,000. It's not a large town at all. When sitting outside, it's very easy to relax and enjoy a peace and quiet not found in most major cities. I notice this every time I go home to visit. Last time home I literally fell asleep on my parents patio because the only sounds to be heard was the wind and the birds (okay, maybe an occasional car with an obnoxious sound system). But you get the point...it's quiet.

Living in DC we're surrounded by sounds all the time. We hear emergency vehicles, motorcades, car horns, and people just out and about walking. There is an energy of living in the city that makes walking out my front door in the morning so exciting and enjoyable. So when all of those ancillary sounds disappear, you're left with that hum of our buildings. I used to hear this when I'd visit Allentown, PA for drum corp performances. We'd walk out the front door of our hotel located in downtown Allentown and there it was...the hum of a city. I'd hear it while enjoying dinner on the rooftop of my office in downtown Tampa after most of the city had gone home. I'd hear it walking from the Tribune Building to my gym most evenings in downtown Oakland. Next time you're in a city, try to find some time to walk around when the rest of the population is either sleeping or hard at work. See if you can't notice this sound of the city.

2009-07-07T14:22:00.003-04:00

Well a small little era of lindy hop in DC has come to an end. And it's a bitter-sweet moment for me after working so hard to build a weekly night of dancing at downtown nightclub Muse Lounge.

After much discussion with the folks at Gottaswing and assorted players in the DC swing dance world, we all agreed to postpone our new series of classes and weekly dances until September. If Muse Lounge is down and we can attract more students, we'll return to this downtown venue before we know it.

But that brings me to the bitter part of all of this. I have to be perfectly honest with you all in saying I'm highly disappointed. Sure, I finally get one night off during the week to myself now. But that's not really the point, nor is it a true silver lining in all of this. The fact is, Tempo at Muse is postponed until September because very few were willing to support it. We started out very strongly with an average of 10 or 12 students in each class and about 30 dancers showing up. The range went from ridiculously good to fresh out of our first class beginners. The venue has a nice, strong air conditioner, a full service bar and a pretty darn nice sound system. Even the floor was pretty nice, soft and above all, clean! There were couches along the wall for people to relax in and you really couldn't beat being one block from 3 metro lines. I had even booked a solid rotation with some of DC's best swing-era DJs.

Our high point was having The Loose Marbles come through town. We had over 100 dancers squeeze into this venue with a bevy of the top names in Lindy Hop tearing up the dance floor right in front of the hot jazz combo. In my opinion, it was one of the better nights of dancing in DC because it was a combination of amazing music and dancers all thrown into this beautiful nightclub. I remember saying to some folks, this is quite literally what the social life was like back in the days of the Savoy in Harlem. Ballrooms were to dancers in the '30s what nightclubs are to so many today. So here we were, blending these two era's into something that really worked.

Fast forward a few weeks. Our dance has a total of 6 people. I can't even remember how many actually paid because I think 2 or 3 were from the class. We couldn't even pay our DJ for an hour worth of time so Lily took money out of her own pocket. How does a dance go from over 100 to 6 within just a few weeks? Maybe it was a just one of those nights? Maybe it was the rain? Who knows???

It didn't get any better the next week. Or the next. Or the next. Finally we book the Red Hot Rhythm Chiefs for the final week of our classes. We get about 30 people to show up. It was fun. The music was great! The venue rocked once again. But it was nothing like the success we had captured before. And clearly there was a large segment of the DC dance scene avoiding Muse Lounge.

At this point I guess there isn't a whole lot to be said other than I'm definitely confused. I'm confused at how a lindy hop scene can sit back so proudly and pat themselves on the back for having such a vibrant scene, yet won't support the majority of dance nights thrown their way. I'm always so embarrassed when people come from other cities thinking DC is "the shit" when it comes to having a dance scene. They know about the Jam Cellar. That's a no brainer. But they're always so surprised and disappointed when there isn't more dancing options throughout the week. Sure, we have CCB. We have Glen Echo. But we all know there is a large number of people who won't support those venues either. And frankly, some times the music leaves a whole lot to be desired.

Such as it is, we have venues. We have sheer numbers that other cities would die for. We have talent between DC and Baltimore that is unreal. But for some reason we can't seem to build upon these things. I have no clue why. Maybe it's politics? Maybe it's personal? As far as I'm concerned, politics and personal beefs have no place in dancing. Dancing should be that outlet to forget all that crap and simply have fun and be moved by amazing music. It's why we do this. It's why Frankie and his crew did it in Harlem.

Hopefully in September we'll return. Maybe we'll have a better marketing approach. Maybe we'll figure out the key to getting more dancers out. Who knows. For now we just lost another chance to engage in one of our passions in this great city.

Boring Sunday Afternoon

2009-06-22T15:01:00.003-04:00

Boy was it a boring Sunday yesterday! I mean, gosh... all I did was go trapezing and eat burgers at the No. 1 burger joint in the DC region. I'm kidding of course. It was hardly a boring day at all. In fact, to quote May Kanti, it was probably one of the best weekends ever.

My Sunday start was fairly typical with cats, a cup of coffee and lounging. But I got moving quickly and met up with Sup, May and Michele Maxson for a day of trapeze. Yes, we signed up for a class with Trapeze School New York, a high-wire act school that has outposts in DC, LA and Boston. The first class taught us the knee hang, flip dismount and a standard catch. The photo above is Sup being successfully caught near the end of the class.

I can't tell you how much fun this was. I was definitely nervous the first time up because you're suddenly throwing your body into a situation it's not really used to. Swinging from a trapeze looks fairly easy, but it's a little different when you find yourself 50 ft. above the ground ready to go. But it was probably one of the most addictive activities I've done since getting into dancing. And because of that, Sup and I have already signed up for two more classes.

There is video on Facebook and hopefully I'll have something to post real soon.

And like all great activities, trapezing makes you hungry. So Sup, May, myself and my roommate Jon all jumped into the car and set off for Ray's Hell Burger. I had heard these burgers were no joke and the place was winning all sorts of awards. Our own president even made his way there one afternoon, so it was only natural for me to want to try it. Below is what I ordered... a standard hamburger with Vermont white cheddar cheese and a side of mac & cheese.

Below is what was left...

A very happy and full Sup...

Apparently a delicious Ray's Hell Burger makes you act silly and make faces, courtesy of May and Sup...

So yeah, a typical Sunday turned into a high-flying trapeze act, burger consuming afternoon. Or as I like to call it "one of the best weekends ever!"

Exploring The Meatpacking District

2009-06-18T12:04:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago a group of us from DC traveled up to NYC for the Frankie 95 memorial celebration. This was a 5 day Lindy Hop festival celebrating Frankie Manning, the man we all look up to as one of the original Savoy Ballroom dancers and a true ambassador of Lindy Hop. The event was inspiring, exciting, moving and at times very hard to enduring knowing we had lost such a great person.

But like all true lindy hoppers, we took the celebration as a chance to do what it is we do best... have fun! If there was one thing I know Frankie Manning would have wanted of the weekend, it was that everyone was dancing, smiling and having the time of their lives. With that said, the weekend was a massive success.

One thing that I knew would bring a smile to my face was the chance to explore Manhattan with my camera. I knew time would be limited, so I had to pick and choose when I could seriously enjoy the urban fabric of this great city. I was given a golden opportunity to get my start shooting nightlife photos at Cielo, one of the powerhouse clubs of New York on Thursday night, May 21st. I figured this would be a great way to kick off the weekend because Thursday night events at dance weekends tend to be the slower of the evenings activities. So Manuel Ferdinandus and I hopped a cab for the meatpacking district and found ourselves shooting photos in what is regarded as one of the top house music clubs in the U.S.

Shooting photos in Cielo was a bit challenging because it's not a very large club. And the DJ booth is actually quite small. The best way to describe this venue is it's a glorified recording studio. Seriously, it's one room about the size of a moderately sized clothing store with one of the top sound systems ever constructed. The walls and ceilings are covered with a soft material and padding, giving the room the acoustics you'd expect in a recording studio. One giant crystal ball hangs in the center of the sunken dance floor which is flanked with VIP tables facing out around the room.

The club has a small patio for those wishing to get some fresh air or smoke, but that's basically it. I think the thing I really enjoyed about this venue was that despite the high-level design and attractive people coming and going, it's clear Cielo is all about the music. After shooting for several hours and shaking hands with house music ambassador Frankie Knuckles, Manny and I decided to wander the neighborhood and see what we could find. It was clear the Meatpacking District was a see and be seen type of district. Most of the clubs had long lines of trend-setting style mavens hoping to squeeze their way past NFL sized bouncers upholding an iron-fist like command of guestlists and tables.

At one point, with camera's in hand, Manny and I were mistaken for paparazzi. As you'll see in my "Meatpacking District" gallery, we found several beautiful cars parked in front of one of the more popular clubs. It wasn't the fact that a Lamborghini was parked in front of a club that caught our attention. It was the orange construction cones that were placed on top of said fancy car that had me grabbing my camera. It was at that point a large group of nocturnal participants began mingling close by. One of them coyly asked, "are you guys paparazzi? who's inside???"

Manny and I simply said... we can't tell you, it would compromise our jobs.

Long story short, this trip to New York City was dedicated to shooting photos in this ultra-hip district that was once known more for butchers rather than bling. But after spending Thursday evening and part of Saturday in the neighborhood, I think I captured some of the spirit as best I could on limited time. Enjoy...

This Hood Called Arlington

2009-06-12T00:46:00.002-04:00

I came across the funniest darn video tonight on DCist and just wanted to share it. In fairness to our friends across the bridge in Virginia, Arlington really isn't that bad. I've been spending quite a bit of time over there with Sup in neighborhoods such as Court House, Clarendon and Ballston. Aside from the hills you have to walk up and down, it's actually a pretty neat part of our metro area. Enjoy...

Crazy How Things Change So Quickly

2009-06-09T11:40:00.002-04:00

I found myself reflecting the other day on a ton of things that have changed in my life over the past two-plus years I've lived here in DC. I moved across country, got separated, lived with rednecks, started dancing, moved into the city, got divorced, traveled a ton, moved again, and made more friends than I could have ever asked for. In a nutshell, the past two-plus years has been some of the best and worst in my life.

When I moved to DC, there was so much uncertainty in my life. My marriage was on the rocks and I didn't really know where it would go. I had just started dancing but still sucked and really didn't care to social dance while feeling like a swing dance reject. Even my job was on contract and wasn't going to last more than three months. The only thing consistent in my life was my photography and my friends...of which two of my closest (Dan and Matt) lived right here. I rented a room in a small townhouse in Annandale because it was close to my contract work and because I still had an apartment in Oakland. My first roommates were awesome and a joy to live with, but they moved out 3 months later and I was left with an empty townhouse and two other redneck roommates who had their friends get drunk and pass out on the empty living room floor. Life kinda sucked at that point and I missed the days of tearing up the town in Tampa with my crew at some of the hottest clubs in one of my favorite cities. That was when I had to make some hard choices and make a change...

Fast forward one year from that. I had moved into a one-bedroom apartment off Connecticut Ave. I had all brand-new furniture, a new LCD TV, new Macbook Pro, and a new car. I had fully immersed myself into Lindy Hop, started traveling to dance events in other cities and had even thrown myself into a competition. I was back with my soon-to-be-ex-wife, had really gotten into exploring and living in DC and even found some friends who enjoyed house and trance music as much as I did. Life was good.

Fast forward to today... The marriage didn't last. And I'm not sad about that. We both grew apart and had different priorities in life. We remained friends after the divorce and even still dance together on occasion. I certainly don't wish a divorce on anyone, but it was probably the best thing to happen to me since that move across country. I now live in a new apartment in downtown. I teach dance, travel extensively and compete on a regular basis. I shoot photos for some of the best clubs in the world and have a resume that includes photo shoots of 5 of the top 10 DJs in the world. I've shot photos in LA, Boston, Chicago, New York, Austin, SF and many other cities. I work for the AARP, the largest lobbying organization and one of the most powerful in Washington, DC. And later this summer I'm moving into a brand-new apartment right next to the ballpark. Dan and Matt still live in the city and even more of my friends are moving to town this summer.

It's crazy to think that in that short period of time I've changed so much. But it happens. When people come to a crossroad in their life, they can keep going down that one road or they can make a sharp turn. I made that sharp turn several months after I arrived in DC and I couldn't be happier with the journey.

The photo above of Lily and I was taken recently in NYC in the meatpacking district. We were trying different things to create an image to promote our teaching and weekly dance, Tempo at Muse Lounge.

Pool Party...DC Style

2009-06-02T12:05:00.003-04:00

So my coworkers and I decided to take in some sunshine yesterday and walk down the street for coffee. Michael turns to Tina and I and gasps about a great pool party he attended on Sunday at the Skyline Hotel. I'm thinking to myself, the Skyline Hotel is pretty dumpy, how could they host a "great" pool party. Crap, I didn't even know they had a pool.

He explains that the hotel is under new ownership and is hosting a pool party every Sunday with Top Chef alum Spike Mendelsohn. He tells us the crowd is pretty chic and they even have a DJ.

Now you have to understand why I was so suspicious of this. The Capitol Skyline Hotel used to be a Best Western. It's located on the corner of South Capitol and I Streets SW. It was one of those forgotten hotels in a corner of DC that rarely sees any tourist activity. In other words, it was the hotel that comes up at the bottom of a Hotels.com search result because it was super cheap and lacked one star, let alone 4 stars like some of our other DC accommodations.

But then again, that was before the city invested millions of dollars in a new baseball stadium and a posh condo neighborhood. Within the 2-plus years I've lived in the District, this area went from despised haven of drugs and liquor stores to one of the hottest neighborhoods on the DC map. And so I guess this hotbed of activity attracted new owners to the Capitol Skyline Hotel who decided to bring in master architect Morris Lapidus to splash a little Miami flare on the building. After a complete renovation, you now have a high-design boutique hotel right in the heart of a hot new neighborhood full of activity. And with the new design came the renovated pool.

Now the owners could have just sat by with their new look and been happy. But they went a step beyond and decided to host parties. They've seen the success other venues have had with such an idea, such as The Raleigh in Miami, The Standard in LA and the Phoenix Hotel in SF. And so now DC has a new Saturday and Sunday afternoon home to the young and chic looking for some sun.

Brightest Young Things is now hosting a Saturday afternoon party with DJs and live music. Every Sunday, Spike Mendelsohn grills burgers with a DJ spinning lounge and house. Hopefully we'll see some evening events in the near future as well. Regardless, what was once a no-name eye-sore just south of the Capitol is now a hip and happening venue contributing to a thriving social scene in our nations capital.

The Magical Bouncing Kaskade

2009-05-20T14:49:00.004-04:00

I'm sure some of you are reading this and wondering, what in the world is a magical bouncing Kaskade? Well, it's pretty simple really. Kaskade is one of the top house music DJs in the world who hails from San Francisco. His style and skills on the turn tables make him a magical artist in the electronic music world. And when Mr. Kaskade, a.k.a Ryan Raddon, gets going behind the decks of a major nightclub, he bounces.

This is great for the hoards of dance music aficionado's who were packing the dance floor of FUR Nightclub last Saturday night. But not so great if you're a photographer trying to capture the perfect shot in low light. Seriously, it seems as though every single week is a new challenge facing me in these clubs. Two weeks ago it was the incredible dying flash. This week it's trying to get Mr. Kaskade to appear without the crazy blur surrounding his head. Needless to say, I found a few ways to make this work in my latest nightlife gallery.

To be perfectly honest, aside from the bouncing, shooting Kaskade is always a joy. His style is so perfectly suited for a live performance because he has such energy during his sets. Though I can recall from my first time shooting Kaskade at the Electro-Techno-Disco Popsicle show in SF, he didn't bounce quite like he does today. Either way, both times I've had the opportunity to shoot photos of this world-class DJ, I've walked away with something I would gladly display on my walls. The 3 photos you see here are my favorites and will probably grace my walls one day in the near future.

Hockey Invasion

2009-05-12T14:20:00.005-04:00

The NHL continues to press themselves into my life with the Washington Capitals facing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. For hockey fans, this is a dream match-up because it puts the game's top two players, Caps forward Alex Ovechkin vs. Pens captain Sidney Crosby face to face. For sports fans in general, it's pure excitement at it's highest level. And for me, well...I can't get enough of it!

The series has not disappointed and it's not for the faint at heart. All but one game has been decided by 1 point. 3 games have gone into overtime. Crosby and Ovi have combined to score 13 goals and 10 assists. It has been drama in every single minute of play. And the best part of it all... the series is tied 3-3 and it comes home for game 7 in DC tomorrow night. Yeah...a sea of red will welcome back our boys for one more night of chaos on ice.

The photos you're seeing here are from game 5 last Saturday night when I got the chance to take Sup to her first hockey game. I mean, not only was it her first game...it was the darn playoffs. Talk about being thrown right into the mix. And she fit right in. She wore a Caps hat and emptied her lungs trying to will our team to victory. The Caps lost that game, but they play on once more. And hopefully they have a new fan in Sup.

Loose Marbles Packs Tempo at Muse

2009-05-12T14:05:00.003-04:00

I'm falling behind on my blog updates, so I figured it was time to get everyone up to speed on all the happenings in DC. Last week was absolutely incredible in the amount of energy and things to do. We had dancing, we had playoff hockey, we had great food and we had mothers day. No rest for the weary!

So as most of you know, I've started hosting a weekly lindy hop dance at Muse Lounge. We call the dance "Tempo" and it's typically DJ'd by some of our local jazz music talents. About a month ago when all of this was announced, Lily Matini sent me a note asking if Muse could handle a band. This is a lounge/nightclub in downtown that usually has house music DJs pumping tunes while go-go dancers strut their stuff on perfectly positioned podiums throughout the venue. So my first reaction was... nah!

But Lily kept after me, we talked with the GM and we quickly learned they in fact could handle live music. So the table was set to bring in New Orleans jazz band The Loose Marbles. Most dancers in the lindy hop world know of Loose Marbles because they were the band who performed the music for the competitions this past year at ULHS. So when we announced this band was coming to DC, reception was very broad and positive.

Well last Wednesday night the Marbles performed to a packed house at Muse. We had over 100 people show up on a rainy night in the middle of the week to see this band. I didn't even dance that much because I was too busy socializing and just enjoying the sight of so many dancers showing the DC love to the band. It was a special night to say the least.

I want to send out a special thank you to Lee Tucker for DJing the band breaks, Paul Roth for taking these photos, Debra Sternberg for booking the band and Ms. Lily Matini for being the thorn in my side to make all this happen. And thank you to the 100-plus dancers who came out to support one of the truely talented bands of our time!

The Terrace Ringleader: Cedric Gervais

2009-05-05T13:55:00.003-04:00

I've been shooting nightlife photos for over 4 years now. I've been in big clubs, little clubs, well designed clubs and holes in the wall. I feel like I've seen it all when it comes to the nocturnal experience. But never before (luckily) have I ever experienced serious technical difficulties while shooting...until this past weekend.

On Saturday, May 2nd, Club Glow and FUR Nightclub hosted Space resident Cedric Gervais from Miami. Gervais is one of these DJs that's easy to hate on. He's French, looks incredibly cool in sunglasses, is resident DJ at one of the top clubs in the world, has hit dance records, has worked with several major rock stars, and is followed by a clique of unnaturally good looking female fans known as "The Gervettes."

There is, however, more to the Marseilles native than meets the eye or the ear. Recent years have seen the Miami DJ/Producer catapult into the ranks of electronic music stardom. His snowballing success and rock star persona is as intriguing as it is evident. In a time when its normal to speculate about the artistic validity of artists that have "the look," Cedric boldly accepts that he's a product and demonstrates that he's got the substance to back up the style. Just ask Deep Dish or Lenny Kravitz what they think of him and his music.

So you can understand how frustrated I was when the first few shots I took of opening DJ Sultan failed to produce a decent image. Were my settings off? Did I get bumped while taking the shot? What was going on here??? That's when I realized my camera wasn't focusing. I looked at the front and noticed my light meter wasn't firing upon focus. When I removed my flash, it worked. All I could think was, am I going crazy here??? Did I mistakenly turn it off somewhere?

Long story short, the external flash batteries had died. The external flash has a meter that typically fires for auto-focus. Because the batteries were dying a slow and painful death, I was able to manually focus a few shots while still using the flash. But then after about 20 minutes into Gervais set, the entire flash was dead in the water. So I went back to my roots and took what I could using the stock flash on the camera.

Sometimes it's good to just turn your flash off if you're trying to capture lighting effects without much attention on your subject. So I think overall I was able to capture some pretty decent shots considering. But man is it frustrating when you're in a DJ booth with a world-class DJ, trying to do your job and suddenly your equipment fails. Ugh!

The good news is, I now have back-ups. I also have a decent set of pictures from the night and a lesson learned. And if you're wondering, Gervais put on a great show. His set was ripe with hard-hitting electro and progressive house that I could feel in my bones hours after I left the show. Just another night on the DC nightlife beat.

Roller Coaster Week So Far

2009-04-29T12:00:00.004-04:00

As most of you already know, this week has been quite the emotional roller coaster. On Monday morning the Lindy Hop world lost our beloved Frankie Manning. He touched all of us dancers more than we could have imagined and so his loss hit pretty hard. So we spent the day mourning and then honored his legacy by dancing the night away. We continued remembering this amazing man last night with a memorial tribute at The Jam Cellar. Ann Mony and Steve "DC" Grimes put together a beautiful video, several dancers told personal stories about their time with Frankie and we all did the Shim Sham.

Between all the reflection and memorials, I had tickets to game 7 of the Capitals Stanley Cup playoff game against the Rangers. On one hand I felt like I needed to mourn longer. But on the other hand, Frankie lived his life with such joy and happiness and would want us to do the same. So last night prior to The Jam Cellar, I attended what I think goes down as the greatest sports event I've ever seen in person.

Last Wednesday night, the Caps lost to the Rangers, 2-1 in game 4. The loss put the Caps down 3 games to 1 in the opening round series. Teams coming back from a 3-1 deficit is about as rare as finding a democrat that lowers taxes. It just doesn't happen very often. So I think the entire DC region shrugged off the loss and figured it was yet another first round exit for this incredibly talented hockey team. I mean, how would the Caps come back from this?

Two games and five days later, the Caps find themselves battling the Rangers in game 7 with the series tied 3-3. The Caps were at home. DC was rockin' the red! Everything was in their favor. We had tickets to the game and you can bet we were going to scream as loud as humanly possible to help bring our franchise a playoff series win. But the Caps didn't show up for the start of the game. Oh, the players were on the ice. But the team was thoroughly dominated in the first two periods. The Rangers scored first and the Caps followed to tie the game, but clearly New York wanted it more.

Then the third period began. You could sense the Caps finding their game. You could see simple possessions were now on the Ranger end of the ice and not stuck behind the Caps net. The Caps had 2 shots on goal in the first period while NY had 8. The Caps had 13 in the 3rd period and held NY to just one. It had to happen. It was going to happen. Caps nation was about to explode as scoring chances mounted. Then with 4:59 left in the game, Russian superstar and NHL veteran Sergei Fedorov beat Ranger goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to give the Caps a 2-1 lead. I've never seen an arena erupt with such celebration and emotion. You just knew the team that scored would win. For the final 5 minutes of the game, the crowd stood chanting C. A. P. S. Caps, Caps, Caps!!! I've never seen anything like it.

The Caps won. DC moves on in the playoffs. And in honor of Frankie Manning, I danced, cheered, and laughed all night long. What a roller coaster ride!

Below are two more small and crappy images I shot with my phone. The one above and just below are from inside the arena and the third is the crowd spilling out into the streets of DC.

Goodbye Frankie... and Thank You!

2009-04-27T10:57:00.004-04:00

Today is very sad day! This morning, April 27, 2009, Frankie Manning, a friend, teacher and inspiration to myself and dancers around the world passed away. He was 94 and is survived by friends and family and the dance he helped create.

There has been so much said about Frankie over the years that I can't possibly begin to sum up everything he meant to us. What I can do is explain what he meant to me and why this man was such an inspiration to the world of dance. You see, Frankie was one of the original Lindy Hoppers. Little did he know back in Harlem, running around with his friends and hitting up ballrooms to dance his butt off, that he was creating an American dance that would be alive and well decades later. Frankie was creating moves because he loved dancing and performing. He tore up the Savoy Ballroom floor so many times because he loved the spirit of Jazz and Lindy Hop.

When I first started dancing Lindy Hop, I knew very little about the dance, the history, or this man who helped cultivate it. My ex-wife passed along a photo she had taken with him while she was still out in California. It was then I started looking into the history of the dance to learn about Frankie. I then found out I'd have the chance to meet Frankie myself when Tom & Debra of Gottaswing announced their annual Frankie Weekend Workshop. Around that time, I bought his book and started reading. I finished the book about a week before he arrived in town with the utmost respect for this man. I almost felt, because of my passion for Lindy Hop, that Frankie was like a brother to me. Reading his stories and hearing how down to earth this living legend was, connected you to his soul. Here he was, 93 years-old, teaching, dancing and living life to the fullest surrounded by the dance he loved eternally. And because of this, dancers all over loved him eternally.

I had an amazing opportunity to interview Frankie for the AARP that weekend. And of course I took many pictures from the events. Talking to him about his life was one of the coolest things I think I have ever done. It was such an honor to sit there, cameras rolling, listening to this man talk about all the things he did, the people he knew and places he went. Words can't even describe what it's like meeting a legend like that, knowing this person had such an impact on the very hobby you love so much. Half the time I wanted to listen, the other half I just wanted to thank him...for being Frankie.

Today is a very sad day. The dance world lost a true legend. And for Lindy Hoppers all over the world, we lost a friend. But we all share his spirit in our hearts. We know Frankie lived every day to the fullest with a smile on his face and in his heart. And we know his passion and energy was communicated to us through his feet every time he moved. Even up until a few weeks ago when he led the Shim Sham at Lindy Fest in Houston, Frankie was moving with the energy of a 21 year-old. He was happy. His job here was complete. He inspired us and gave us that passion and energy to carry his message of dance forward. From this day on, we will live and dance for you Frankie! We'll miss you!!!

The Jokes With Guitar

2009-04-22T12:38:00.003-04:00

My friend Amy passed along an absolutely hilarious video this morning that I just had to share with everyone. Enjoy...

DJ Dan Lights Up Ultra

2009-04-10T17:18:00.002-04:00

Ultra Bar and Club Glow hosted DJ Dan, one of America's most beloved and hardest working DJs on the electronic music scene last night. My good friend Laura Jackson was in town and wanted to tag along with me on one of my usual club photo gigs, so we hit it up.

My knowledge of DJ Dan comes purely from my associations with fellow American DJ Christopher Lawrence. DJ Dan and Lawrence worked and traveled together a few years back and so I had heard some great things about Dan's abilities as a master of the turntables.

What I didn't know was that DJ Dan has been pushing the envelope with electronic music lately, blending hard house with breakbeats and beyond. His style is exactly what I love about dance music...full of energy. From the moment he started his set last night, you could feel the deep and dark energy pulsing from the sound system inside of Ultra Bar. Standing near the speaker boxes along the wall was like having a personal masseuse right there in the club. I'm talking hair on my arms standing up straight...

The good news of the night was DJ Dan threw down a sick set for true dance music lovers. Laura was dancing her butt off all night long and I think I captured some pretty amazing photos. The bad news was the crowd seemed off. While standing in the DJ booth, Dan turns to me and asked me if it sounded distorted on the dance floor. He couldn't understand why certain tracks generated little to no response what-so-ever. I told him the sound was perfect and the tracks were sick...so he need not worry. But clearly the Ultra Bar crowd was more interested in gyrating to their own music and throwing back the alcohol. As I told DJ Dan, I can't say I've ever seen a crowd like this at a Glow event, so it was just as surprising to me.

The other good news was true Glow supporters were out in full force. I saw so many familiar faces that it felt like one of my standard nights at The Jam Cellar where you walk in and see all your dance friends from all over. Regardless of the overall crowd, DJ Dan ripped it and he should be proud.

These last two photos are kinda special to me because as Laura and I got ready, we talked to our good friend Amy Tran on the phone. Amy was stuck on a work assignment in some random West Virginia town and was seriously down about not being able to join us for the evening. So we took one photo of us actually talking to her on the phone and one photo with a sign telling her we love her. It was actually pretty cute because we emailed the images just before we left for Ultra.

We miss you to death Amy!

We'll Miss You

2009-04-07T14:32:00.004-04:00

Uncle Hilly (in green) with my father in 2004.

This past Saturday my uncle, Hilly Purnell, passed away. He was 83 and is survived by his wife of 64 years, Doris Purnell. You can read the full obituary here.

Sadly I will not be able to attend the family gathering to celebrate his life because I'm hosting 6 people for a major dance event in DC. But I really wanted to do something for Uncle Hilly, so I decided I would write a small tribute in his honor.

Obviously I wasn't as close to Uncle Hilly as some of my other cousins because my life and career has taken me (at times) pretty far from the state of Delaware. I would see him and the rest of the family during holidays and such, but that was the extent of it since graduating from college. But I have to tell you, I always jumped at the chance to see my Aunt Doris and Uncle Hilly. They are two of the greatest people one could know. Their personalities, their open-hearts, and their love for their family could be seen from the moment you were in their presence.

I can recall growing up in Delaware and having my parents take me down to "the river" to see my aunt and uncle. Doris and Hilly live in a beautiful house in Oak Orchard overlooking the Indian River, which spills into Indian River Bay, only a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The location was exactly what I would expect for my uncle, who was an avid outdoorsman, loved boating, hunting and his dogs. It was quiet, peaceful, and the sunsets are something out of a postcard.

Ever since I can remember, Uncle Hilly called me "bub." I used to love it because as a child, you're somehow always trying to grow up. Being called "bub" made me feel like one of the adults, almost like I could have been sitting there enjoying a beer with my dad and the rest of the men of the family. Uncle Hilly also had quite a sense of humor. There wasn't one time while visiting "the river" that I can't recall my dad and Uncle Hilly sharing a laugh. It was almost like the two men shared a bond of exact personalities. Of course, my dad had to have liked Hilly since he let him marry his sister. She was big sis, but I can promise my dad wasn't going to let just anyone walk in and sweep her off her feet. So yeah, I see a lot of my father in Uncle Hilly and a lot of Uncle Hilly in my dad.

Honestly, I don't really know what else to write here. I'm not real good at expressing my sorrow in words because I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve. I do know that words can't really describe how much I'll miss my uncle. But I can be thankful to have had so many great years of knowing him. And I can be even more thankful that both my parents and my Aunt Doris are still around. And if I know Uncle Hilly at all, he doesn't want us to be sad. He wants us to celebrate him just like he would have lived his life...doing the things we love, sharing it with our families and laughing every day.

We'll miss you Uncle Hilly. We love you!

Walter H. Purnell: 1926 - 2009

Thinking About Lindy Hop

2009-03-17T15:05:00.003-04:00

So I thought about posting this photo in the "Random Photo of the Day" section but there was just too much of a story to go with it.

I just returned from Lindy Fest in Houston and was greeted by this photo waiting for me in my inbox from my buddy Stephen Grimes. The photo comes from Lindy Focus, which a large group of us attended in Asheville, NC over the New Year's weekend. I honestly can't recall which night the photo was taken, but the band performing was our favorite Boilermaker Jazz Band.

What makes this photo so absolutely hilarious was the fact that we noticed this cat walking around with the Boilermaker t-shirt. As James 'Droz' Andrews (Jeremy Piven) says in the movie PCU, "Gutter, don't be that guy. Don't be the guy who wears the shirt of the band you're going to see!"

Seeing this as a photo opportunity, Stephen and I put on our best rock-on pose with the guy wearing the shirt of the band he's going to see.

...I just love the stain in the middle of his shirt. Priceless!

Random Photo of the Day: Mar. 7th

2009-03-07T15:38:00.004-05:00

So the above photo seems fairly mundane. Nothing more than a bunch of suits hanging out in a random DC pub. But look closely. Notice the teeth. Notice me mugging it up in the background of the shot. As much as I'd love to say, this isn't by accident.

The photo was taken this past Thursday night at the Media Bistro Happy Hour at Porter's in Dupont Circle. Dan and I decided to head over there and mingle and network with our fellow media-types. I noticed the photographer wandering around earlier in the evening. I then noticed his lens was pointed right in our direction, obviously shooting a few people closer to him in conversation. I said to Dan, I'm gonna mug for this shot!

Sure enough, there I am... big old smile crashing a photo that I shouldn't be in. Fun stuff!

That Can't Be Good

2009-03-05T10:26:00.004-05:00

It's never a good sign when your company starts offering training on "Creating A Winning Resume."

Seriously? C'mon guys. Are you serious??? You're in the middle of a budget crunch. Every full-time employee has been asked to take 5 furlough days. There are "voluntary buyouts." And we know you're doing "involuntary buyouts." (code word for lay offs) Stress is high enough as is. And now something like this shows up on our internal communications newsletter and site. We get the picture folks, you want us to leave. =)

In fairness to the company, they are taking every possible step to lessen the financial burden on the organization. And if they can accomplish this, more people will keep their jobs than lose them. But the timing was just a bit suspicious...don't ya think?

Jason Greene at Gazuza

2009-02-28T12:39:00.002-05:00

My friend Jason Greene informed me one afternoon that he'd be spinning some records at the Dupont Circle lounge Gazuza on a recent Friday evening. Excited to help my friend get some exposure, I went out and shot some photos to add to the collection. Gazuza isn't a large club with an extensive light show and nocturnal atmosphere, but it was a cozy venue that worked well with the soulful house Jason was spinning.

Hopefully other venues will get word of Mr. Greene and we can help spread the word of House to the fine residents of DC. Enjoy...

Roger Sanchez Photos From Josephine

2009-02-28T11:29:00.005-05:00

Sometimes I'll bring my camera along to events that are slightly more low-key or in venues I'm not as familiar with. And in many cases, this means I come away with far fewer images than I normally shoot in the larger clubs. Such is the case with the above photo of DJ Roger Sanchez at Josephine in downtown DC.

Sanchez is a world-renowned, Grammy Award winning DJ. He's remixed superstars such as Chic, Daft Punk, Diana Ross and The Police, contributed to the soundtrack of Hollywood movie Blade, and founded 3 record labels. So calling this man a superstar isn't a crazy concept. Unless of course you're at Josephine. I hate getting all down on clubs and/or artists because I feel nightlife should be enjoyable. But we all know there are nights that just don't work and leave us feeling like we've wasted our time and our money.

I had been to Josephine once prior to this night and knew the venue was pretty small. But small micro-clubs are pretty common in the district. And in some cases (like Tattoo), the space is used wisely and creates an intimate and enjoyable party. So when I heard one of the top 20 DJs in the world would be spinning at Josephine, I was quietly optimistic. Small venues with world-class DJs can be amazing. I've been in places like Duplex SF, Bambudda Lounge, HPC and Sullivan Room NYC where a top DJ can connect with the audience and really get into their craft. Sometimes you hear things you wouldn't normally find in major clubs because the DJs feel they can be creative and push things a bit for a smaller, more dedicated crowd.

But these venues all have something going for them Josephine does not. They are all house music temples. The crowds show up on various nights to hear the music and see the DJ. They show up to Josephine to hear themselves and be seen by others. Look, I know there is that "I want to be a celebrity" element of nightlife in every city. Dudes roll into a club wearing their shades and printed t-shirts flashing money while standing at their VIP table. (Side note: why do douchebag wannabes stand the entire time at their VIP table? I've often wondered about this phenomenon. Do they think it helps them be seen above the crowd?)

I digress... I shouldn't have been surprised at the lack of interest in Roger Sanchez on this particular night. Before we could even get inside we had a young lady at the door act like she was doing us a favor by letting us past the line (even though we were on the promoters list). Her exact words were "we'll expedite you into the club but you still have to pay the cover charge." Now repeat that with a bad fake Eastern European accent and you get an idea of what we were in for.

Inside wasn't any better. Josephine is decorated with the tackiness of a French brothel thrown into the basement of a sterile office building. They have plastic chandeliers hanging over the bar, in a room with what seems like 7 ft. ceilings. And the venue is all VIP tables. So unless you feel like dishing out 1K to sit in the French brothel basement, you get to stand around like an outfielder in a no-hitter. Add to that the douchebags with hot chicks element and you see why I'm not feeling so warm and fuzzy about this particular night.

Long story short, Roger Sanchez comes in. He sets up his gear. He begins mixing tracks. No one in the club notices. They're too busy standing around with their money clip exposed adjusting their sunglasses to just the right position on their heads. My friends and I feel like we've walked into the twilight zone of nocturnal excess. Dan says to me, "this place is dead anyway." I shoot a few photos of Sanchez and we're on our way. Needless to say, I salvaged two shots from the night. Oh well!

Random Photo of the Day: Feb. 18th

2009-02-18T16:55:00.004-05:00

The above photo was found on the 360nightlife.com entertainment site. It was shot on Friday, Feb. 13th at The Muse Nightclub.

As you can see, it's the usual crew enjoying yet another VIP table and bottle service. This time we were celebrating Mr. Dan's new job with the DC Examiner. And don't ask me what's up with the goofy pucker-lip smirk I have going on.

More Washingtonian Photo Submissions

2009-02-17T12:25:00.003-05:00

I've blogged about this before here and thought I would share again. These are images I recently entered in the monthly Washingtonian Magazine photo contest.

Last month the topic was "black & white" so this month the editors went with "color." Any subject would do, just make sure the image pops. I had a bunch of nightlife shots I thought would qualify, but I didn't have a ton of time to find them and so I went with these. I definitely think they "pop" with color and excitement.

Dolce Gallery Finally Goes Live

2009-02-15T18:32:00.002-05:00

I used to have a really bad habit of taking my camera with me to clubs in SF and never getting around to cropping and posting the images I shot. So I try to take advantage of the winter weather to dig into the archives and post galleries from the past. So today I'm finally posting a link to a gallery from Dolce.

Dolce was a lounge-type bar in North Beach that myself, Jarvis, Craig and Bernie used to visit on a fairly frequent basis. It really wasn't anything special other than the fact that I was friends with the promoters who owned the venue and it attracted a good-looking crowd. Plus North Beach was the closest thing SF had to a true nightlife district, which always made for an adventure.

Dolce has since closed and has now reopened as Apartment 24. The Apt24 concept is essentially what a "rock-star's condo" would be like. I can't really say I'm surprised Dolce closed. While the web site suggested it was a unique club experience, there was nothing that set it apart from other venues. The music was the same. The decor was rather bland and like many SF venues, people got tired of it. I suspect Apt. 24 will follow a similar path.

Hot Corsten Set Ushers in Warmer Weather

2009-02-09T11:55:00.002-05:00

Well it seems as though the depths of winter just might be behind us for awhile. I got to walk all the way into the office this morning for the first time in what seemed like several weeks. In fact, the last time I actually walked the mile to my office was inauguration day when my metro station was closed. I know, I know... 1 mile is nothing to walk. Trust me, I love my morning stroll into the office. But when the weather hits below 20 degrees, my nose and ears just can't take it.

And it seems only fitting that this warmer weather made its debut the same weekend Ferry Corsten rocked the house at FUR Nightclub.

As you'll see from the photos in this post, I was lucky to get on the guest list and shoot for TrenDC and Club Glow. I've been shooting photos of DJs and clubs for several years now and slowly but surely I'm checking off a list of every top DJ in the world. Ferry Corsten is currently the #7 rated DJ in the world and is one of the biggest names in trance. Having a chance to add one of his energetic sets to my resume was a very big deal for me.

Many of my friends aren't really into electronic music or understand the draw of such an artist. I can't really explain why the music and energy drives my passion so much or why these DJs are so popular around the world. But there is a moment in a club when you realize you're no longer just a guest in a nightlife venue...but are now part of something bigger. The only thing I can compare it to is when you're at a major concert and everyone, the music, the crowd, the atmosphere becomes one.

Ferry Corsten hadn't even touched the mixer before the crowd started going nuts. That was my cue to move toward the DJ booth. When I got fully inside the DJ booth, I was greeted to a club full of dance music zealots all with their hands in the air and all screaming as if Beyonce just walked on stage with her dance crew. This is that moment. Its that moment where everyone in that club and their energy fully hinged on Ferry's next move with the turn tables. When the beat dropped...the crowd melted into a rhythmic frenzy that ebbed and flowed in the direction of the music. Shooting photos in a scene like that is one of the coolest things a fan of this music can do. You can literally sit there and watch this DJ take every person on a ride they most likely won't forget for a very long time. And Ferry has an energy about his style and persona that only multiplies any emotion you have for this style of dance music.

I'll eventually have all the photos posted on the site. But for now here are a few more...

Headline of the Day

2009-02-03T14:52:00.002-05:00

I got word of some breaking news today when Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination for health and human services secretary. So you can understand my surprise when I saw the above headline on FOXNews.com.

First we have the Arizona porn clip in the middle of the Super Bowl and now this. Someone is up to no good, but it sure made me laugh.

Lone Star Championships

2009-01-26T15:06:00.004-05:00

Update: I found video from the strictly lindy finals! It was a phrased battle and ended with an all-skate. Video embedded below...

I'm still trying to get the prelims on YouTube, so come back and I might have that posted as well.

I just returned from Austin, Texas yesterday where I was competing in the Lone Star Championships. I had never really been to Texas except for my drive through Amarillo when I moved back to the east coast, so I figured it was time to explore this corner of the country. I had also started meeting some cool dancers from the area and figured this lindy event was worth the trip. My good friend Stephen Grimes wanted to go as well because one of his good friends lives in Austin and it would be a good chance for him to try his hand in competing. So off we went last Thursday into the part of Texas locals call "weird." Or as Austinites say... "not really Texas."

We spent the first part of our day checking out a portion of downtown, checking into the hotel and enjoying the 80 degree weather this capital city offered us. Our first stop was a pub on the famous 6th Street where we enjoyed a local beer and an excellent burger. I can't recall the name of the joint, but the live music was great and we got to see a guy so drunk he fell off his bar stool...at 1 in the afternoon! After lunch I walked around with my camera while Steve took off for his friends place just north of the city. I was able to shoot some fantastic shots of the capitol building, have a coffee while sitting outside and just enjoy some down time before the weekend of dancing. The above photo was shot Thursday evening just before I went to dinner downtown and off to the opening dance.

Friday was pretty nice because the weather remained in the 80s, which was perfect to explore even more of the city. The photo below comes from my afternoon of wandering. I know some of the locals hate this condo tower because they think it takes away from the character of the city. But it was my favorite building downtown and one of the more impressive condo towers I've seen in the many cities I've visited.

Friday night was the official opening of the Lone Star Championships and it included several competitions. The event was held at the Texas State Women's Federation building, which was a massive mansion with a large ballroom along the back of the building. I didn't have any comps Friday night, but it was a good chance to catch up with friends like Mike Roberts, Laura Glaess, Carl Nelson, Teni Lopez-Cardenas, Andrew Munoz, Rye Crowen, Andrew Thigpen, Yossef Mendelssohn and many others.

Saturday was the real meat of the schedule for me because I had two comps scheduled. The first was the Advanced Jack and Jill. This is where you enter as an individual and are randomly paired with a partner. Overall I felt it was a good competition but I knew the chances of making the finals would be tough based on the number of amazing leads entered. Needless to say, I wasn't one of the 5 (or six, can't remember) selected. The good news in that was the final were Sunday, so even if I had made it, my flight was at 7 a.m. Sunday morning.

The next comp was the strictly lindy where you enter as a couple. My original plan was to do it with a friend from New York, but I wasn't sure she'd make it to Texas. So I asked my friend Beth Hartzel from Nashville if she'd do it with me. She said yes and so later that afternoon Beth and I proceeded to kill it in the prelims. Here's where I need to make a special note. I've often heard about dancers finding a connection with their partner and getting into a "special" zone during competitions. I've been wondering when my time would come. When would I feel that connection where everything you do just works? Well this is when it happened for me. Beth and I were just on. I can't really explain anything about the feeling except we nailed every move we tried and just timed everything perfectly. When the fast song came on, we did about 8 swing outs in a row as the crowd cheered louder each time. We didn't know if we'd make finals or not (again, the competitions was amazing), but we both knew we just danced our asses off.

While at dinner, a local dancer says to me "hey, you made finals in the strictly." I was like... uh, sweet!!! So Saturday night Beth and I competed in a phrased battle style finals where we again proceeded to nail everything we tried. My only complaint was being the first couple out to start it, but otherwise I had an absolute blast! I can't recall another competition where I've felt so comfortable on the floor. Everything at Lone Star just came together for a perfect night of lindy. I also can't thank Beth and Yossef enough for being there. Hopefully I'll find some video of my dances soon. In the meantime, here's a photo from the finals...

Overall Austin is a great city with great people. And the Lone Star Championships was a well run and well attended event. I will most certainly be back next year!

How Bad Can One Team Be?

2009-01-26T13:54:00.003-05:00

This posting is going away from my typical musings about nightlife, dancing and photography. But I came across an interesting story today about a Dallas girls basketball coach being fired after his team defeated another Dallas school 100-0.

The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Dallas, fired coach Micah Grimes after he sent an email disagreeing with school administrators that the win was an embarrassment. The school has a response to the game on their web site here.

So it got me wondering, what exactly is the problem here? According to the reports, there are no mercy rules in place within this particular athletic conference. Not to mention, how can one participate in sports to achieve a certain amount of success and then be told its embarrassing when that success is attained? I'd like to know what others think. We all joke about the college football games when teams like Paducah Bible College try to play Ohio State and lose 90-0. But those teams are usually paid a handsome amount of money to provide the typical powerhouses with glorified walk-throughs. But what about high school kids? My state has mercy rules in affect after scores get out of control. But isn't there some sort of conflicted message you're sending these kids when you tell them to win, win, win, then fire a coach when they do. We see guys like Tommy Tuberville fired at Auburn after going 34-16 in his previous 4 seasons. We see a turnover in coaching jobs that looks more like a shift change at your local McDonald's.

So what's the right thing to do here? Fire the coach because his girls played a masterful game? Or step up efforts to institute a mercy rule in the league to prevent something like this in the future. No one wants to lose 100-0. A bagel in any game sucks. But what's a coach to do if he can't keep his job even when he wins???

Inauguration City

2009-01-21T11:53:00.004-05:00

Unless you live under a rock, you'll know Barack Obama was sworn in as our 44th President yesterday. You'll also know that because of where I live and work, I had a front row seat for all the festivities. I wish I could tell you that I had a front row seat to the actual inauguration or that I scored tickets to one of the "official" balls. But no such luck on my first and what will probably go down as the biggest inauguration in American history.

But the 5 day weekend wasn't without excitement and chaos. We started the inauguration celebration off with Dan Kelly's birthday. His actual birthday was Monday, Jan. 19th, but we flew our good friend Mike Morley into town from Charlotte and started things off Friday night at Asian Spice and The Muse Nightclub. Below is a photo of Dervon and I at Muse...

Things really started to pick up energy-wise in the city on Saturday when it seemed as though most of the inauguration tourists arrived. Normal city streets went from the usual DC traffic to a parking lot of taxi's and buses. Sidewalks became littered with vendors hawking everything from buttons and hats to toilet seats and recliners. Most restaurants were booked solid and the most average bars had lines to get inside. On top of it all, it was about 10 degrees outside, so we all froze.

On Sunday I got the chance to drive down to the mall and check out the capitol building and the plethora of news agencies lining the streets near the monuments. I laughed and said "we're the center of the world right now." But it was truth. The following are photos from that day. Notice the MSNBC mobile studio and all the tourists trying to get on camera...

Inauguration Day was spent waking up early and doing a phone interview with the morning show of WKRN Nashville. A good friend produces the morning show there and they wanted to talk to actual DC residents to get their perspective on the chaos that enveloped DC. After the phoner, I did my walk into the office. Let me explain how this usually works. I walk about 8 blocks down 7th Street and roll into my office building on the corner of 6th and E streets. Not inauguration day. Half the neighborhood was in lockdown because 6 of the official balls were a block away at the convention center. Most of downtown was off-limits to vehicles. Oh, and two million people converged on the city to hear Obama's inaugural address. Walking down regular streets was impossible.

So I worked hard posting content from the swearing in, the luncheon and the parade. I did manage to sneak away from my office for about 30 mins to grab coffee and snap a few photos. Those are below...

We finally wrapped up our inaugural celebration with the Black & White ball at The Jam Cellar, our usual Tuesday evening dance. The best part of the Jam Cellar ball was their first ever inauguration jack and jill contest. This is where you enter the contest and get randomly paired with another dancer. The idea is you should be able to social dance with anyone well, so it keeps you on your toes. You don't have a routine or organized moves. You just dance to whatever is thrown your way. Lucky for me I drew Kelly as my partner. (Kelly and I have competed quite a bit together, so we had an unfair advantage...but that's the risks of Jack and Jills) Long story short, Kelly and I won the contest. I got a pass to the Jam Cellar and Kelly decided to take the entire chocolate Capitol Building. I didn't even get a taste of it. What is it with women and chocolate? Anyway, here are some photos from the Jam Cellar ball...

Overall I'd say the inauguration weekend was a massive success. I got to see celebrities like Blair Underwood, Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys and Ann Hathaway. I saw our national mall fit close to 2 million people on the lawn. I saw U2, Springsteen and Queen Latifah perform in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I saw a nascar-like assortment of Obama souveniers. I saw one naked guy, lots of trash and lots and lots of security. And best of all, I saw Obama's motorcade roll through the city Saturday evening...reminding me of how amazing it is living in the heart of American politics.

Preparing for the Inauguration

2009-01-12T10:13:00.004-05:00

Update: So I ask the guy at the front desk of our building last night about the barricades and he hands me a paper. Turns out Obama is hosting one of the big "official" inauguration parties at the convention center. And since it's a block away, secret service is putting our entire neighborhood in lock down.

What does this mean? Well is simply means there will be no cars on the streets and no street parking. It also means we'll have limited access to drive in and out but we'll have to show ID that proves we live in the neighborhood. The same goes for pedestrians who wish to walk through. In other words, you can't just stroll through.

I'm not too worried about it. I have the proper DC ID and it's really only for one day. And just think, Obama and Michelle will be dancing just one block from my condo. Sweet!

Good morning Washington! So the preparations for next week's inauguration are starting to show up in my neighborhood. On my morning walk to work, I noticed a ton of concrete barricades have been dropped off on the sidewalks. I'm not really sure what they are intended for since I don't believe our neighborhood is one going on lock-down. And I doubt they plan to close down the streets since our area is close enough to the mall for parking but not within security parameters. My only guess is they could be used for crowd control, but we'll have to see.

Either way, it's pretty exciting seeing all of the action around town. There's a buzz in the streets with activity and any time you see flashing lights, you start to wonder if you'll get a glimpse of our new president. Maybe I'll get lucky since his transition team is housed in a building right across the street from my office. Regardless of seeing Obama in person or not, DC is quite literally the place to be right now. Love it!

ELHC Shenanigans

2009-01-04T21:36:00.004-05:00

Some of you have probably noticed the acronym ELHC floating around the past few days and wondered what it stood for. Like a number of Lindy Hop events, it follows the same format other events like ALHC, ILHC, ULHS, etc., etc. But ELHC is not one lindy event. It stands for "Every Lindy Hopper Counts." ELHC is a propaganda video that surfaced at Lindy Focus in response to a daily late night video being shown by some of the Lindy Focus instructors. Let me explain the details...

Like most dance events, Lindy Focus had late nights. Late nights tend to start around 1 a.m. and can last until sunrise or a set time like 4 or 5 a.m. Some are heavy with blues, while others are Lindy Hop til you drop type dances. Lindy Focus had a large room dedicated to Lindy Hop and a small room for blues. To be honest, the blues room was just a place to go to set up your hookups for the night. (it's not really a secret anymore ya know)

So in order to encourage dancers to participate in late night, instructors Dave Madison and Andrew Sutton decided they would hold a count at the end of the night. They would count how many people were from which city and the next day they would announce it at the camp meeting. In the end, the city who had the most dancers at late night got recognition. Dave and Andrew also shot humorous videos each night that parodied the late nights and the things that go down past 5 a.m. The videos were a riot!

Long story short, DC had been killing it each night. We had a solid number of folks in for the event and were representing quite well in the comps and staying out all hours of the night. We also had the reputation for hosting the most parties in our rooms, which always seemed to be ours. So on the third night, we decided DC would take over the late night. We had about 12 people in the room around 5:30 a.m. At one point we were even doing the worm and dancing to Boy's 2 Men. Hey, there's not much more you can do at 6 a.m. to keep going. So at 6:10 a.m., Dave Madison strolls in and takes the count. DC rolled!

The next day we find out the Dave and Andrew came back in the room at 6:30 and said "now that the posers are gone, we're going to take a second count." At the camp meeting, DC was counted as having only 3 people in the room...two were in the DJ booth. As Stephen Grimes said... "not cool man!!!" He actually wasn't that serious, and we did laugh at the movie that was shown that parodied the people sleeping in the counter of the room just to get counted. But as true dancers at any dance event, we decided it was time to get even. So we began to circulate word of ELHC. Some thought it was an underground comp. Some wondered if a new event was happening this year in DC. But others knew it was a viral campaign to turn around and poke fun at our light night counting instructors.

So we got to work early that evening planning our video. We used various characters from the event and pulled off what I think was one of the funniest little ploys I've seen at a lindy event. The next night we showed it to Dave and Andrew and they agreed to show it as that nights "late night" video. The entire Lindy Focus crowd laughed in hysterics at the parody of Dave Madison and his raver pants. And using Davis on his knees as Andrew Sutton (who is decidedly shorter than Dave) was priceless, specially when they held hands. So what you see below is the video that made waves at Lindy Focus and could be the start of a tradition going forward.

Side note: We want to thank Dave Madison, Andrew Sutton and Andrew Thigpen for being such good sports and supporting us in showing the video at Lindy Focus. Seriously, it was all in good fun and I think we all had an absolute blast producing it.

Lindy Focus VII

2009-01-04T18:56:00.006-05:00

I've been a bit out of the loop for the last week because I've been in Asheville, NC since the day after Christmas for Lindy Focus. LF is a six-day dance camp and competition that attracts some of the best dancers from around the country. This was my first year at Lindy Focus and I was joined by fellow DC dancers Steve Grimes, Manuel Ferdinandus, Ann Mony and Jerry "The Godfather" Almonte. There were a bunch of other DC dancers in the mix, but that would be too many to list.

So we left DC on Friday, Dec. 26th and drove down to Ashville. The drive took about 9 hours because we made a visit to The Green Bean, one of my favorite coffeehouses in Greensboro. By the time we arrived to the hotel we were a bit loopy but ready to dance our butts off. The entire event was absolutely amazing. It was basically eat, drink, and sleep Lindy Hop. Heck, we really didn't even sleep.

I competed in the advanced jack and jill on Saturday evening. I had some great partners but it definitely wasn't one of my better comps. Oh well, that's life in the competitive dance world and there's always next time. Our roomie Ann also competed in the JnJ and the Strictly Lindy comp and kicked some serious tail in a final that included her and Terrace Ellis doing battle with Carl Nelson and Teni Lopez-Cardenas. All I can say is... HOT!!!

The highlight of the camp though, has got to be the creation of ELHC. I'm planning to post about it just after this post goes live but for now here are some photos from the event. Two are from a night when Mr. Grimes and I snuck away from the hotel to shoot the downtown Asheville skyline with the sun setting behind the mountains. The final two photos are from New Year's Eve when myself, Steve, Manny, Amy Tran, Laura Jackson, Davis Thurber, Marc-Andre Vachon and Gina Helf all enjoyed a nice dinner at Table in downtown Asheville. Enjoy...

Nocturnal Vibe Lives Again

2008-12-24T11:58:00.002-05:00

Well it's official folks, I'm back on the scene writing about nightlife. My column Nocturnal Vibe went live on TrenDCtv.com yesterday. I'm actually quite happy with the overall look and can't wait to blow this sucker up with some serious updates.

For those just learning about this, Nocturnal Vibe was a nightlife column I created while living in Tampa, Florida. With the help of Dan Kelly and other assorted characters, the column blew up and became one of the most visited pages on TBO.com. It went on a 3 year hiatus when I moved to San Francisco.

Because of Mr. Dan Kelly and his position with Tribune Corp., the column is now making a return as a blog on the popular WB entertainment page TrenDC. Mr. Dan has even gone out of his way to have business cards made so we can make this puppy look professional. And I couldn't be happier.

Nightclubs and dance music are a major passion of mine. I've been drawn to the scene for the better part of 8 years now and can't get enough of that pulse pounding sound one experiences when entering a mega-club in any city. Most publications and entertainment rags do an incredibly poor job of covering this scene, so it's become my mission to fill that void. Hopefully the residents of DC will agree and enjoy what I bring to the nightlife table.

If you get a chance, check out the blog at TrenDCtv.com/nocturnalvibe and please feel free to leave comments and suggestions. And now I'm off to visit the family. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

No Walk in The Park

2008-12-18T16:11:00.006-05:00

So yesterday I got together with a group of friends to spend an evening out on the town at The Park at Fourteenth. This was my first visit to this K Street District club and I can't say I was overly impressed. Have you ever built something up in your head to the point that you were totally excited about it and yet it somehow fell way short? Well that's the best way to describe my experience at The Park's holiday party. I felt like a disappointed kid on Christmas morning who didn't get the gift he really, really wanted!

All I really wanted was a decent night at a new club. What I got was a VIP table that we couldn't sit at until 10:30, only to find out it was occupied by 8 people when we were finally taken to the 4th floor. We got a guest list that only had my name on it and so my guests had to stand outside and hope the doorman would finally let them in. And we got a club that was more interested in being a sports bar, with flat screen TVs tuned to NBA games all throughout the venue.

Overall I had an absolutely great time despite my disappointment with the venue. But my enjoyment came strictly from the people I spent my evening with (Dan, Matt, Rob, Lindsay, Lily, Gayle and others). We played Blackjack at several tables, acted silly like usual and Lily and I even busted out some Lindy Hop. So the evening was a success as far as I'm concerned. The following are photos from the evening...

Random Thought of the Day: Dec. 18th

2008-12-18T15:59:00.003-05:00

You know you've got a pretty good nightlife scene in your city when you can visit 3 different clubs on a regular Wednesday night and each place is packed.

Cat Fur Invades Quincy Court

2008-12-14T21:59:00.002-05:00

Most of you know I have two cats. They're pretty cool animals to have around. Though sometimes they start shedding and next thing you know you have puffs of fur floating around the apartment. And so when that happens, it becomes time to furminate! What you see below is the result...

For those wondering, furminating is using a small, very fine brush to comb the extra shedding fur off your cat. Sometimes they like it, sometimes they get annoyed. Today Ernie was completely content with the free massage. But Daisy knew something was up and went into hiding part of the day. After I was done she walked around the house ticked off giving me the evil eye. Then they slept...

Video From Monday Night at CCB

2008-12-14T16:31:00.000-05:00

Ever since we competed together at ALHC, Kelly has wanted to shoot more videos of us social dancing so we could work on some things and see how we look. The following is a video she posted on her blog of us dancing one Monday evening at the Chevy Chase Ballroom. It's not the best of videos, but it's kinda cool to throw on the blog for friends and family to see. Enjoy...

Nightlife Photography

2008-12-12T17:18:00.001-05:00

People are often asking me, "Doug, what exactly do you do when you go out to all these clubs?" I tell them I shoot photos for the clubs, promoters and DJs. But I'm usually looked at funny because most people figure a club is all about drinking and dancing. And while some of that does occur in-between shots, I usually try to maintain a fairly strict process of focusing my attention on the purveyors of sound. The following image was captured at Ultra Bar in DC one evening while I was there shooting for world-renowned DJ George Acosta.

The funny thing about this picture is you can see Glen at the bottom, almost acting as my personal security guard. Thanks for keeping all those rowdies off me bro!

The People's Republic of AARP

2008-12-12T16:20:00.000-05:00

I got to joking with my boss Tina a few weeks ago about political ideology and randomly called her a communist. Tina replied proudly that she really likes communism and thinks it's a pretty good thing. We then went into debate about how oppressive the ideology is and how, while everyone outside of the government is equal, they are all equally poor.

Truthfully, there is really no solid argument in favor of communism. Even if you were able to eliminate class warfare among the average citizen, you'll always have a governing class. And when you give any governing class that much power, well people tend to die.

I try to avoid political talk on this blog. But one thing I won't back down from is a new call to arms by the radical left. I call them "Neocoms" because they are communist who have rebranded since the days of the radical 60's. They certainly aren't what I believe to be liberal, nor do I consider them true democrats. They are a brand of individual who seems unwilling to look at history and lack a basic understanding of human nature and psychology.

At any rate, the above graphic was something I created for my boss after we decided to name our office after a typical communist regime. We called it the People's Republic of Tina Johnson-Marcel since she is our fearless leader. She got a kick out of it and I was quite happy with the little graphic I created.

An Introduction to DC Club Life

2008-12-06T11:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I wrote my first blog posting for TrenDC. A few months ago Dan Kelly invited me to revive my nightlife writing skill with a blog on the popular WB TV web site. Since the site gets attention for hosting celebrity diva Paul Wharton's blog, I figured I should join the team and contribute with my love of nightlife and electronic music.

My first submission is listed below. I'll update you with a link as soon as things go live on TrenDC.

Nocturnal Vibe...
Friday, December 5, 2008

Hello DC! Several months ago I was asked to join the TrenDC team and contribute my thoughts to a blog dedicated to nightlife. This isn’t the first time I’ve written about the nocturnal happenings of a city. And since I love writing, photography and nightlife, I figured why not? So what you’re looking at today is the start of a blog that will take you on a journey through the inner-workings of the DC club scene. It’s called Nocturnal Vibe because there is an essence of life that pours from the nightclubs and lounges of major cities worldwide. It’s a feeling. It’s like a sixth sense. It’s a way of life that touches all corners of your emotions and is on display virtually every night here in the District. And I’m going to do my part to make sure you know everything you need to know to be well equipped for a night on the town.

First, let’s get a few things out in public right off the bat. I’m not your typical features writer. I’m not going to play footsies with you by discussing unnecessary details of a club. You already know there are beautiful people there. You already know there will be lines to get in. You already know you can spend your hard-earned cash on a VIP table and get piss drunk off your own bottle of vodka. You don’t need me to tell you that. But what I can do is tell you why you should go to one club or another. I can tell you what the VIP tables at Tattoo have that Ibiza can’t offer you. I can tell you why BT is a show worth braving the December chill and why Baby Anne might just leave you blue. In other words, this is an inside look at clubs. It’s not a press release.

Second, I’m not going to tell you about every single place in DC or the surrounding metro area. There are publications out there that have staffs much larger and far more equipped to do something like that. And frankly, my liver just can’t handle a relentless pounding night after night. But I will tell you about places I believe are the true purveyors of the club world. I’ll tell you about clubs that focus their attention on the true star of their show, the DJ. If it has something to do with electronic dance music; be it house, trance, Dnb, I’ll write about it. If you like to dance at a club, this is your new publication home.

Third, I’m rarely negative. I just don’t like the idea of reading a column about something as enjoyable as a night out on the town and walking away feeling like the author is perpetually bent out of shape. To me, nightlife is enjoyable. And so my blog should reflect that.

So that covers the bases of what this blog is. Now the big question: who in the world is this cat telling me to go to 18th Street Lounge to hear such-and-such DJ?

My name is Doug Van Sant (dougvansant.com). I grew up in Delaware, got a broadcast journalism degree from Shenandoah and have spent the better part of my career working in the online departments of various newspapers and publications. I started writing about nightlife while living in Greensboro, North Carolina. The start was modest with a personal email blast that hit almost 1000 of my closest friends. When I moved to Tampa, Florida, I was introduced to a club scene ripe with world-class talent but starved for attention from the local media. I quickly found a number of clubs bringing in the some of the greatest trance and house DJs in the world, and yet no mention of the fact in any publication, independent or corporate. So I created Nocturnal Vibe as a connection to that scene on TBO.com, the online partner of the Tampa Tribune and WFLA. It fast became one of the most visited pages on the site.

I then moved to San Francisco and expanded my interest in nightlife photography. I shot most nights at the world famous Ruby Skye nightclub and started getting exclusive gigs from DJs like Christopher Lawrence, John Digweed, Timo Maas and Paul Oakenfold. My resume now includes a nightlife column in cities spanning from Miami to LA with photo shoots from Tiesto to George Acosta.

To say I enjoy nightlife is an understatement. I’ve pretty much lived it for the better part of 8 years now. My only true side attraction is my love of dancing Lindy Hop. If you’re lucky, I may break out some words on the subject from time to time. But aside from the occasional talk of 30’s jazz, this blog is all about the club world of DC. Ready… Steady… Go…

Orphans Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T15:43:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving 2008 was an enjoyable celebration of friends and family here in Washington, DC. The day kicked off with Dan Kelly and I running in the 7th Annual Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger along the Potomac River here in DC. It was a very chilly morning but I was able to post my best 5K time of 26:55 with a pace of 8:40 per mile. I know, it's nothing close to our mayor who ran a staggering 5:53 pace, but it was also my first race in over two years.

We followed our morning run with a day of food, drinks and festivities at the Mt. Vernon Square condo for our first annual "Orphans Thanksgiving." I know, I wasn't an orphan because my parents drove over from Delaware, but we rented a few for the afternoon who remained in town. Those in attendance were Mama and Papa Van Sant, Dan Kelly, Courtney Ruff, Ben Rich, Michelle Gao, Manuel Ferdinandus, Jose Galdamez, Dan Ye and Caroline Seipp. We ate lots and lots of food, drank lots of wine and coffee and even found a way to bust out some lindy hop. Thank you all for coming out and making Thanksgiving 2008 a special day!

A Chilly Night in Pittsburgh

2008-11-28T15:17:00.000-05:00

The picture above comes from a very chilly night in Pittsburgh, PA. I took a trip up to the steel city with Manuel Ferdinandus to attend the PittStop Lindy Hop exchange from November 21st-23rd. As exchanges go, PittStop was a very well run and enjoyable event. But my weekend was soured a bit by other circumstances.

The first sour grapes incident was when Manny arrived to my apartment and I noticed my bike had been stolen from the basement. Mind you, this is a secure building with a "secure" garage. My bike was locked to the wall and yet that was no match for the thief and a lock cutter.

My second sour grapes incident happened just after I took the above shot. You all know I love to shoot cities. It was so damn cold in Pittsburgh all weekend that I hadn't had a chance to actually go out and shoot. So I pulled myself away from the dancing early Saturday evening to get my "traditional" city skyline shot. I had already scoped out a great location to shoot from the north side looking across the Allegheny River at the downtown cityscape. I got one shot, tried to move my tripod and then snap! I looked down and one of the legs had completely snapped in half. Are you f*%king kidding me! FUDGE!!!

Anyhow, the one shot I got turned out half-way decent so here it is. Enjoy. I'm off to buy a new tripod. Preferably one that doesn't break in cold weather.

Random Photo of the Day: Nov. 24th

2008-11-24T10:17:00.000-05:00

The photo above was found on the Michael Romeo Group web site. It was shot on Friday, Nov. 14th at Tattoo Bar in downtown DC.

There's not a whole lot to say except it was yet another crazy night with Dan Kelly.

Washingtonian Photo Contest Submissions

2008-11-18T12:09:00.000-05:00

Recently Washingtonian Magazine launched a new feature on their web site for photographers. It's a monthly contest where a topic is announced and photographers enter photos based on that topic. The editors then convene and select 5 finalists. They also select a handful of others they really liked. The public then votes and the winner's photo is printed in the print version of Washingtonian Magazine. It's a pretty cool little feature and great for local photographers to get some exposure. The basic rule is the photo has to be shot in the DC metro area. If the topic is skyscraper, you can't break out photos from NYC or Chicago...you have to go with what's available in this region.

Anyhow, I submitted a few images this month and wanted to share. The topic was architecture.