Posts
By Gamal Hennessy
Halloween
is one of my favorite holidays. It beats out Thanksgiving, July 4th and
even Arbor Day. Halloween is similar to nightlife because it gives people a
chance to move away from their daytime personas and create a new identity from
their imaginations. Unfortunately, Halloween is also a breeding ground for
amateurs, and little good can come from a night over run with amateurs.
Natives and amateurs
I need to be very clear about my distinction between nightlife natives and nightlife amateurs. Where you fit in isn’t a function of how many clubs you’ve been to or how many times you go out. It’s about quality, not quantity.
For nightlife natives, going out is part of their lifestyle. We enjoy the drinking, dancing, dating and hustling that is a part of city living. It’s not a problem for us to go out three or four nights a week and consistently make it to work the next day without hangovers, scars or gaps in our memory.
Amateurs on the other hand tend to crash and burn. The combination of liquor, hormones, drugs and sleep deprivation that nightlife can generate often overwhelms them, leading to decisions that can generously be described as questionable. When you’re out at night and you see people fighting, throwing up, peeing between cars, getting thrown into a squad car or an ambulance or unable to show up at work the next day, you’re looking at amateurs in action. When community boards complain about the nightlife that is ruining their quality of life, they’re complaining about amateurs. Simply put, amateurs give nightlife a bad name.
The need for amateurs
At this point, you might think that I don’t appreciate amateurs. That is simply not true. Amateurs are essential to nightlife for three reasons. First, everyone has to start somewhere. It has been said that you don’t really know your limit until you’ve crossed it. Many natives go through an amateur period in the beginning that teaches them what they can and can’t handle. If you can evolve from that stage no worries. Amateurs often serve as an entertaining example of what not to do.
Second, amateurs are a good source of nightlife revenue. When amateurs go out, they are willing to pay extra to get in or they just buy bottles. When natives go out, many of them can have a very good time without spending a lot of cash. If everyone was a native, clubs might not make enough money to stay open.
Finally, and most importantly, some people like being amateurs. Of course, they don’t call themselves amateurs. They consider themselves hardcore party people or players inspired by Jersey Shore who need to prove how much liquor, coke or sex they can consume in public. But since our definition of amateur revolves around excess quantity, anyone whose goal is over consumption qualifies as an amateur.
Avoiding amateurs
If you’ve read this far and decided that you want to avoid amateurs at night, be careful. There are some common misconceptions out there. Some people believe that if you avoid B&T traps, you avoid amateurs. Not true. While many amateurs come from outside the city, they can pop up anywhere…even in Brooklyn.
Natives and amateurs
I need to be very clear about my distinction between nightlife natives and nightlife amateurs. Where you fit in isn’t a function of how many clubs you’ve been to or how many times you go out. It’s about quality, not quantity.
For nightlife natives, going out is part of their lifestyle. We enjoy the drinking, dancing, dating and hustling that is a part of city living. It’s not a problem for us to go out three or four nights a week and consistently make it to work the next day without hangovers, scars or gaps in our memory.
Amateurs on the other hand tend to crash and burn. The combination of liquor, hormones, drugs and sleep deprivation that nightlife can generate often overwhelms them, leading to decisions that can generously be described as questionable. When you’re out at night and you see people fighting, throwing up, peeing between cars, getting thrown into a squad car or an ambulance or unable to show up at work the next day, you’re looking at amateurs in action. When community boards complain about the nightlife that is ruining their quality of life, they’re complaining about amateurs. Simply put, amateurs give nightlife a bad name.
The need for amateurs
At this point, you might think that I don’t appreciate amateurs. That is simply not true. Amateurs are essential to nightlife for three reasons. First, everyone has to start somewhere. It has been said that you don’t really know your limit until you’ve crossed it. Many natives go through an amateur period in the beginning that teaches them what they can and can’t handle. If you can evolve from that stage no worries. Amateurs often serve as an entertaining example of what not to do.
Second, amateurs are a good source of nightlife revenue. When amateurs go out, they are willing to pay extra to get in or they just buy bottles. When natives go out, many of them can have a very good time without spending a lot of cash. If everyone was a native, clubs might not make enough money to stay open.
Finally, and most importantly, some people like being amateurs. Of course, they don’t call themselves amateurs. They consider themselves hardcore party people or players inspired by Jersey Shore who need to prove how much liquor, coke or sex they can consume in public. But since our definition of amateur revolves around excess quantity, anyone whose goal is over consumption qualifies as an amateur.
Avoiding amateurs
If you’ve read this far and decided that you want to avoid amateurs at night, be careful. There are some common misconceptions out there. Some people believe that if you avoid B&T traps, you avoid amateurs. Not true. While many amateurs come from outside the city, they can pop up anywhere…even in Brooklyn.
Also,
some people might think that if you just get a bottle and stay in the VIP area of
a club, you are shielded from amateurs. This is a trap. Amateurs often buy
their way into places they couldn’t otherwise get into. They are actually drawn
to the VIP area for the temporary status it promises. There is nothing worse
than paying several hundred dollars for Grey Goose AND being surrounded by
amateurs all night.
There are two main ways I’ve found to avoid amateurs. The first is to go out on the nights that amateurs stay home. The days from Sunday to Thursday are often the best native nights. Friday and Saturday are mostly amateur nights. The second solution is to go to the places where amateurs can’t get in, including house parties, private clubs or out of the way spots that the amateurs haven’t found yet. Even in this period of political change, this might be one occasion where segregation is desirable.
When amateurs attack
As I stated before, you can find amateurs all over the city on any given night. However there are some nights when the concentration of amateurs swells to crisis levels. These nights include the birthday of the individual amateur, New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day and of course, Halloween. It might not be so bad this year since Halloween falls on Monday. Saturday will be the big party night, which means I’m going to a private party. Nightlife needs a certain number of amateurs, but I don’t need to be around them.
Have fun.
Gamal
There are two main ways I’ve found to avoid amateurs. The first is to go out on the nights that amateurs stay home. The days from Sunday to Thursday are often the best native nights. Friday and Saturday are mostly amateur nights. The second solution is to go to the places where amateurs can’t get in, including house parties, private clubs or out of the way spots that the amateurs haven’t found yet. Even in this period of political change, this might be one occasion where segregation is desirable.
When amateurs attack
As I stated before, you can find amateurs all over the city on any given night. However there are some nights when the concentration of amateurs swells to crisis levels. These nights include the birthday of the individual amateur, New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day and of course, Halloween. It might not be so bad this year since Halloween falls on Monday. Saturday will be the big party night, which means I’m going to a private party. Nightlife needs a certain number of amateurs, but I don’t need to be around them.
Have fun.
Gamal
0 comments:
Post a Comment