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| Sirius/XM Satellite Radio has added new channel Studio 54 Radio and to help celebrate and publicize it, they hosted a grand opening "One Night Only" party in the original Studio 54 location on 54th Street in Manhattan. And because of my Blog, I was an invited guest! |
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| I arrived around 8PM last night to find a long line waiting to get inside! |
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| Just like in the 70's when Studio 54 was thee place to see and be seen, there was a large group of wanna-be's standing across the street. I got to chit-chat with original club doorman Marc Benecke who said that
after all invited guests had entered, he would go over there like in
the old days and pick some "chosen ones" who would get to come inside. |
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| Finally inside, one encountered the white room in the theater's lobby. |
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| Original Studio 54 DJ Nicky
Siano (USA) was working the boards, although the boards nowadays includes
laptop computers! Siano was on from 9pm to midnight putting out classic
Disco. |
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| My only disappointment was that many of the fun Disco classics
typically heard at 70's Nights elsewhere were not played. But it was
great music nonetheless and Siano was having a great time up there! |
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| All drinks were free, compliments of Sirius/XM! |
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| The dance floor was on the stage and it stayed packed the entire night. Many in the crowd wore their retro threads. |
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| These two New Jersey girls on the left told me they used to party at Studio 54 back when they were in their late teens! |
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| The dance floor actually got larger as various curtains and facades were
pulled up over time to expose new dancing territories to the rear. |
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| It was crazy up there! |
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| Some of the original lighting effects were in use and they would drop down from time to time. |
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| Even though it was a Tuesday night in NYC, free liquor and great vibes fueled the night! |
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| Another Studio 54 original! |
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| Acrobats performed as people danced below, just like back in the day! |
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| Macho Macho Man! |
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| Do It To You Satisfied. |
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| A live band marched right through! |
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| Balloons fell! |
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| A huge surprise! At midnight and without any warning, DJ Avicci (S) came on and performed an hour EDM set! |
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| Opening with his megahit "Levels"! No one cared that it had nothing to do with the original Studio 54. |
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| The entire club went crazy! |
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| Even those seated in the upper deck finally stood up and danced in place! |
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| And there was an appearance from the original club's iconic Moon snorting coke sign! Another original DJ Leroy Washington closed out the night with more Disco. |
When he played "
New York, New York" people knew it was time to head home. An incredible night at
Studio 54. Big thanks to
Sirius/XM for inviting me!! Besides myself, other A-List celebrities attending are pictured here:
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/celebrity_photos/studio_one_night_only_JNXenSXIKAUWMmmLNfzMVM
Good summary video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKj4KIgKvK0&feature=related
Article and pics from Vogue: http://www.vogue.com/parties/studio-54-reopens/
Article and pics from TMZ:
Avicii opens his set with "Levels":
That building has more lives than a cat. 1920-30's Theater, 40-70's radio/TV studio, 76-80 world famous nightclub. 80-90's semi-famous nightclub, 90-2000's strip club then back to theater. The "Studio 54" most people associate it with is it's 76-80 disco era under Rubell's watch (up until the raid), but the 80's club scene there was good too, I was lucky enough to participate in both. The late 70's in that place were absolutely unbelievable, but Marc the door guy was a royal pita to deal with ! :-)
ReplyDeleteThat gave me shivers up and down. I am glad you had a good time. This was what it was all about, back in the eighties. It was truly a very unique type of club. Hopefully, they will reopen it again and relive the memories.
ReplyDeleteAwesome report..thanks so much Bob! Wish we could have been there...
ReplyDeleteLooks like fun!
ReplyDeleteAnon at 11:06am, thanks for the building's history. Hoping that someone will now reopen Studio 54 on a more permanent basis.
ReplyDeleteJerry, didn't know that you had a history with 54 from back in the day. From your reaction I can tell they did a really good job recreating it for the one night. That's also what the Jersey girls told me that I was chit-chatting with that night.
DJMadManRay, it was pretty incredible. Can't hardly believe I was there!