Fifteen years after the final iteration of the infamous Chelsea nightclub in the deconsecrated Gothic Revival church at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 20th Street closed, the wild energy of Limelight is still as infectious as the latest Covid variant. The iconic NYC dance club Limelight opened in 1983, and in its heyday in the 90s it was the place to hear cutting edge techno, goth, and industrial music. The scene spawned a collective of Club Kids that partied to excess, with nightly scenes, outrageous outfits, a shampoo room for getting down and bubbly, and the edgiest music and drugs. My outfit this month is an attempt to replicate the look of a cross-dressing leopard on LSD that I think I would have constructed had I been lucky enough to go there.

The core coterie were called Angels, and sometimes wings sprouted from their shoulders. Other times, I’m guessing their horns were on display. Tragedy struck in 1996, and the 2003 movie Party Monster, starring Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green, captured all the sordid details. If you’re interested in the history of the club under impresario Club King Peter Gatien, also check out the 2011 documentary Limelight. There were a few more nightclub iterations under different names before the site became part of a fitness chain.

Today, Grimaldi’s operates a coal-fired pizza store there, and still proudly displays a Limelight sign on the corner. I tried the pizza a couple weeks ago and was very disappointed when it arrived limp and soggy. The instructions said to heat it up in a frying pan with a bit of water. Not happening. People order pizza to avoid cooking and dishes. And I only live eight short blocks away. Geez!

But the vibes from Limelight resonate down through the years, baked into the brownstone blocks and seeping into your soul if you get too close. After the photo shoot, me and my crew ended up having a very uncharacteristic six-hour daytime debauch. We wanted to go to Beauty Bar, after the great time I had there the previous weekend, but it didn’t open until five o’clock. Amy noticed that Coyote Ugly was open next door (it resurrected at its new location at 233 East 14th Street in June 2021), and our post-photo shoot party began there.

Coyote Ugly opened in the East Village in 1993, and the popularity of the 2001 film Coyote Ugly led to national and international expansion. The 153 First Avenue location closed in 2020 after 27 years at the same location, due to difficulties with constant construction and failed rent negotiations. When we visited the new East 14th Street location on Saturday afternoon, it seemed dim inside the bar, so we decided to sit on the patio. We snacked on empanadas chased with margaritas. The sun was shining, the vibe was mellow, we were having a great time.

Suddenly the music drifting out the open door kicked up a notch, and Amy said “She’s on the bar!” I stood in the doorway, astonished and delighted, watching our server do-si-do to Pour Some Sugar on Me, in her cowboy boots, cut-offs, and pink fishnets. She was a mesmerizing dancer, entertaining a cluster of men seated at the bar. Having never seen the movie, this was a novelty to me, especially on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I watched the movie on Hulu the next day as remedial homework, and it was the perfect cheerful cure for a hangover. I love all those 80s hair metal tunes!

A more prudent gang might have felt sated after a few hours of Coyote madness and wandered on home, but not us. At five o’clock, Beauty Bar beckoned and we followed the crooked finger. Inside, Brock the bartender made us feel right at home, though someone had beat us to Rachel, the manicurist. At $10 for a martini and manicure, this has got to be the best deal in town. This nail-friendly feature just restarted a few weeks ago after a pandemic hiatus.

What to do? Order champagne, of course. So we settled in at the bar to wait our turn, and one glass led to another. We talked photographer Phil into trying it too, and he had his first manicure while discussing social justice issues with Rachel. She was splendid, adjusting her conversation to each of us in turn, and I came away with some gorgeous purple sparkling nail tips.

From there, it was a short stumble home, feeling like I was doing the walk of shame past my doorman though the incredible sequence had all happened in a single afternoon. New York still knows how to party!

A shorter version of this article is available at The Village Sun.

Style Notes

• Green leopard Trixxi strapless minidress with ruffled skirt. Goodwill, 7 West 14th Street.
• Black 5-inch patent leather sling-backs by 2 Lips Too. Goodwill, 7 West 14th Street.
• Pale ice green silk scarf.Gift from a friend.
• Michaels, 675 6th Avenue.