Clublife by Rob the Bouncer

Author:Rob the Bouncer
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2009-10-06T04:00:00+00:00

THE DEATH OF Axis as a Manhattan “destination” was a painful thing to observe from within, but the place was dying, and it was obvious to everyone involved. The arrival of the guidos and the Mob, along with the mass evacuation of anyone with anything Manhattanish going on, solidified, for us, the fact that the run had come to an end. We’d been overrun.

Christian knew this, of course, but he wasn’t about to let the place go down without a fight. We’d entered the second phase of the “club cycle”—the part where maintaining an acceptable profit margin matters more than image—and management was determined to bleed the place dry before everyone stopped coming in altogether.

Did Christian have to answer to some combination of external forces that compelled him to shift his priorities so drastically? Was it some sense of professional pride that led him to believe he could make the same money every night no matter who was coming in our doors? Not being in anyone’s loop, I had no way to be sure. All I knew was that I’d seen Axis at its peak, and the depths to which it seemed to be sinking were a far cry from what it once had been.

In the beginning, at inception, every bouncer in the city wants to work at a place like Axis. The owners throw millions and millions of dollars into remodeling a space, the media get wind of what’s going on, and a buzz is created. You’ll see spreads in New York magazine, the New York Times, and Page Six of the Post, and even though you know from experience that the job’s a losing proposition, there’s a period when you’re almost proud to be working at a place that’s on somebody’s radar. You’re a performer at an A-list attraction in the nightlife capital of the world, and you’re at the top of your “profession.” And even though that profession is one of which you don’t really want to be a part, it’s always nice to be at the top of something.

Axis didn’t all go wrong at once. When the beautiful people moved down the block, they were replaced by curiosity-seekers—tourists and those without the patience for the lines at the door in the opening months—who acted as a sort of buffer zone between the departure of the moneyed and the onset of the B&T crowd. The tourists would see us listed in Time Out New York. They’d come down, get the Manhattan nightclub experience crammed down their throats for a few hours, and buy the T-shirt. Before long, Axiswear was haute couture on the streets of Billings and Helena.

Guidos knew not to attempt the line when Axis boasted a line one would “attempt.” The doormen would spot them a hundred yards down the sidewalk, know exactly what they were and where they’d come from, and deny them admission every time.

Overmatched, they knew to stay away early on. If one would show up for whatever reason, the door staff would pull him aside and offer a friendly word of advice: “Don’t even waste your time, buddy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.