Archive for September, 2006

Posted on September 25, 2006 - by dionysus

weathering City scrutiny at CoSM

September has not been kind to the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors. Alex Grey‘s psychedelic sanctuary found itself in the middle of a classic NYC nightlife war between the police and the many clubs that line West 27th Street, CoSM’s home.

The City Government is on a new nightlife security kick. The Council is deciding on whether or not to force clubs, bars, and other night-time establishments to submit to new security regulations. In 2006, meanwhile, The NYPD has made a priority of regular harassment (or “aggressive enforcement”) of Chelsea nightclubs. In particular 27th Street, home to notorious city hotspots like Bedhome and Crowbar, has been transformed by police activity; barricades line the street, cars prowl the avenues. Closing time is now routinely announced through lines of NYPD officers who sweep the streets by 5am. Ominous threats are implied against any establishments foolish enough to even consider staying open past the time of police choosing.

Even Alex Gray’s CoSM is not safe. Despite the fact that no alcohol is served or consumed in the Chapel, the building houses other, less-than-respectable establishments, which draw unwelcome attention. Also, the Chapel is a non-smoking environment, so guests are forced to walk down onto the street if they wish to satiate their cravings; this also draws scrutiny from the overvigilant police.

The first incident of note occurred during the X-dream-Krumelur party (mentioned previously here) held on the 16th of September. Between 4- and 5-AM police officers swept the street clear of the drunken crowds hanging around outside the nightclubs. Security informed the building management, who reacted to the news by ordering the CoSM event shut down.

A promising gathering, marred in memory by the fact that it ended early. Community responses were supportive, with a clear note of disappointment evident. We all know how hard it is to dance in New York City, after all.

… things were just getting stompy and *poof* it was gone. too bad so sad trance will go on.. and on, and on, and on…. KARO

Early closing was somewhat disappointing…stupid laws…I want back to the forests!!! mandelbrot

Great time, as always from 28th Day. Cool deco, positive vibes, beautiful girls, and room to dance.Lauryn and Mukti were in the process of tearing the place up when we had to leave!! pyramidion

One week later on September 23rd, CoSM’s own Ethnocentric Salon found itself in the same situation. Patrons were once again forced to leave after intending to remain at the event until 7am, past sunrise.

Until only a few days ago, we were questioning the feasibility of CoSM as a gathering place for the community to dance. Fortunately, there are indications that preparations are already being made to enlarge CoSM’s facilities to encompass the entire floor of the building.

We at dance.with.us feel that the Chapel can avoid further complications with the City by

• Providing a small, in-facility smoking area, so chapelgoers do not have to go down onto the city streets late at night. The Chapel can then close its doors to general traffic at a time most pleasing to law enforcement officials. Community events, in turn, could continue to a time most pleasing to us.

Until that day comes, the cutoff for CoSM events will likely remain 5am. Too short for a proper psytrance experience, perhaps, but psychedelic sanctuaries are few and far between in New York; compromises will have to be made.

Posted on September 18, 2006 - by dionysus

psyNY web calendar application reaches 1.0

The NY community trance association, psyNY, recently announced the 1.0 launch of their psytrance web calendar application. The site may be the first psytrance web application ever written; it offers scheduling, mapping, weather, and other party-coordinating resources, aggregated into one page for quick access to event info. It compliments, not replaces, communication systems like the Isratrance forums, traditional email lists, and tribe.net or myspace affiliations, by providing an easy, fast and reliable service that enables efficient sharing and publishing of psytrance event information online, a complete calendar of psychedelic events in New York.

Its secret creator continually stresses that psyNY is to be a community-owned resource. The site will operate in a wiki-like format, allowing anyone interested in maintaing the information to do so. There are no moderators, no gatekeepers, no egos, and so (hopefully) no ownership problems.

• Link (psyNY)
• Link (psyNY tribe on tribe.net)

Posted on September 13, 2006 - by dionysus

Busted! Beach Party

The first rule of throwing outlaw (or ‘renegade’) parties is adaptability; the second is good communication.

These axioms were tested this past weekend, when the 28th Day beach party was halted before it even began. A concerned citizen in the park spotted the crew moving sound equipment in and notified the Relevant Authorities.

Or, as the official 28th Day press release put it,

In their official statement, 28th Day admitted that

“…despite our extensive countersurveillance measures, we were invited to examine the possibility that that dune does not, in fact, belong to us, but to a network of male prostitutes who did not share our collective enthusiasm for the event. We hope nobody actually went out there.”

Fortunately the bust happened early in the evening. The crew relayed the news on to other, net-connected allies, who reactly quickly and notified most attendees before travelled far into Brooklyn. Diverted successfully, the party thus continued indoors, at the trance commune hidden in the depths of the city.

A surprising amount of trancers turned up, defying the absurd rules that prevented us from enjoying what little outdoor space New York offers. Competition and politics were cast briefly aside for the occasion, as both the Metaforce and Alladin Project organizers showed their solidarity with 28th Day.

Colin OOOD did not get to play on the beach as he had originally hoped, but he did get to revisit the trance loft that he remembered so fondly from his last visit to New York. He swore revenge on New York, too, promising us to one day return and play on the forbidden sands.

Posted on September 8, 2006 - by dionysus

once more under the stars

A beach party tomorrow night, the last in New York before the change of seasons chase us indoors. Current weather models are promising, and Colin OOOD will be joining us for the occasion, with a cast of supporting locals.

We’ll let you know how it turns out.

• Link (event details)