Ethan drinks beers in a store at night

When Sam told me I could be his +1 for the Chrome opening party the following evening, I got really excited and drunk (I was already drunk). I ran home and made these business cards at around 3 in the morning. I never ended up printing any, which is just as well because it wasn’t really that kind of party, and I didn’t converse with anyone I didn’t already know.

I got off the subway around 8 pm to find text messages from Sam, informing me that it was a mess. I asked “Good mess or bad mess?” to which he replied “Messy mess”. So far so good. I made my way into the heart of SoHo and arrived at 238 Mulberry St… holy fuck that’s a lot of people. I was really not expecting this.

Fortunately Sam & Joanie were outside waiting for me, and they found the coordinator guy Alex to let me in. Hot damn, I love it when someone grabs me and says to a bouncer, “He’s OK”. Also, I love a first-rate security setup. Giant dudes in all-black suits with completely implacable expressions on their faces. Polite but incredibly professional. I didn’t get any pictures of them because I was way too intimidated to ask if it would be OK, but one of them walked through the video after the jump (what’s a jump?).

I mainly like this one because it looks like Sam is trying to eat that dude's hat.

So I made it inside and tried to work my way toward the Free Beer Station, which was of course at the very densest part of the crowd. During that ordeal, I realize that oh shit, I actually do know someone here who isn’t “working”. Our friend Alex (different Alex, this one’s a lady) works at the Ace Hotel where all the Chrome people were staying, and she and her co-workers got invites on account of how accomodating they were. Sweet! Her sister Isabel was in town as well.

From left: some big dude, Alex, Isabel, guy with hat

Sam, Joanie, Alex & Isabel might have been the only friendlies in attendance, but I also had the pleasure of seeing some other old friends.

Abby!

Lea!

Dana!

Definitely a small-world type of experience. At least, if you ignore the two to three hundred attendees who I didn’t know, which is pretty much what I did. I got several beers to bring back to base camp next to the laptop bags and just kind of watched the crowd.

This one didn't come out too well because I was trying to be kind of sneaky. The lady is wearing fishnets, booty shorts, and one of those shirts that exposes her entire bra. The gentleman is at least 20 years her senior and looks like he might have gotten lost on his way to a Phish concert. I saw them kissing.

This repurposed mechanized laundry rack is one of the major bits of flair in the store. It's pretty rad.

So yeah, this was definitely the first one of these things that I’ve been to, and it was a sight to behold. I’m trying to do a little name-droppy thing here, but I cannot for the life of me remember the guy’s name…. Anyway, he’s a skateboarder cum bike person. He was there. Also, something called a “Neck Face” was allegedly there, and overheard to remark that this was the best party he’d been to this summer. There was food at one point, but by the time I made it back that far there were just big steam trays of meatballs left. I proceeded to eat several out of an empty plastic cup, as there were also no more plates.

…And then the dancing began (the bartenders were pretty liberal with the vodka)

I’ve just been informed that the guy whose name I was trying to remember is in fact John Cardiel. John grew up in Half Moon Bay, CA and was a pro skater until he suffered a spinal cord injury while filming Tent City in Australia. After his recovery he took up cycling. It seems he was also DJ’ing the party for a time, along with DJ… “something” Love. Journalism, people. It takes a village.