One Word Says It All: GLAMDAMMIT!

If there was ever a party that came close to giving proper tribute to Ziggy Stardust and the nights of fabulous flamboyance and androgynous anticipation, it can be found at Rififi’s on the second Saturday of every month.

‘Glamdammit’ is the child of DJ Antonio, who first came up with the idea after being a glam-rock fan for years. He soon realized that there was an untapped vein of vivacious nightlife waiting to erupt and in September of 2004 Glamdammit came to fruition.

Antonio has been spinning for four years on a regular basis at venues such as The Annex, Bar 13, Beauty Bar, The Hanger, Lit, Motor City, Niagara, Rififi, and Route 85a. He views New York as, “probably the best rock ‘n’ roll scene as far as I can tell, although I’ve heard some positive things about a few other cities.” Before the birth of Glamdammit, Antonio and DJ Jess began Trash! at Rififi’s. It’s the longest running Brit-pop/new wave night in the East Village, happening each Friday, and has received critical acclaim from almost every publication that covers the beat under Manhattan’s moon.

Antonio gives credit to the success of Glamdammit to great guest DJ’s like Michael T, Justine D, Theo Kogan, Nick Marc, Miss Guy, and Tommy Hotpants. The past party on July 8th featured Twig the Wonderkid and The Astronettes spinning a salacious mix of rock 'n' roll, punk, and glam to the delight of the dance floor. The hosts were Maurice Blitz and Jimtoxicated, both friends of Antonio who “love going out and couldn’t be dragged off the dance floor by a team of rent-a-cops.” For added flavor, a gigantic movie screen played old Bowie videos and kept this reporter quite entranced for most of the evening.

Special guests were BP Fallon and DJ Jess. BP is no stranger to the wonderful world of night glitter and dancing debauchery. Being a rock author, photographer, founder of Death Disco and publicist for T-Rex, tends to keep one plugged into the social circuit.

Citysearch.com recently named Jess New York City’s number one DJ and if you have ever attended his party Trash!, caught him whipping up a frantic frenzy at Lit’s NC-17 or seen him as a regular guest at Motherfucker, you will know why he is deserving of such an accolade.

The greatest moment at Glamdammit, according to Antonio, was “when Michael T performed ‘John, I’m Only Dancing’ in a white latex jumpsuit in October 2005 to celebrate 35 years of glam-rock!” When asked where Antonio sees himself and his parties in the next five years he casually stated, “I don’t think I will live that long.”

Let’s hope for the sake of nightlife that he does. New York City needs more people like Antonio to set the bar for musical mayhem and keep dancing divas in the nocturnal know.

- Riss

* ALL photography shot by the infamous Jonathan Sorber.

Rififi
332 east 11th Street
New York City, NY
No cover
21+
www.glamdammitnyc.com