Museum peace
Midtown club Nomenclature Museum hustles to get gone
Midtown, Feb. 6 — When DJs Kevin O and J-Luv envisioned the last of their first-Thursday “Hustler” parties at Nomenclature Museum, they expected people would be tearin’ it up at the pioneering Midtown nightspot. They just had no idea it would be so literally.
With Nomenclature shut down and undergoing renovations that will transform it into a cigar/martini lounge, a “Hustler at Lava” banner swayed from the club’s red brick facade, redirecting revelers to a nearby club. Told of the club’s immediate demise only the night before, Kevin O and J-Luv were forced to make a backup plan, abandoning the venue that had pioneered the 11th Street/Crescent Avenue club district since opening back in 1997.
Nomenclature Museum was the first of numerous funkily renovated bungalows, including the Leopard Lounge, Cosmopolitan and Lava. It was a house located at the solitary end of a long block, and appropriately, it hosted a deep-house party and catered to the fringe elements of the surrounding nightlife scene.
“Even in the business plan it said we wanted art shows, drag performances, etcetera,” says former co-owner Scott Pohl. “We were very influenced by everywhere from Studio 54 to the original MJQ. We wanted intimate rooms where people could have headspace but would be forced to interact. Our goal was appealing to the true underground that appreciated local artists and DJs, not just drinking and hooking up.
“When we were doing research, I read an article by [notorious New York club kid/ promoter] Michael Alig,” continues Pohl, “who talked about the A, B and C crowds. We realized we were getting the C crowd around 2000, and soon so many clubs opened it affected business dramatically, which is when we started fighting to keep our A crowd. That’s when we had Studio Filthy Whore, Porno XXX, all those crazy theme parties. And that’s about when Kevin O, J-Luv and Dwayne [Walters] proposed Hustler, which fit the anything-goes vibe.”
“There was some funk up in those crevices,” says Trina Trice, who has written about nightlife for Creative Loafing and other local publications. “Along with Kaya in its heyday and MJQ, Nomenclature Museum was one of only three truly underground clubs, a haven for eclecticism — drag queens, an alternative gay crowd, club kids, service-industry people — real irregular regulars. Now Midtown offers plenty of places people can be, but one less place people can go be themselves. Midtown is becoming more commercial, less about community.”
“Outside of MJQ, Nomenclature provided one of the first and finest departures from the norm,” says Byron Burroughs, former manager at Crescent Avenue club eleven50. “Nomenclature took more risks than anyone; Hustler, Booty Bump, Studio Filthy Whore — all those parties had a nice seedy underground aspect. People would be there that you wouldn’t see anywhere else on Crescent Avenue, regardless of talent draw. I feel Crescent Avenue will go through a resurgence but it will depend on operators respecting and offering a variety of identities.”
At Lava Thursday night, there was no apparent talk of A, B or C crowds, or any club’s responsibility to Midtown. Perhaps the people in the blue-tinted lounge or packing the dimly lit basement dancefloor at 2 a.m. are extolling the virtues of Nomenclature, though they appear more concerned with writhing than eulogizing. As for the DJs, they express a sense of loss, but also an optimism about their event’s future.
“We started DJing at Nomenclature because all the people we wanted to be around and play for were there,” says Kevin O. “Nomenclature was one of the few places certain types of underground dance music were given a chance. A night could be established, and people would respect and support it.”
“As for Hustler,” says J-Luv, “Nomenclature helped define it. Now we’re going to refine it. Things are different, people are older, but wherever Hustler ends up, there will always be a place for sultry underground house music and debauchery.”
Hopefully something similar will be said of Midtown.
tony.ware@creativeloafing.com
With Nomenclature shut down and undergoing renovations that will transform it into a cigar/martini lounge, a “Hustler at Lava” banner swayed from the club’s red brick facade, redirecting revelers to a nearby club. Told of the club’s immediate demise only the night before, Kevin O and J-Luv were forced to make a backup plan, abandoning the venue that had pioneered the 11th Street/Crescent Avenue club district since opening back in 1997.
Nomenclature Museum was the first of numerous funkily renovated bungalows, including the Leopard Lounge, Cosmopolitan and Lava. It was a house located at the solitary end of a long block, and appropriately, it hosted a deep-house party and catered to the fringe elements of the surrounding nightlife scene.
“Even in the business plan it said we wanted art shows, drag performances, etcetera,” says former co-owner Scott Pohl. “We were very influenced by everywhere from Studio 54 to the original MJQ. We wanted intimate rooms where people could have headspace but would be forced to interact. Our goal was appealing to the true underground that appreciated local artists and DJs, not just drinking and hooking up.
“When we were doing research, I read an article by [notorious New York club kid/ promoter] Michael Alig,” continues Pohl, “who talked about the A, B and C crowds. We realized we were getting the C crowd around 2000, and soon so many clubs opened it affected business dramatically, which is when we started fighting to keep our A crowd. That’s when we had Studio Filthy Whore, Porno XXX, all those crazy theme parties. And that’s about when Kevin O, J-Luv and Dwayne [Walters] proposed Hustler, which fit the anything-goes vibe.”
“There was some funk up in those crevices,” says Trina Trice, who has written about nightlife for Creative Loafing and other local publications. “Along with Kaya in its heyday and MJQ, Nomenclature Museum was one of only three truly underground clubs, a haven for eclecticism — drag queens, an alternative gay crowd, club kids, service-industry people — real irregular regulars. Now Midtown offers plenty of places people can be, but one less place people can go be themselves. Midtown is becoming more commercial, less about community.”
“Outside of MJQ, Nomenclature provided one of the first and finest departures from the norm,” says Byron Burroughs, former manager at Crescent Avenue club eleven50. “Nomenclature took more risks than anyone; Hustler, Booty Bump, Studio Filthy Whore — all those parties had a nice seedy underground aspect. People would be there that you wouldn’t see anywhere else on Crescent Avenue, regardless of talent draw. I feel Crescent Avenue will go through a resurgence but it will depend on operators respecting and offering a variety of identities.”
At Lava Thursday night, there was no apparent talk of A, B or C crowds, or any club’s responsibility to Midtown. Perhaps the people in the blue-tinted lounge or packing the dimly lit basement dancefloor at 2 a.m. are extolling the virtues of Nomenclature, though they appear more concerned with writhing than eulogizing. As for the DJs, they express a sense of loss, but also an optimism about their event’s future.
“We started DJing at Nomenclature because all the people we wanted to be around and play for were there,” says Kevin O. “Nomenclature was one of the few places certain types of underground dance music were given a chance. A night could be established, and people would respect and support it.”
“As for Hustler,” says J-Luv, “Nomenclature helped define it. Now we’re going to refine it. Things are different, people are older, but wherever Hustler ends up, there will always be a place for sultry underground house music and debauchery.”
Hopefully something similar will be said of Midtown.
tony.ware@creativeloafing.com