Blogging on Meds

The man who saved The Box. Christian Alexander at left ripping shirt. And in bandana with Kanye…

Haters so want to desecrate The oh-so-glorious Box. But even NYC’s finest PHD (Player Hater Degree) holder, Gawker, admits the downfall of The Box means more trance at Mansion.

Supposedly, The Box is broke and can’t afford lawyers. I’ve not heard such things. In fact, I keep hearing about Snoop Dog performances, free mushrooms at the tables, NAS looking at titties, bikini girls in the face, and so on from my neighbor and friends. Even Gawker’s EIC/founder Nick Denton agrees The Box still rox:

The economics of The Box—the venue is intimate and the acts expensive—have forced the owners to allow in more high-spending bankers than consistent with the club’s celebrity cachet. Predictably, Manhattan’s lemming-like press, Gawker included, has been quick to declare the club over.

However, the gleeful criticism misses one point: the shows at The Box, which range from sexy burlesque to gross-out tranny acts, give the venue an energy that’s lacking elsewhere. (Mos Def gave an impromptu performance the other night.) Even on lackluster nights, it’s enjoyable—as one Gawker writer, who admits to being “knee-jerk snarky” when writing about the club, found to her surprise. If The Box’s pricey proposition forces it to scale back, Manhattan nightlife will be the poorer. The club’s critics deserve to be chained to the speakers at Mansion. Then they’ll be sorry.

There’s a few reasons why The Box continues to rule. First, owners Simon Hammerstein (grandson of South Pacific’s Rodgers and Hammer…) and Richard Kimmel (Wooster Group alum) actually know theater, and they’re show is still fun.

Second, after Box owner Cordell Lochin was sent to jail for drug trafficking, they hired in his place the one and only Christian Alexander. A true gentleman of leisure, Christian is also a borderline thug. He brings to The Box something that that the downtown club scene severely lacks—the hood. For every banker, Christian brings in a criminal, rapper, all out party girl, model etc. He’s not a promoter solely in nightlife for cash and women either. No. He not only hosts the party, Christian Alexander is the party. The guy’s had multiple 40-day long parties in 2008 alone!

Finally, The Box is still cool because you can walk to it from Soho, LES, East Village, Tribeca, West Village, Chinatown, and even Williamsburg. There’s no other place in a central downtown location where you can see celebs hanging with your pot dealer while on stage can-can girls dance around someone shoving dildos up butts.