3 Hours at Amanda's Big Top
By John Russell
(Photo courtesy of Carnival NYC)
My friends and I are at pre-gaming at Phoenix, and I’m already really psyched. In, like, 30 minutes we’re heading over to University and 13th for Amanda Lepore’s new-ish party, Big Top. The space, Carnival, is on the top floor of Bowlmore Lanes, and it’s usually home to birthday parties and bar mitzvahs. I’ve seen pictures. It looks like a giant Chuck E Cheese, or the Pleasure Island scene from Pinocchio. Or a less douchey Dave and Buster’s. I don’t know why I’m so psyched about this party, but I am. Really, really psyched!
At the door, there’s the usual lady boy club kid doorperson—which is odd because there’s no cover and no list. We opt to walk up five flights of stair to Carnival, and take a moment to catch our breath before entering through the revolving doors.
Inside it’s exactly like I’d expected. There are carnie games, and bags of cotton candy behind the bar. Strings of lights are strung up to the middle of the ceiling, creating a circus tent in the main room. Porn stud Jake Deckard, wielding a giant mallet, mans one of those high striker games where you hit a lever and try to ring the bell at the top of the tower—what the hell is that called? Amanda’s running around in next to nothing: a black bustier, stockings and a blond Afro. Disappointingly, the place doesn’t seem to have Whack-a-Mole. I was really hoping they’d have Whack-a-Mole.
I grab a drink from my favorite bartender in all of New York and follow my friends into the giant clown’s mouth that leads to the Funhouse room, where the real dance floor is. DJ Michael Magnan is spinning. Ladyfag is holding court. The city’s cutest party boys—the ones you see at Family Function and Spank and downstairs at Vandam—are gulping down cocktails on the light up banquettes. It’s definitely a scene. And I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t just hang out at the bar all night drooling over Tommy Hotpants.
Another friend shows up and he seems as psyched about Big Top as I still am. Maybe it says something about the state of New York nightlife that it takes a party with this many bells and whistles—literally—to get people excited. And on a Wednesday night!
Back out in the main room, Cazwell is spinning and the go-go boys are shaking their depressingly perfect asses. But the majority of the party seems to have moved into the Funhouse. This room is more for socializing, and there are plenty of cute boys and nightlife glitterati to kiki with. But as it creeps toward 3a.m., my more sensible buddies convince me it’s time to call it a night. I guess that’s the smart thing to do: Leave while you’re still having fun, while you still wanna come back for more.
Amanda Lepore’s Big Top, Wednesday nights at Carnival, 110 University Pl, 10pm, free.
