Grand Opening - District 36

There has been a lot of noise regarding the club opening of District 36.  Last Saturday, November 20, 2010, the club that is supposed to bring the old vibe back to New York finally opened (note: unfortunately for me, the vibe of the past has passed by me as I was still living in Germany back in those days). While I was planning to go to the opening a friend of mine mentioned that it would not be worth it as club openings are usually very crowded and it might make sense to go another time, when the “opening” dust had settled. After reaching out to other friends, who had already made plans for that night, and debating whether I should go by myself, I eventually decided to take it easy and listen instead to music within the confines of the place I call home. After reading a few postings on Facebook on the night of the opening and after reviewing some message boards on Monday afternoon, I am glad I did not go. The welcoming of District 36 by club goers who went to the grand opening has been lukewarm at best. The reports were mostly along the lines of: “people were standing in non-existent lines for over an hour”,or “the door girl was only interested in letting you in if you wanted to buy a bottle”, or “I didn't mind the yelling pushing people around bouncers that were trying to claim the street property of NYC as their own but what I did not appreciate was that I was yelled at when I tried to politely asked about the names on the list to get into the club”.  Others said that received tickets turned out to be drink tickets and the cover charge was an additional $40 each. While I can definitely understand the frustration of these witnesses, provided all the reports are in fact 100% accurate, I ask myself to how many club openings the attendees went to in the past. As my friend reminded me, rightfully so, grand openings are not the best use of one’s time. I personally believe that District 36 will be a great experience in the weeks to come. Judging by the individuals who are in charge of the venue and who have been organizing events in the past, there is no doubt in my mind that the negative reports from last weekend, will be an exception rather than the rule. Everyone deserves a second chance and so does District 36. As for myself, I will wait a couple of weeks until the time is right and one of my favorite DJs is in town before I jump on the bandwagon. If by that time I will have to wait in non-existent lines for over an hour, or need to buy a bottle to get in, or will be yelled at by the doormen or door girl, or I have to pay $40 in order to get in, believe me, I will be the first to report my experience on Monday morning.