The Happy Hour Show With Leslie And Tori Launch Party, Vlada, New York
October 21, 2008
See what you people make me do? I get all self-conscious about
actually mentioning the name of a show because of complaints about cocktail wieners. Well, that -- and the fact that someone's soup-Nazi spam filter bounced Just An Online Minute because of the
presence of the word "totally," made me think twice about slapping the Itchy B up there in the headline. Today I'm hitting you with some good old-fashioned, starting-at-the-bottom, online
radio show launch party action. What radio show do I speak of? Well it's none other than "The Happy Hour Show with Leslie and Tori." And if you know me, and I think you do, any
happy hour that starts at 2 p.m. is a happy one indeed.
Fresh
from finally getting through the 100+ photos from OMMA Global New York, I exited the MediaPost offices on Broadway to grab the NR uptown to 49St. The launch party was at Vlada on
51st between 8th and 9th Aves. Yes, the West Side again. Le sigh. I skipped lunch so I had to shove a Jamaican Jerk Blockheads burrito into my mouth
before making myself visible. The Happy Hour show boasts a predominantly gay male fan base, so it makes sense that the launch party would be at gay embracing (peep the reviews) Russian swanky Vlada, a dark and cozy lounge with my favorite detail: the lined-with-blue-track-lighting ice bar. Yup, the elbow
holder itself is aluminum or something, but the moat just in front of the taps is a long white strip of sprinkly ice. When you poke at it and make smiley faces in it, like a freezing Zen garden,
it eventually regenerates... as if you were never there. Ah, if only we could do that with our college years.
The cozy lighting, the sleek and chilly bar, and the dangerously delicious infused vodka (horseradish!) tanks made me wonder why so many other bars
in Manhattan go the frat goon route. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Let's talk about The Happy Hour show, shall we? It's hosted by the lovably bawdy duo of Leslie
Rasimas and Tori Scott (who closed the launch with her cabaret act "The Bitch is Back" complete with um...safe sex balloons and blushable bathhouse rehashing). Both women are overflowing
with opinions, loud personalities, and sailor sass.
This
brings me to my next notable and quotable point (so get your tablet PCs out): People. Love. Swearing. Gay, straight, pink, puce, upside down, or inside out -- people laugh when they're
shocked or embarrassed. These ladies are so funny in person because they're completely uncensored. Their show, which you can find on wtnrradio.com on Tuesdays at 2 p.m., lets you listen
through the wall to that sparky current events flame fest. I'm pulling for a blog section where they give you access to the raw and uncut versions.
So, who was there? I met two nameless fellows upstairs before the 9 p.m.
cabaret who had flown in from Florida and Italy respectively for a surprise trip to New York City. They had never been before, so the whole Vlada situation was completely random.
Hanging at the bar and entertaining me with stories of Ashley Tisdale's and Vanessa Hudgens' enormous brains was Anthony Underwood, Lifestyle Segment Producer, ABC's "Good Morning America."
Further down the bar from us was the always affectionate twosome of Anthony Bendinelli, Account Executive, Taste Caterers and the thick-black-faux-hawked Richard Pando, Sales Manager,
Faconnable boutique. I was pleasantly surprised when Matt Caldecutt, Trylon PR, arrived with Lisa Lacy, writer and (who knew) pie princess who had just left the NYC Tweetup for a
nice dose of cabaret. And of course, we can't forget Ali Matlock, Owner, WTNR Radio, WTNRRadio.com, who actually lets these gals on the air! Well, in the stream... it is the Internet,
after all.
If you happen to tune in, and you should, it's not for
the faint of heart, but it's definitely for the big of humor. Afraid you'll get caught listening at work? No worries, you can find their show for one week after its original live date by
searching on wtnrradio.com for "The Happy Hour With Leslie And Tori" and clicking on the record player (how Web 2.0!) next to the date you missed. After that, search for it on iTunes.
Let's hope they move to video so we can see all the action and get some interactive elements in place. Considering they had a good 40+ people at their VERY soft launch party, if they stick
with it, they could have a pretty good thing going.
Email kelly@mediapost.com your invitations and get covered in Just An Online Minute
like a warm blanket
Check out Vlada's icy bar in the Flickr pics!
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