Night of 1000 Stevies 2008 - "NIGHTBIRDS"

[petep9000]

Its very crowded. I have a little of a 'thing' about being in a crowded mob, so I wind up leaving as soon as the crowd starts to swell. Which is unfortunate, because I miss alot of the good stuff. Like for example, I've never stayed long enough to see the 'Edge' battle. I'm a poor excuse for a nightbird! LOL. I can barely stay up past 2 am now. But still, I may go again. This will be like the 11th year for me. Maybe this year I will meet my One Great Love. If anyone recognizes me, be sure to say "hi". Code word is 'Rock A Little', then I'll know you.

[rhiannonrising]

Im bummed that I wont be performing this year! As it gets closer Im getting more excited for all you guys though. What an amazing time, we always have SO much fun, even when its $9 beer night

I started a flickr group (because there wasnt one, can you believe it?!) for NOTS and other tribute event pics. http://www.flickr.com/groups/nots

GOOD LUCK to everyone performing!!

[notsfan-nola]

My outfit is done and The Night is almost hear ...

I got this schedule on myspace and notice that you are closing the first act Jazmen!!!! I will be there cheering you on - big hair and a dark purple top hat, please say hi if you see me - would love to meet other ledgies and Stevie fans..

here's the show schedule if you want to be there for Jazmen or another fav tribute artist. Also notice there is food this year at the venue - might be to excited to eat but its nice to have the option.

heres the bulletin and see you Friday

NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STEVIES NEWS:
THE NIGHT IS COMING, LESS THAN ONE WEEK AWAY!

Months of planning are about to take flight, as our 18th annual edition, NIGHTBIRDS, takes over the HIGHLINE BALLROOM this Friday, May 9. We share your anticipation and can't wait for you to see this beautiful new venue for The Night, which offers balcony tables, a high and beautiful stage, and even food upstairs for you marathon twirlers. If you are a first-time attendee, you might want to bring a pair of comfortable shoes and check them, especially if you wear (high-heeled) Boots all Summer Long!

For NOTS fanatics and fans of particular performers and acts, here is this year's planned show order. Those of you who join us year after year know that we do go up ON TIME (or very, very close) for Act One, so be sure to complete your costuming in time to see all of your favorites.

Act One (begins 10:30 PM)

Opening number "Nightbirds" choreographed by Julie Atlas Muz and starring The Pixie Harlots and Lauri Hogan, The Divine Grace, The Poetess Brooke Alyson, Prel, Amber Ray, Lizzie Davis, Linda James, Belladonna, Jonny Tingle and Corey Tut, Jazmen Flowers with M.C. Chi Chi Valenti

Act Two (begins at midnight)

The Ho Hos, Charlene Coran, Miss Guy, Gypsy Wild, Adam Joseph, Jessca Rabbit Domination, Billy O, Justin Bond, Basil Twist and Sweetie with M.C. Hattie Hathaway

Act Three (begins at 1:45 AM)

Joey Arias, Hattie Hathaway, Johnny Darling and the PostModern Horror, Sherry Vine, D.D. Sparks, Mistress Formika, Poison Eve (a tribute to Dean Johnson, NOTS Legend), Our Lady J and the Battle of 1000 Stevies with M.C. Chi Chi Valenti

Please note that order within sets may change slightly, but not the sets themselves.

Our DJs play in the following order:

DJ Joel (opening)
Poison Eve (prior to Act One)
Sammy Jo (between Act One and Two)
Craig Spencer (between Act Two and Three, and post-show till 4 AM)

[Enchanted_Stevi]

I would SO go if it wasnt the day before my prom

So I guess I'll be going next year

[vivfox]

NYC DRAG HAPPENINGS

NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STEVIES NEWS THE JACKIE FACTORY NYC PRESENTS NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STEVIES 18: "NIGHTBIRDS" FRIDAY MAY 9, 2008 THE HIGHLINE BALLROOM 431 WEST 16TH STREET NYC DOORS OPEN 9 PM - 4 AM $25 - Advance tickets strongly suggested 18 TO ENTER, 21 TO DRINK (I.D. REQUIRED) BOX OFFICE NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STEVIES is the biggest and best-loved STEVIE NICKS fan event in the world, one of those great New York City nightclub spectacles that spark travel from all around the globe. For this year's 18th annual edition, our largest NOTS stage EVER will host a record number of performers in three sets.


http://technorati.com/posts/%2Bceadh...QBxP%2F%2BE%3D

[vivfox]

Time Out New York / Issue 658 : May, 2008
Old saint Nicks
The beloved Night of a Thousand Stevies reaches the far edge of 17.


By Bruce Tantum


BIG MAC ATTACK The Ho-Hos, click on link to see photo, are among the star attractions at the gigantic Nicks fest.

Photograph: Wilson ChanIt’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when NYC nightlife was dominated by a polysexual, performance-oriented, creative kind of clubbing, at venues such as the Pyramid, Area and Mother. Giuliani and gentrification largely put the kibosh on that world, but there are still a few people fighting the good fight, including Chi Chi Valenti and Johnny Dynell, who ran Mother from 1996 until its closing in 2000. The pair was also the driving force behind the much-missed Jackie 60 affair, which is where Night of a Thousand Stevies—probably the biggest and weirdest Stevie Nicks–Fleetwood Mac tribute party in the world—was born in 1990. On Friday 9, the annual get-together returns for its 18th go-round with performances from Stevie impersonators old and new, including at least one second-generation Nicks knockoff. One mainstay won’t be there, though: Downtown performance icon Dean Johnson, one the event’s earliest participants, passed away last year, and this edition of NOTS is dedicated to his memory.



When you started Night of a Thousand Stevies, did you have any clue what you were getting yourselves into?
Chi Chi Valenti: She turns 60 later this month. We’re almost a third as old as she is! The first time we did it, we looked at it as just another Jackie theme. But even that night, we could tell something was up—it brought in a whole crowd of people that were so much more into Stevie than we were.
Johnny Dynell: No one usually showed up till 11pm or so, but that night we had a line at 9 o’clock, with tambourines and everything.
Valenti: That was the first Jackie party that we realized we should do annually. But back then, we thought that meant maybe three years, tops.

What is it about Stevie Nicks that inspires such devotion?
Dynell: I think it’s because she’s the exact opposite of someone who tries to reinvent herself all the time. She projects such a consistent image that she seems very true to what she is, which can inspire a serious kind of fandom.

Speaking of serious, this year’s venue, Highline Ballroom, is your biggest spot yet.
Valenti: This is like our dream stage. We’ve gone from baby’s breath sewn on ribbons to Broadway flats covered with white-winged doves. We now have facilities for more performers—we have 105 this year—along with things like a big opening number choreographed by Julie Atlas Muz. Even the back of the house is huge.

It’s probably bigger than some of the fronts of the houses you’ve been in.
Dynell: And bigger than some that we’ve live in!

You have a lot of veteran Stevies performing, but I imagine not having Dean Johnson there will be kind of sad.
Valenti: Oh, yeah. He was always the most controversial Stevie. He would happily portray her darker side to what he called the Stepford Stevies. But he loved Stevie, to the point that he named his cat for her.

Is Nicks aware of Night of a Thousand Stevies?
Valenti: Oh, yeah. Apparently she discovered it when she was on an airplane and her steward showed her pictures of him dressed as her in platform boots. She’s commented on it in interviews, and seems very flattered by it. She’s even given us Stevie memorabilia to auction off.
Dynell: On the other hand, Lindsey Buckingham has called us a bunch of freaks. He seems really bothered by it.
Valenti: Oh, that’s just because there’s no Night of a Thousand Lindseys.

Has she ever come to one?
Valenti: We think she may have come in disguise as just another Stevie the last year it was held at Mother. But we can understand why she would never publicly come—it would be pretty overwhelming.

She does seem like the delicate sort.
Dynell: Well, you know that song of hers, “Too Much Love.”
Valenti: Even as a Stevie substitute at these parties, I sometimes feel overwhelmed from too much love. So I can totally empathize.

Night of a Thousand Stevies: Nightbirds is on May 9, 2008.

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/artic...ld-saint-nicks

[michelej1]

By Erika Martinez, New York Post

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05082008...ack_109973.htm

May 8, 2008 -- STEVIE Nicks, the blond whirling dervish of Fleetwood Mac, has a lot of fans. And aside from being rabid about their Stevie, those fans have little in common with each other.

But that won't stop them - preppy jocks, drag queens, suburban hausfraus and gay men clad in leather - from gathering at the HighLine Ballroom tomorrow night to pay homage to the rock icon at the 18th annual "Night of a Thousand Stevies."

Twenty-six Nicks-emulating artists will take the stage and after all the performers are through, the night will culminate in a twirling "Battle of the Stevies."

The kooky concept started in 1990, as a Tuesday night party at Jackie 60, says NOTS founder and club promoter Chi Chi Valenti, where drag queens would dress like their rock goddess.

Over the years, it gained mainstream appeal. "It's crossed into all of these different cultures; mixed racially, ethnically and sexually," says Valenti.

The HighLine will be spruced up for the Stevie-fest with scores of fake birds in a night sky with a low-slung moon. Cloaked fans in big blond wigs and even bigger boots should be commonplace.

Comedic duo Cathy Cervenka and Jill Pangallo, better known as "The HoHos," joined the NOTS lineup in 2000, after they were discovered at a Fleetwood Mac tribute show.

"I am the one who can sing and tries to impersonate Stevie in a more serious fashion," Cervenka explains. "And Jill portrays the crazed, coked-out Stevie of the '80s. "

The pair strive to represent all phases of Nicks' career, from her stellar moments to her cellar moments.

"If you just make fun of her, that won't play at NOTS, your devotion has to shine through," says Cervenka.

One of the many tambourine-toting Stevie devotees debuting at the event is making a 1,630-mile trek from Houston to get her chance in the spotlight.

Brooke Walton, 28, a k a the Poetess Brooke Alyson, grew up listening to Nicks' music and is thrilled she secured a coveted place in the lineup.

"It's so important to me, it's very hard for me to put into words, it brings me to tears," says Walton.

With leather and lace, flowing chiffon gowns and glittery shawls, Night of a Thousand Stevies allows her fans one enchanted evening a year when everyone can be a dreamer, a silly dreamer.

Night of a Thousand Stevies is tomorrow night at 9 at the HighLine Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St.; (212) 414-5994. For more info, log onto mothernyc.com/stevie.

[michelej1]

Next Magazine

http://www.nextmagazine.com/features/1444_1.php

Madonna makes sense, Cher collects a crowd and Bowie is a no-brainer, but Stevie Nicks as a queer icon? You bet! In the hot-today-tired-tomorrow atmosphere of New York clubland, Night of a Thousand Stevies, now in its 17th year (a veritable eternity for a party), continues to be one of the year’s most vibrant nightlife events with fans pouring in from around the country. Todd Stephen’s earlier film Gypsy 83 (before Another Gay Movie) even chronicled misfit fans from Ohio traveling to the event. As a member of Fleetwood Mac and later solo, Nicks wasn’t called the “High Priestess of Rock ’n’ Roll” by Rolling Stone for nothing!

Born as just one of many themed nights at Jackie 60, Chi Chi Valenti and husband DJ Johnny Dynell’s Tuesday night party at the legendary nightspot Mother, the two co- founded the event during what you might call Stevie’s lean years. (And no, we’re not talking about her weight.)

“She was so out at that time,” says Valenti. “She was so far from anyone’s periphery…except the people who just really loved her.”

Valenti got the idea for a Stevie drag night from seeing Nicks on tour in the late ’80s and running into performers like Dean Johnson and Joey Arias at the shows. “I realized that all these really cool, genius drag performers worshipped her!”

From there the party ballooned, attracting celebrities such as Courtney Love, Cyndi Lauper, John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin—even Madonna in ’96—fans from all over the country, as well as some of the fiercest drag queens ever to stamp around a stage in six inch platform boots. That heady mix of fans—Fleetwood frat boys, Stevie lovin’ soccer moms, enchanted trannies, radical faeries—and celebs has made for some memorable moments, like Boy George’s reggae rendition of “Go Your Own Way,” and the time “Page Six” reported that the bathroom lines at Mother were so long that Debbie Harry popped a squat in the hallway and peed right on a Stevie poster.

“There was a year or two that it got…a little too Stevie,” says Dynell. “It was like a little too much of the real Stevie fans being so true to the Stevie image. And we were like, OK, we have to take it back again and make it New York again.”

“Because it is a New York event and that’s really important,” adds Valenti. “There’s always this thing that we try to avoid, which is making it like a karaoke show.”

To that end, Valenti and Dynell book some of downtown’s most dynamic and unexpected performers, setting the stage for way left-field shows like Dirty Martini’s Stevie ballet, Velocity Chyaldd’s striptease to Nicks’s cover of “At Last,” and Cathy Cervenka and Jill Pangallo of the Ho-Hos’ elaborate stage productions—some of which aren’t exactly flattering.

“I think that’s what sets us apart from other fan tribute events,” Valenti says. “We love her and we love the messy moments just as much as the for-publication moments.”

“I think people who come to NOTS expect more,” says Dynell. “They expect performance art as opposed to just somebody lip-synching.”

Although there have never actually been 1,000 Nicks impersonators onstage at once (“I don’t think that’d be possible!” laughs Valenti), this year’s “Edge of Seventeen” anniversary party is taking place in the Maritime Hotel’s super-plush (nay, enchanted) Hiro Ballroom, so at least they’ll all be in same room with no separate dance floor as previous parties have provided. But with performers like Justin Bond, Sherry Vine, Dean Johnson, Sweetie, and the Empress Chi Chi herself, as well as longtime NOTS DJs Poison Eve and Craig Spencer, and a Greek Chorus of Stevie go-gos, where the hell else would you want to be?

As for the future, Valenti says she can’t imagine doing NOTS forever. “I know we’re here for 17. If I had to guess, I would say maybe we’d stop at 20. But I’m just throwing that number out there. Nothing’s been discussed. I think there’ll be an omen and we’ll know it’s time to stop.”

Until then, rock on Gold Dust Woman, and we’ll keep ringin’ like a bell through the night.

[TrueFaith77]

So... what did everyone think? I was there last night. I had a blast. Wish I had taken notes though.

[notsfan-nola]

BEST one yet - i am still twirling The new club was great, you could see the show from everywhere and sound, lights wre awesome. People were really dressd, more than ever.even tho it had poured all day and into night.

some great shows were Jazmen Flowers doin Stand Back, the new girl from Texas, forgot her name, and my favorite at the very end Our lady j sang Has Anyone Ever Written with live keyboard and four gospal singers backing her up.Wow - i had chills. missed the opening act but herd it was off the hook!

[SpyNote]

It was a great night. Lots of great outfits, styles, and performances. My faves were the Ho-Hos and, of course, the one and only Jazmen Flowers.

There was an excellent dance version of Nightbird. Anyone have it to share?

[JazmenFlowers]

thanks to all of you that came out and showed your support. it was an incredible night.

I have lots to share. check out my myspace page as I load pictures as they come in from various sources. in the meantime, here's the video. sorry for the less than spectacular quality.

[Travis]

You did a great job Jazmen - you twirled your ass off

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by Travis

You did a great job Jazmen - you twirled your ass off

thanks. it was so good to see you again.

here are a couple of pictures by my official photographer, Ms. Carrie.

[strandinthewind]

Dynell: On the other hand, Lindsey Buckingham has called us a bunch of freaks. He seems really bothered by it.
Valenti: Oh, that’s just because there’s no Night of a Thousand Lindseys.

The LB's will being shooting steam out of their ears

Jaz - you look and sound magnificent!