Life

158 Bleecker St at Thompson St (212-420-1999)


Subway: A, C, E, B, D, F, Q to W 4th St-Washington Sq. Mon-Wed 10pm-4am, Thu-Sun 10pm-6am.





Life opened in 1996 in Greenwich Village on the former site of the legendary jazz club the Village Gate. In a neighborhood already teeming with bars, the club initially attempted to keep the community happy by playing it safe musically and demographically. Interestingly, though there's plenty of Eurotrash and preppies, you'll often find some surprisingly bohemian and off-the-wall stuff going on here. Thursdays are hip, drawing a beautiful, jaded but decadent downtown crowd, heavy on gay and fashion types. The music is a blend of underground vocal and instrumental house, while the VIP lounge (and pretty much everyone is a VIP on this night) features classics of all kinds--disco one week, new wave the next. Boy's Life on Sundays caters to gay gym-bunnies. Wednesday night is also very hot at the moment, drawing a mixed-to-queer crowd into glam rock, punk and posing; meanwhile, young mod types dance to Britpop and '60s soul, while an underground house party in the club's Sullivan Street Room draws a mix of music-industry types and the hard-core dance crowd. Depending on the night, you may not get in unless you're dressed up or are looking particularly stylish.