Alegria Xtreme 9: Nocturnal Homecoming

There are some nights that make you feel so damn proud for being a New Yorker-and for being gay in New York. Some nights that make you so happy to be partying in New York-and some parties that make you know you're part of something historic and great. That's how it felt to be at Alegria Xtreme 9, the ninth incarnation of Ric Sena's annual Black Party weekend closer.

This year the party returned to 530 West 28th Street, to what was once known as Crobar, one of Alegria's more beloved homes-and the night was nothing short of an Alegria alumni reunion, as well as a rebirth and a re-invention.

For starters, the former Crobar has rarely looked better (and particularly after its dowdy incarnation as Studio Mezmor). Now called M2 Ultra Lounge (and apparently no longer affiliated with Mansion/Opium Group), the club has transformed itself back into a stellar combo of glam, glitz, and superior light and sound, an amalgam of the best nightspots of Vegas and South Beach, with Dale Chihuly-like glass sculptures, sea anemone chandeliers, flocked wallpaper, paisley banquettes, leopard carpets, and enough red velvet to Christo-cover the Empire State.

With the addition of Sena's stellar Terminator-style set design of hard-edged urban scrims and graffiti'ed subway doors, the club became an homage to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner-complete with a packed floor of replicants and mutants in every size, color, and shape. Or as circuit royalty Nurse declared, All the lovable lunatics from New York and beyond.

And indeed, it felt as if everyone had returned to one of Alegria's most popular annual events-not only to celebrate Black Party, but also circuit maestro Abel's b'day. Right from the start, the man was intoxicating, throwing down a thrilling combination of deep vocal groove and bang-up booty beats that had people all around the room exclaiming in joy.

One friend declared, "He got some last night-and how!-because he's never been better." Whatever the reason (and the man certainly has plenty good reason to be happy), Abel played this party with such devotion and passion, with such ferocity and precision, that to witness it, to be a part of it, was to feel he had a jumper cable to your heart and soul that kept you electrified all night and morning long.

An Alegria alumni reunion-as well as a rebirth and a re-invention

In short, this party was the divine distillation of celebratory: a celebration of our pagan rituals, and of the vernal equinox, and of the aforementioned birthday-and perhaps most of all, a celebration of the Alegria family. There was the gaggle of gorgeous Alegria bartenders, from Mr. January right through to Mr. December, and a radiant Ross Berger on lights, and DJ Escape with his lovely lady, and sinful DJ Sin Morera, and DJ Twisted Dee, and DJ Eddie Elias, fresh off his Black Party success from the night before, and DJ Paulo (anticipating his own turn at the Alegria helm for