Tonight was the eve of Stephen Bauer's birthday and he celebrated it by
working. Times are tough for Millennials. And the city is lousy with them, like
third class passengers swarming the deck of the Titanic now that all the boats
are away. You can't stand still for a minute or twice as many will take your seat
for half the money.
Lately he has been DJing on Friday nights at Vlada, a
familiar vodka repository in Hell's Kitchen. On my most recent visits, the bar has
felt less like a gay hot spot and more like a well-kept secret. Uh, me too! Let
me tell you: nothing feels better than having the hollow echo of an empty bar
mirror your own existence. But in Stephen’s defense, this is my first time
there on a night he was working and the crowd was squeezed as tightly around
him as the sleeves of his joyously clingy t-shirt.
