Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Hot Chicks Room lives on!

Last night, as we noted, the Upright Citizens Brigade opened its East Village outpost (dubbed UCBeast) on Avenue A at East Third Street.

So we stopped by to see what was what. And, on the wall in the bar area, in plain view of everyone walking to and from church, school (think of the children!), the leper colony...


The Hot Chicks Room lives!

Well, the sign is a nod to a UCB skit. (Watch it here.) As you're probably painfully aware from this past March, a concerned resident was ready to circulate a petition to have the "Hot Chicks Room" sign removed from above the doorway on Avenue A. As the resident said: "I just find it, for this neighborhood, very inappropriate and repulsive."

[The sign BEFORE UCB removed it]

And eventually the UCBers removed the sign. In a ceremony, UCB alum Amy Poehler, presented the sign to Earth Matter on Governors Island, where the sign is presumably now offending a compost learning center.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Your 'Hot Chicks Room' sign update

[Updated] Resident starting a petition to have the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign removed at the Upright Citizens Brigade (47 comments)

Breaking: UCB will remove the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign!

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

AGAIN, it seems that it was rare that people thought it was "innapropriate and offensive".

More than anything else it is sp annoying, fratty and specific. It is corny and lame.

Anonymous said...

It's a reference to a sketch. There is nothing fratty about it. It's meant to be ironic. Aren't you guys experts on that?

blue glass said...

the hot chicks room sign IS "innapropriate and offensive". that does not mean that the skit was not funny.

the place will draw those under-age loud thoughtless NYU type guys buying beer from the deli that does not card them. they will then yell and puke all over our neighborhood.
that is the problem with the sign and what it represents.

Anonymous said...

Only an ugly feminist would be offended by the term 'hot chick.'

This town needs an enema!

Anonymous said...

"the place will draw those under-age loud thoughtless NYU type guys buying beer from the deli that does not card them."

Um, shouldn't your complaint be with the deli and not the UCBeast?

Hot Chick said...

I hate to break it to you, Blue Glass, but your neighborhood is crawling with NYU types already. They don't need another reason to come to the EV, and UCBeast won't be giving them another one anyway. You have a problem with puking kids, take it up with Hop Devil Grill and Coyote Ugly.

If you want an idea of what kind of crowd the UCBeast will draw, come to the first show tonight, Outlook of the Poet and Two-Man Movie at 7:30. 5 of the funniest guys in the city right now. It's the theater's first live show, and not only will your presence increase the ratio of enlightened East Villagers in the crowd, you will get an idea of what kind of people will be attending the theater for the foreseeable future. You might even like the show. I'll comp you. Leave a reply here, Blue Glass, and I'll make sure there's a ticket with your name on it.

I'll gladly pay $5 to give you a idea of what the theater (and its audience) is actually about. You and I can laugh together at some of the best comedy happening in the country right now. Maybe you'll agree that having a well-respected comedy venue in your neighborhood is better for the EV than an abandoned movie theater.

Or you can stay home and refuse having any context for the anonymous xenophobia you're spreading on here.

blue glass said...

bad taste has nothing to do with age or looks.
just the stupid folks (mostly young men) that will be drawn by the sign.

i would complain about the deli only i don't know which one(s?) the three frat boys were discussing when they were sharing who sells to under-age guys like them, and how great that was.

Anonymous said...

The sign* might draw a stupid person or two, but once they look inside and see a bunch of comedy nerds drinking microbrews, they'll move on.

Should we blame the UCBeast for making those people wander the neighborhood looking for a real frat bar?

Get the pitchforks and torches!

*Also, let's remember that the sign has been taken down. The words painted behind the bar aren't likely to confuse anyone who can read an awning.

blue glass said...

if you had bothered to read my post i did say i thought the show funny (from the link provided).
that does not mean that the name is ok. especially here with all the stupid frat boys (and girls) that take up space here.
do we need more of them?
and - hot chick - i have considered attending a show one day. not because you offer a comp but because i like funny shows.

those of us that live here on a permanent basis care about what is happening to our neighborhood and we would appreciate it if those coming here to play and or live would show a little respect to our neighborhood.

contrary to some public opinion this is not a college campus or open air club/mad house.

Anonymous said...

UCB: CORNY CORNY CORNY. Always.

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

Talk about beating a dead bishop.

Alanna said...

Get ready for a mile-long line of soaked cargo shorts.

Roger_Paw said...

I like how UCB's defender's are Anonymous or recently made-up identities. Anyway, quick question; in the first photo.. are those puke buckets to get distributed for the audience while watching the performances?

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

I'm not anonymous and I hope UCB's opening night is a huge success.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for being so accepting, everyone!

UCBeast will do terrific business with or without you.

On an unrelated note, NYU has been next door to the EV for over a century longer than any of you have lived there. You chose to live near a university, not the other way around.

Enjoy continuing to alienate yourselves from your fellow New Yorkers!

AC said...

"UCBeast will do terrific business with or without you."

Without us? Without local residents? Then that would mean your target audience is the weekend B&T crowd?

Anonymous said...

At least its not a bank HAHA HAHAHAHAHA AAHAHAHA

sorry.

Jeremy said...

Well said, anon 7:04.

AC - he means with or without "you"..."you" being the 4 or 5 people that are complaining about the UCB opening. He doesn't mean the East Village.

Hey19 said...

Im with Ken, but Ill go farther, I even plan to go some time and check it out, always almost puked from laughter at the original location.

Cant remember seeing a frat boy or a pair of cargo shorts in the audience there either. Just a bunch of sketch comedy nerds, if Frats went there it would be to beat up these guys.

Anonymous said...

With or without a handful of trolling, isolationistic, misinformed East Villagers who would rather have the empty, gated shell of the Pioneer Theater on Ave A than a world-class independent comedy theater. Trust me, you are in the extreme minority.

"Local residents" are the target audience, yes. And don't worry - they'll be there 7 nights a week.

Anonymous said...

If you live in the EV and don't like well-meaning, local, independent, artistic businesses moving into your neighborhood, you have made a serious error in your choice of real estate.

Lux Living said...

God, give this place a chance before throwing it in the gallows.

blue glass said...

Anon 4:04pm "NYU has been next door to the EV for over a century longer than any of you have lived there. You chose to live near a university, not the other way around."
now they are more then "next door" to the east village. NYU and NYU-wanna-be cooper union, are turning the EV into their real estate holdings/campus/dorm/party space.
yes, NYU was here, next to the EV before i was - actually they were in the WEST village. i can't remember where they were over here in the east at the time. i do remember that our neighborhood was considered "unsafe for their students" when i moved here. then NYU was merely a university, not a monolithic real estate grabbing destroyer of neighborhoods. i did not move in next to a university. i moved into one of the only neighborhoods i could afford.
but this is not an NYU issue.

nobody wishes UCbeast anything but success. however, their disdain of the neighborhood and their unnecessary defense of a stupid sign makes me wonder why they protest so much.

Lux Living said...

If, in 2011, someone finds a sign that reads "hot chicks" offensive, they are in the wrong neighborhood! This is the neighborhood that spawned Kembra Phaler, Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch, David Wojnarowicz, Penny Arcade, Jack Smith, John Vacarro, etc. who all fucked with the status quo in their own way and people have their panties in a bunch over "hot chicks" ??? Get over yourselves!

Anonymous said...

Lux, you fuck, once again, the sign isn't "offensive" in the way that you are thinking.

Lux Living said...

That's what the argument was when the sign went up. Is it "offensive" in a subversive way?

Marty Wombacher said...

This thread is so hot.

EV Grieve said...

@ Marty

That comment offends me

Lux Living said...

I wish there was some comic relief in this hood!

Marty Wombacher said...

@EV Grieve: Sorry, but just like the Pointer Sisters (all hot chicks) I'm so excited!

Anonymous said...

Facts:

* The sketch is not funny. No, it isn't. NO, it ISN'T. It is corny.

* Petitions are also corny.

* The pay-for-play UCB calling themselves "some of the best comedy happening in the country right now" is laughably self-serving (and delusional, if "ugly feminists" is any indication), but I wish them success anyway, because who wants empty real estate, although I miss the Pioneer.

* Comparing the UCB to Lydia fucking Lunch is beyond preposterous.

* Everyone basically got what they wanted, so can we move on now?

Anonymous said...

I can only assume that all these anons using the word "corny" are the same person, since I refuse to believe there is more than one person with such a stubbornly ridiculous definition of it.

Your sense of humor regarding that sketch - or anything, for that matter - is no more objective than anyone else's. Arguing your opinion as if it is fact is meaningless.

The UCB isn't pay for play. Nobody pays to perform there. That's a completely ignorant statement.

Anonymous said...

11:04, this is 10:33. That was my first and only comment in the thread, although there have been many -- too many -- UCB threads here, and "corny" is used liberally through them all in regard to the so-called legendary Hot Chicks sketch. Why? Because it is the absolute perfect descriptor of that fremdscham-inducing, powerfully unfunny sketch.

As for pay-for-play, come on. People pay to learn comedy (er ...) and take classes there ... these people become UCB performers. It's an ouroboros, a snake eating its tail, a power strip plugged into itself.

annnnd now I have wasted some of my best vocab on the UCB. I need fresh air.

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

None of the "facts" that Anonymous @10:33 has laid out are verifiable. But her suggestion to "move on now" sure has a lot of merit.

Lux Living said...

I did not compare the UCB to Lydia Lunch. Anonymous #4271, I'll type slower so you can follow along.

At one point this neighborhood was synonymous with a wide variety of artists and generally creative people. Steve Buscemi did standup at the Pyramid and King Tut's Wah-Wah Hut. Comedy is not new to the East Village.

Let me know if you need a PowerPoint presentation.

Anonymous said...

Feel all the fremdschämen you like, 11:34, Amy's doing fine.

Some UCB teams are comprised of former students. Other performers are teachers, others professional comedians who have never taken classes, and still others invited guests. None of them pay to perform. You cannot get a show at the theater by renting a timeslot.

If you don't like UCB, 11:34, don't come, although I suggest you check it out, since you insist on having very strong opinions about it and seem to know very, very little. I think we can all agree there's a lot of art in this city not worth patronizing, but it doesn't make me want to insult a group of people online for bringing it to my neighborhood, especially since all of US seem to be excited and optimistic to be bringing a theater to your terrific neighborhood.

Thanks for your actual support, Ken, and thanks for your sound advice. I sincerely hope that the few of us bickering about this here are a minority in what will be a positive experience for everyone involved.

Anonymous said...

Lux Living, I don't need a history lesson, so dial back the condescension, please. Your original point was that people who live in a neighborhood that famously spawned artists of the subversive variety are silly to be offended by "Hot Chicks." My point is that the creators of "Hot Chicks" may be artists, but seemingly of the corny variety, and thus should not be compared to outlaw goddesses like Lunch. Do you honestly believe that "Hot Chicks" (the sign OR the sketch) "fuck[s] with the status quo"? Because that is basically what you suggested.

12:34, Amy Poehler is brilliant but even she can't save that sketch. I honestly hope you much success, though. I'm still allowed to not like your sign or your comedy, OK? (And I do know a bit about UCB as I had a friend who regularly performed at the one on 26th Street, this is where most of my opinions were formed.) I don't want the UCBeast to fail. I just like to roll my eyes on the Internet. But I am sorry for insulting you/UCB, I admit that was uncool, and I'll stop now. Points for the umlaut, btw.

Seriously, everyone got their way -- moving on now!

Anonymous said...

Hello. Not sure what this is all about but Just please control your crowds on the sidewalk, please. I walked by last night and it was impossible to walk by. The particular people didn't annoy me, OK? But the amount of people standing in the middle of the sidewalk while I'm walking home with groceries is not okay. Thank you for your help.

Laura Goggin Photography said...

I hope UCB can turn these posts into a sketch..

Lux Living said...

@Goggla Me too though good luck conveying rants from 1 person pretending to be 40 people named Anonymous. It's better than that stupid movie Catfish!

Crazy Eddie said...

Lines, lines, everywhere there's lines, blocking out the scenery, breakin' my mind!

bi*ot said...

Self-aware enough to censor your slur but not self-aware enough not to use one?

You're a real peach, 5:03.

A real, homophobic, reprehensible, disgusting peach.

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

Anonymous @ 4:48 AM

I suspect that UCB East will work out the kinks as time goes on, including crowd control and entrance issues.

In the meantime, here's a pretty good rule of thumb for getting along with civilized people in 2011 (and beyond): don't be surprised when they get in your face for using offensive terms for gays unless you yourself are gay. Likewise with offensive terms for blacks, Jews, Italians, etc unless you happen to be black, Jewish, Italian, etc.

You probably already know that and would never use the word in front of your "gay sister and your few great gay friends," but thought you could get away with it here because you're anonymous. So go NEXT! yourself.