THE LATEST NEWS AND NIGHTS, 2009

WHERE'S JOHNNY? THE MIDSUMMER NIGHT REPORT

Just two more days and it will be LEO TIME - Johnny's birthday sign, as well as his ladywife CHI CHI and a pride of nightclub folks. Not sure what it is about the showy sign that draws so many to club life, and its stages and go-go boxes specifically, but lions abound! Like so many Leos we know, Johnny will spend most of his birthday month "working" - i.e. playing music he loves for the hometown crowd. Here is his summer schedule, and first news of LOW LIFE 3: VIPER MAD at this year's HOWL Festival, coming Labor Day Sunday.

As always, thank you for dancing!

EVERY FRIDAY
GARY 49 @ MR. BLACK
251 WEST 30TH STREET NYC
FROM 10 PM
$10 COVER TILL 2 AM/ $15 AFTER 2)
mrblacknyc.com

GARY 49 DJ resident JOHNNY DYNELL makes each Friday a dancer's dream, playing new mixes and beats on a superb sound system till 6 AM at MR. BLACK. Eclectic guest spinners including PETER RAUHOFER, ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE, JD SAMPSON and founding DJ SAMMY JO join Dynell each week, with fabulous lights by SCOTT LaROCK. The weekly also features hosts including DREW, MACKY and AIMEE PHILLIPS (THE TRINITY) and LADYFAG, door goddesses CONNIE GIRL FLEMING and ROZE, strong drinks, and infamous cocktail servers including WRESTLE BOY and BLACK EDDIE.

If you feel like drifting during the night to an alternate reality MR. BLACK Fridays also host the Chandelier Room's I (HEART) NY with DJs CAZWELL and ZAC POSSE, and hosts including Visual Artist AMANDA LEPORE, TAMMIKO and JONATHAN LEDEE. Every week also features an open vodka bar from 10:30 - 11:30 PM - one more reason to come out early!

EVERY SUNDAY
SUSANNE BARTSCH AND KENNY KENNY PRESENT
VANDAM SUNDAYS @ GREENHOUSE
150 VARICK STREET @ VANDAM
FROM 10 PM
COMP DOOR
myspace.com/susannebartsch

Downtown Divas extraordinaire SUSANNE BARTSCH and KENNY KENNY are ruling Sunday nights and providing a dressed-up night out for their faithful followers and new acolytes alike. This weekly is wildly popular and insanely well-dressed in the most CREATIVE way. It's also FREE, so what are you waiting for?

With DJ JOHNNY DYNELL rocking the dancefloor, fabulous tableau and more from DIRTY MARTINI, AJOSHUA and CHUCK ATTIX upstairs, visually stunning guest performers weekly and a downstairs level helmed by DESI MONSTER and LADYFAG, Glam Valkyrie CYNTHIA rules the door, and each week begins with complimentary cocktails till 11:00. We've seen nightclub legends and New Kids from all different eras out at this one - which practically guarantees that you'll see friends on any given Sunday.

EVERY WEDNESDAY
SHERRY VINE + EPIPHANY PRESENT
THE BLONDE LEADING THE BLONDE
VLADA
331 W 51 STREET NYC
FROM 10 PM
NO COVER
vladalounge.com

If your idea of a perfect weeknight includes legendary NYC dragstars belting it out to a "gayla" audience, this popular Wednesday in Hell's Kitchen is well worth a visit. Local drag royalty SHERRY VINE and EPIPHANY present an evening of cabaret and VERY live vocals, covering songs from old school to new skool, Broadway and torch. There's lots of comedy, and before, during and after the shows DJ JOHNNY DYNELL hams it up on the decks. Shows at 10pm and 11pm.

JOHNNY MAKES BUBBLES
THE BUBBLE LOUNGE
228 WEST BROADWAY
FROM 9 PM THURSDAYS, 10 PM SATURDAYS
NO COVER
bubblelounge.com

It's a treat to hear great NYC club DJs like JOHNNY DYNELL, JON JON BATTLES and STEVE TRAVOLTA spin in a more intimate, civilized setting every once in a while. If you also enjoy sipping from New York City's most impressive selection of bubblies, stop in to this Tribeca mainstay on Thursdays for the club's TINY BUBBLES DJ series. Its a perfect place to bring the boys (or girls) for a round or a bottle of champers and some dancing, and has a marvelously mixed crowd - gay, straight, local, tourist, etc. and even the local firemen from the "Ghostbusters" firehouse are known to stop by after work! Catch DJ JOHNNY DYNELL on Thursday 7/23 at TINY BUBBLES - and also look out for Saturdays 7/25 and 8/1, when Dynell mans the decks from 10 PM - 2 AM.

OTHER NEWS

HOWL! FESTIVAL AND THE JACKIE FACTORY PRESENT
LOW LIFE 3: VIPER MAD
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2009
5-7 PM, FREE ADMISSION
TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK, NYC
mothernyc.com/lowlife
howlfestival.com

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF BRILLIANT BOWERY PERFORMANCE

On September 6, JACKIE FACTORY producers CHI CHI VALENTI and JOHNNY DYNELL will present their third annual LOW LIFE to crown this year's HOWL! FESTIVAL. LOW LIFE is a "Howlucination" created by the JACKIE FACTORY as an evening climax for HOWL! - a two hour theatrical showcasing the East Village - and especially, The Bowery, in a lavishly costumed production starring dozens of downtown's finest. This year's edition - LOW LIFE 3: VIPER MAD - is inspired by the early 20th century "viper" culture shared by downtown (and Harlem) jazzmen and hipsters, the opium dens of nearby Chinatown and other Olde New York drug cultures. The rich repertoire of "Viper Songs" popularized by CAB CALLOWAY, FATS WALLER and dozens of ensembles through the 20s, 30s and 40s will be interpreted in dance numbers, vocal and musical performances, burlesque and drag renderings. A time-traveling, bawdy and witty cavalcade of talent, this show is definatly not recommended for children!

This year's cast is still being assembled and will be announced on August 1. Early confirmations include MC PAUL ALEXANDER (of "The Ones"), burlesque treasures DIRTY MARTINI and JONNY PORKPIE and NASTY CANASTA of PINCHBOTTOM BURLESQUE, New Bowery crooner ADAM DUGAS, butoh ensemble VANGELINE THEATER (who will reprise their "Butoh Brothel: St. Louis Woman" for this special edition), sensationalist AMBER RAY, drag sister act ACID BETTY and EPIPHANY, reefer striptease by MISS MELODY SWEETS, and HEATHER LITTEER aka JESSICA RABBIT DOMINATION as The Viper Vamp.

Dress Up and join us in the park! Wear NYC demimonde evening effects (1860-2010), Viper Glamour, Ragtime Rags, Cab Calloway effects for Butch Women, corsets and vintage lingerie, Opium Den loungewear, Gangs of New York, Reefer motifs, First Avenue Flapper, Top Hats or Bowery Punk.

The LOW LIFE events were inspired by the seminal LUC SANTE book "LOW LIFE: The Lures and Snares of Old New York." LOW LIFE continues a body of work born at JACKIE 60 a decade ago, with past editions in London, Minneapolis and of course, the 2007 and 2008 HOWL! Festivals. For the show's producers, East Village residents for over two decades, this annual show is a Valentine to the neighborhood's past, present and future stars.

THE HOWL! FESTIVAL was named in honor of the groundbreaking poem by ALLEN GINSBERG and began in 2002. HOWL celebrates the East Village and Lower East Side's role as a preeminent locus of culture, with signature events like the group reading of HOWL and ART AROUND THE PARK. Centered in Tompkins Square Park, the festival attracts more than 100,000 visitors bringing to the clubs, galleries, parks, streets, and theaters of Manhattan's Lower East Side. Summer 2009 marks the addition of HOWL! HELP, a year-round emergency assistance/health fund for East Village/Loisaida artists of all eras and disciplines.

PHOTO: Johnny poses backstage with Gothic Prince VOLTAIRE (left) at last year's LOW LIFE @ HOWL! More photos at the LOW LIFE @ HOWL 2008 set on FLICKR

SUBSCRIBE to WHERE'S JOHNNY, his twice-monthly DJ NEWSLETTER