First Fridays

Every first Friday of the month, the Guggenheim hosts a little get together known as, simply, first Fridays. Sitting at home in Vancouver I remember reading about these parties and thinking how fun it would be to have a chance to go. Now that I live here, it's much more convenient. First Fridays are $25 a ticket and run from 9 pm to 1am, and with that long a spread, George and I figured we'd be right on time if we arrived at 11 to see the crowd, grab a drink, catch the end of the Nouvelle Vague show, and call it a night. Boy were we wrong.

Suffering through a line that snaked around the building and down the block were bankers, hipsters, upper east side society gals and a few youngsters hoping to grab a drink without showing ID. Standing in line has never been my cup of tea, so we headed over to the smoking area near the entrance to suss out the situation. As I befriended an art handler, George chatted with a lonesome fellow who looked like he was at the Guggenheim for the chicks. Turns out the Guggenheim security guards monitor entrance to the party by hand stamp, and not very good ones. Pulling out a pen and putting his artistic skills to good use, George was able to smudge a knock off on both of our hands. On our way in, we didn't even get a second glance.

Once inside, it was mayhem. Nouvelle Vague was finishing up a set, the 20 to 30 something set lined the rotunda, and the noise was close to deafening. We quickly grabbed some cocktails (mine at 9$ a pop) and headed up to see some of the works in the summer show "The Shapes of Space." My personal fave was the disco light room, not much if a piece but so much fun to dance on!!! As far as exhibitions go though, this one is pretty flat, and that's with the help of bubbly drinks. One of the best things about not having to pay for a show, is not feeling guilty when you leave after only being there for an hour. Will I be back for another "First Friday?"...maybe, as long as they don't change their door policy.....