Club Night Review: Fuck the Recession at the Rickshaw Stop

Last Seen: April 8, 2009

Recurring Club Night? Impromptu.

Better than: The Depression.
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Dedicated to the art of living cheaply, Stuart Schuffman (better known as "Broke-Ass Stuart") cordially brought you free booze, a myriad of DIY crafts, and a couple of musical acts last Wednesday night.

While shallow pockets are becoming the status quo, author, established broke-ass and budget connoisseur Schuffman hosted a party to help alleviate those broke-ass blues. For the $5 cover, Schuffman's party entitled you to free beer while supplies lasted, and a couple of kegs clocked out at an honorable 45 minutes. Not conducive to helping broke-asses get out of the hole, however, were the $7 vodka Red Bulls. Yikes.

Upstairs, several philanthropic vendors from the Indie Mart enabled freeloaders to pursue their creative talents--for free. DIY stick-on mustaches, buttons, and macaroni art attracted people like vultures to a meal. Extra Fuerte accepted donations for their t-shirts and bags for a marginal penny up to however charitable you felt like being, and two steps across from them, another vendor accepted kisses for their screen printing services. Still grumbling? Spanning the wall on the balcony hung a blank canvas for clever brutes to denounce our nation's economy or express their losses. "I had to give up lattes and top-shelf booze." It's a hard life.

Last week's musical acts included hip hop artist Richie Cunning, and halfway through the performance, a platter of whiskey shots manifested near the stage and fans (or friends) passed one off to the artist. Sugar & Gold rounded out the evening, giving us one last opportunity to dance the night away and to forget about the daily grind and hard times that waited for us the next morning.

What is throwing a party without some shameless self promotion? Trying to hustle a buck or two, Schuffman's table neatly laid out Sugar & Gold t-shirts alongside his books, bumper stickers, and other miscellaneous paraphernalia. Noticeable motto: "You are young, broke, and beautiful." Schuffman's crowd emulated exactly that.

Wednesday night was a refreshing party that helped us all remember that we can still have fun despite grim times, and all the freebies helped us remember the enjoyable night.

P.S.: What do we love to hate about the Rickshaw Stop? The smoking room, because we're too lazy to walk outside to smoke in the cold, and we'd rather endure roasting our lungs or choke on smoke in the small room.  

Personal Bias: I missed the free beer and was forced to pay for overpriced drinks.

Random Detail: While most of the parties are impromptu, Broke-Ass Stuart's next party to look out for is a pub crawl in October. Your $20 will chauffeur you safely to about 4 or 5 bars around the city and possibly some drinks on the way. 

By the Way: If you're interested in all things free, check out Broke-Ass Stuart's site where he regularly updates his readers about free food, drinks, and more at http://brokeassstuart.com/