Photos By Gail

This summer, I’ve forgone an extended vacation away from NYC in favor of taking Fridays off from my day job, and the shortened work week / extended weekend has added immeasurable value to my life. I highly recommended it.

As tempting as it is to just stay inside with the AC blasting and stare at my iMac all day, I make sure to plan a little urban adventure each Friday so I can get outside and enjoy the lovely sun and hot hot heat. Because if you are lucky enough to live in NYC, you owe it to yourself and your surroundings to cultivate an Explorer Mentality!

This past Friday, the stars aligned and I was finally (after three unsuccessful attempts) able to get my timing right and show up at the Mr. Brainwash Life is Beautiful exhibit when it was actually open (easier said than done, as there is no information anywhere on the website nor are exhibit hours posted on the door. More about that, coming soon). And since I was already in the Meatpacking District, I took a walk.

Just a couple of blocks southeast, at the corner of Washington and West 13th Streets, I strolled past the infamous (and unmistakably filthy exterior of) Hogs & Heifers Saloon, a long-standing Biker Bar which is closing its doors in August after having its rent hiked a gazillion percent by evil bastard landlords. I had no desire to go in, but I wanted to take a couple of photos, you know, to remember what was once here on this corner after they raze it to the ground and open another designer fashion boutique that I can’t afford to shop at.

I have been in Hogs & Heifers exactly one time, and that was in the late ’90s (best guess: 1997 – 1999) at an Atlantic Records-sponsored album release party for the band Fountains of Wayne – because record companies used to throw lots of parties like that, and I used to get invited to them at a pretty steady clip.

What I recall vividly about the Hogs & Heifers party is that the bar smelled like stale sweat and the Fountains of Wayne guys acted like smug dicks. I had fun though, because soft rock heartthrob Duncan Sheik was also at the party, and I had a little crush on him at the time. Later in the evening, on the sidewalk just outside the bar, the soon-to-be famous Sandwich Photo (me posed between Duncan and his adorable publicist, Ken Weinstein) was taken. Good times.

The World is a different place now, and nothing stays the same. You can read more about the closing and learn a bit of interesting trivia about Hogs & Heifers, including their legendary Bra Collection at This Link.

Photo added November 14, 2015: This is what the space looks like right now: