Following a three-year run at Beauty Bar, long-running dance night Lipgloss moved to Syntax Physic Opera this past spring. Now the weekly event is moving down Broadway, to Bar Standard. The opening party will take place on Friday, October 30, with guest DJ TR/ST.
Lipgloss founder Michael Trundle says that although the first month at Syntax was successful, he'd noticed a decline in attendance in subsequent months. “It's a classier place,” says Trundle about how Syntax is more geared toward higher-end cocktails and not shots. “Jonathan [Bitz, the owner of Syntax] and I both learned it's not necessarily something he wants to do again, and I realized I needed to be in an actual club.”
The SOCO Clubs conglomerate has been courting Lipgloss on and off for years; in fact, Trundle and former Lipgloss partner and co-founder Tyler Jacobson nearly moved Lipgloss from its La Rumba residency to Bar Standard in 2006. La Rumba owner Jesse Morreale ultimately convinced the pair to keep the dance night at the club, a site that still holds good memories for long-term Lipgloss fans. But this year, Brandon Gonzales, general manager at Bar Standard, approached Trundle with the proposition of hosting the popular night, which appealed to Trundle not only because the club offered the atmosphere he was looking for, but also because it has some things in common with La Rumba.
“[La Rumba] was a beautiful space, [with] a great patio and a big space for people to dance,” says Trundle. “[Bar Standard has] a rooftop patio, a patio out front, booth seating and a dance area. They've been courting me for a while, and it's nice to be wanted.”
Until the move, Lipgloss will continue to take place at Syntax on Fridays from 9 p.m. to close. For the last night of the month, Trundle helped Syntax head Jonathan Bitz book a special Halloween show that should be announced in the coming week.