Drag performer Erickatoure Aviance said New York nightlife has become more about the business than the beat.
"It's changed drastically -- it's not even remotely the same," Aviance told Niteside at the Camper Fall 2010 Preview in SoHo. "I came on the tail end of the heyday of the big club and there are no more big clubs. They're all gone."
Aviance, a member of the House of Aviance who has been performing in the city for nearly 12 years, noted that for many, the prevailing scene changed when patrons began to have to pay to party.
"[Nightlife] became very bottle service," he said. "It became about what you spend. It became a lot more about the bottom line. It became more about getting in a couple people that would drop a couple Gs as opposed to filling up the club with really cool people."
Aviance said not all is lost -- he is looking forward to the next reincarnation of NYC nightlife.
"We're on the upswing. People want to party again. ... Things are looking brighter. Parties are becoming about the music again," he said. "[Nightlife] will be something completely different that I won't even be able to imagine, which is what I hope."
