Wild NYC club the House of Yes: ‘Nothing is too crazy’
FROM poetry brothels and spanking stations to pole-dancing comps and musicals about ketamine — this is one of the wildest clubs on the planet.
“IF THERE’S one thing that House of Yes has taught me, it’s that nothing is too crazy.”
This is what Dave Doyle, Australian bar manager at New York’s most popular and wildest nightclub House of Yes, has to say about his workplace.
Just last weekend, the weird and wonderful Brooklyn hot spot celebrated its second birthday with its “Thank You For Everything” party. Despite the outside temperature hovering around a frigid -17C, it was a packed house. Drag queens swanned through the crowd, stilt-walkers danced above clubbers, acrobats dangled from the 10m-high ceilings, go-go dancers spun around in metal cages over the bar, and house and disco blared from the sound system as DJ Eli Escobar kept glitter-covered revellers dancing well into the wee hours of Sunday morning. Sound extravagant? If it wasn’t for the birthday balloons it would look to be just a regular Saturday night at House of Yes.
Despite recent success, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the club. Originally conceived in 2007 as an illegal live/work space and artist collective by two of New York’s most creative and talented performers Anya Sapozhnikova and Kae Burke, the first House of Yes in Queens burnt down in a toaster fire. Luckily it happened on a weeknight and all the housemates (aside from the cat) managed to escape unharmed.
The second attempt in East Williamsburg opened in 2008 as a circus theatre and creative event space and was forced to shut after five years due to rent hikes.
It wasn’t until after launching a successful Kickstarter and teaming up with two well-known New York restaurateurs that House of Yes in Bushwick was able to open in January 2016 as the first fully legal iteration of the club. House of Yes 3.0 had arrived, today’s equivalent of Studio 54.
“For the first year-and-a-half I don’t think anyone that was working there full-time had a balance. It was work, work, work. I almost lost my girlfriend and a lot of friends out of it. The place grew so quick from week to week — we were continually chasing our tails,” said Doyle. “The venue just exploded. None of us ever imagined what it became.”
For a venue that’s only two years old, House of Yes wears many hats. Aside from club nights, regular offerings include immersive cinema, weekend brunch, circus spectacles, burlesque, poetry brothels, decadent dinners, rooftop hot tub sessions, spanking stations, glitter pop-ups, pole-dancing competitions, musicals about sex work and anaesthesia drug ketamine (yes, you read that right), Christmas spectaculars, sound healing, deep house yoga and plenty more in between.
Perhaps most popular though are the House of Yes signature parties that have become so big that people come from all over the world just to experience the sensory overload and risque, all-inclusive atmosphere.
Highlight events include the “no photos” sensual dance party House of Love, Discotechnique (themed disco nights), and House of Vogue, a monthly dance party for trans and queer people of colour featuring moves made famous by Madonna.
Yet no matter the night, House of Yes welcomes people from all walks of life who are there for the shared interest in having a bloody good time.
“The wildest, wackiest, craziest people on earth come to House of Yes. From amazing artistic producers, to circus acrobats, to drag queens, to strippers, to go-go dancers, to the world’s best musical artists — it really is a scene. We definitely see some Aussies through the door now which is great,” said Doyle.
No two nights at House of Yes are ever the same, but one in particular stands out for Doyle.
“My favourite night was when HBO filmed their TV show High Maintenance. In exchange for free entry and an open bar, House of Yes lovers lined up down the block in some of the most impressive costumes I’ve ever seen to participate as extras in the filming of a nightclub scene. Only the absolutely best dressed were granted access after a rigorous three-step entrance approval process. I was blown away by the costumes, energy and positivity I felt that night. To me, this was the perfect example of why House of Yes is so special and how they separate themselves from other, more traditional nightclubs.”
Originally from Melbourne, working somewhere like House of Yes isn’t exactly what Doyle pictured himself doing when he moved to New York five years ago, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“I love my job — I continually learn new things every day and the relationships I’ve made through running the craziest club on Earth is invaluable. The partners have given me the trust of being responsible for some very important roles and decisions that have now taught me so much about the industry.”
The glory days of Studio 54 may well be behind us, but thanks to the House of Yes creative masterminds Burke and Sapozhnikova and the recent repeal of the archaic Cabaret Law which made dancing in New York illegal for nearly 90 years, House of Yes has managed to birth somewhat of a clubbing renaissance in the city that never sleeps.
If you’re now hastily adding House of Yes to your “must-do in NYC” list, a word of warning — Friday and Saturday nights are costumes-mandatory so don’t forget to pack your sequined hot pants. Luckily for those who missed the dress-up memo, there is a truck parked right outside where you can duck in, get a makeover and step back out in a totally affordable and fabulous costume ready to rock the dance floor.
After all, it is the House of Yes, not the House of No.
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