Brian Lawrence Live

Thursday, March 15
This evening the creators of Mosaic are hosting a VIP pre-opening party for the new club. Chip Watkins greets me and introduces me to a few behind-the-scenes people, then the club really starts to pack up. Many of Baltimore’s other club owners are here to get a peek at what the new space looks like. I chat with Red Maple owner Leonard Clarke for a bit, and also spy an owner from the Ottobar. I run into Suzi Cordish and Dina Klicos, and we watch in amazement as five bottles of Moet champagne are “sabred"— having their tops sheared off with the quick swoop of a large sabre. I have several drinks with friends Jennifer Marsh and Jamie Campbell from the City Paper‘s advertising department. Everyone is staring at a lovely woman sporting oversized, dark sunglasses and wearing a dark halter-top jumpsuit that is leaving her, uh, attributes to spill out all over the place. She’s dancing around, oblivious to the stares of the crowd, but seems to enjoy the attention. “She looks like a stripper!” says someone in the crowd. Um, yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s what she is, but strippers have a night off too, right? By 11:00, the club is totally packed and I’ve seen enough— besides, it’s a school night. I collect my swag bag before heading out. It’s a good one (unlike most that you get at parties in town)— a split of Moet champagne, decent-sized sample bottles of Belvedere vodka and aged rum, a Mosaic T-shirt (not in XXL, but in a size I’ll actually wear), a Mosaic mix CD, a steel Camel ashtray, an embossed Camel pint glass, and a Mac thumb drive, loaded with Mosaic music. Score!

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