While not of a religious persuasion, we flies can see the value of the pagan festivals that pre-dated Easter. After all, who wouldn’t want to celebrate the bountiful fertility of nature that brings us grapes, and hops, and agave, and … well, you can see where I’m going with this.
The gummint, that’s who! Easter licensing laws remain as restrictive as ever, and just as the bingeing worshipping gets into full swing at midnight on Saturday, bars will be forced to shut. Or will they?
You see, a bar can get a “special license” if it’s having a “special event”, and thus stay open into the wee smalls. Many bars are taking advantage of this, though they don’t seem to be advertising it too heavily. So, maybe the archaic legislation will actually produce some good, through promoting inventive ideas and making bars put special effort into creating a festive atmosphere.
Well, up to a point. Some bars seem to be putting in the effort: Lotus Room has a “Rumble in the Jungle” theme, complete with army mesh, trees and special cocktails, and Hummingbird has a “Kiss Easter Party”, with makeup artists ready to paint guest’s faces. Others seem to be very much token efforts: Ponderosa and Red Square are having a “White Party” (staff and patrons dress in white — woo hoo), and at Four Kings, apparently Sports Café re-runs and Speights giveaways add up to a “special event”.
Among the bars that are rumoured to be having open-late parties on Saturday, one name had me scratching my antennae: “Lagerfield”? That turns out to be the old Last Supper Club in a new guise, and it looks like the last minute touches are just about ready. I’ve no idea yet what it will be like, but it’s part of the Jet empire; Saturday’s theme will be “Saturday Night Fever”; and of course there’s that name. Lagerfield. Maybe it’s best to stick to San Fran and its late, late nights: running all Easter for your boozing pleasure. Now that sounds like a holy day.