Rubulad

Where is Lenny Bruce when we need him?! Seems like many may have over-​reacted with a possible misinterpretation to this event. Rubulad has always been a celebration of the oppressed, overlooked, neglected or whatever term describes the outcasted.
However, perhaps it is best to let SNL, Chris Rock, Gilbert Gottfried & Jackie Mason have fun /​rejoice with various issues of heritage.

This was exactly what I expected. I really shouldnt have gone in the first place because I really dont like going out but this place was as good as anywhere else. i really am not the best person to ask but I thought that this was a nice place to go. The lights and all the young people seemed to be having a good time. It was an intresting glimpse at what i could be expecting if I were in my 20s again.

Come on. It isn’t hard to figure out that an «Oriental» themed party is racist. Going ahead with some nonsense like this only indicates that the organizers and patrons of the party are not just insensitive but willfully ignorant. Grow up.

While liberal /​leftist organizations do not embrace /​exploit explicitly racist or cryptoracist political talking points, that does not mean that they cannot commit racist deeds, say racist things, or throw racist parties. It’s come to my attention that Rubalad, the organization throwing this insanely racist Orientalist party, is actually a group of corporate resisters /​Occupiers.
Let me be all-​caps clear: FIGHTING CORPORATE GREED DOES NOT EXCUSE THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOR. In fact, it only exacerbates the egregiousness of the offense. You are, by your own estimation, fighting for a better world. But that better world includes cultural appropriation, racist stereotypes, and silencing people of color who speak up against it. You are against corporate exploitation, but are more than willing to exploit harmful stereotypes for profit, in the name of a good time. In short, you have a giant fucking blind spot called white privilege, and if you truly want to make the world a better place, you need to start listening to (instead of silencing!) people of color and other marginalized people, educating yourself about your privilege, and learning about this country’s history of racist violence and exploitation. Also, stop throwing bullshit ass parties like this.
UPDATE: So they came around, issued an apology, ditched the theme, and actively discouraged people from doing yellowface bullshit. I approve this, and thus revoke my 1 star rating and replace it with a 3 star rating. Thanks to Jezebel for helping this story reach critical mass!

So my first time at Rubulad was this past weekend when the partay was held in my neighborhood of «East Bushwick,» a.k.a. Ridgewood. The location was kind of far from the L stop, but I was happy that the party promoters provided a free shuttle from the subway to the warehouse, which I think my friends used.
I’ll start with my least-​favorite part of Rubulad: the horrible door staff. I mean class A d-​bags. An «I don’t give a F about you» hipster chick guarding the guest list, complete with a deadpan bitch face, partially concealed by a stupid-​looking heart shaped fencing mask. And let’s not forget the dude in charge of stamping who told 4 out of 5 people who showed up in costume, «that’s not a costume, that’s an outfit, it’ll be $ 20.» Seriously? Why the attitudes? People just literally busted their ass falling in ice and snow to come out to one of the most remote parts of Queens, and now we have to deal with you buzzkills?
I could rant some more, but I think you guys have gotten the point. Moving on. The warehouse was broken up into sections with a live jazz band playing in one, a movie being shown in another, and a Brazilian samba drum crew then an awesome DJ in the last section. There was also a balloon tent of sorts where a group of burners were sitting in a circle and lighting up. People were walking around smoking cigarettes INSIDE. I haven’t seen that in years. The freedom of it all was pretty cool.
Basically it was the opposite of the trendy lounges and bars that my friends drag me to, a party from a bygone era where the weirder you’re dressed, the more cool you are. No stilettos required. Thank goodness. It was a nice change. They just really need to have the door staff brush up on how to be personable. We’re paying to go into a warehouse not an exclusive hotel rooftop. Get over yourselves!
Still, I recommend checking out a Rubulad party in the future so that you can say you did, or at least feel like you were in the «Welcome to Bushwick, a.k.a. The Craccident» episode of Girls.

The address is wrong! It is not 338 flushing ave! Is it a bad joke or what? The address written above is in the middle of absolutely nowhere in not so nice part of Brooklyn and it took us a while to figure out how to get out of there. Major pain in the ass!

Rubalad brings out the hippie in me… I’ve always been a free spirit so staying away from the touristy party scene is kinda my new thing. Rubulad is like a dark and dreamy world filled with all types of freaks and weirdos… the bathrooms were trashed, everyone on the rooftop was getting high, and by the end of night i found myself with new friends, and a new appreciation for film noir… I mean even the $ 3.00 grilled cheese sandwiches that some guy made on a rusty looking grill was horribly delicious.
I’m sure that when i came home i probably smelled like cigarettes, beer, and sweaty armpits, but the experience was more than worth it
#Awesome

Rubulad is Ground Zero for the Hipster Burner crowd. They move it around but wherever it is, its crowded.
Burners are usually nice, which is a plus. But they also tend to be stinky, which is a minus. And the music ranges from hipster super mario band geek themes to wah wah dub step. Let’s just say things get a bit weird. Rubulad is pretty much how the 99% protestors party.
That being said, I would rather spend my evening at Rubulad than, say, a crowded bar full of doods in the untucked button downs they wear to work and jeans. And janey girls with fancy bags doing their best Sex in The City Imitation which really will just lead them to cougardom. =P

I like dirty, dimly lit, hidden parties. And Rubulad satisfies that inner need to be a hedonist every month (well almost every month as they took a break in the summer).
Don’t expect a swanky affair with bowties, flowing bottles of champagne and pretentious people. What you will find is a good down-​to-​Earth party with creative themes, good music, cheap drinks, and beautiful sweaty people.
I’ve been to a few of Rubulad’s parties and I have had a kickass time at all of them. They usually have their parties in remote parts of Brooklyn and it is usually well out of the way. You will be walking awhile before you find it (if you find it), but once you get there, you are sure to have a swell time.
We went to a «Swampthings» theme party and it just smelled of all things swampy. That may not be your scene if you are of the OCD persuasion, but I tend to like things that are dirty and enigmatic.
The drink selection is slim, so don’t order up a Pimm’s Cup or anything complicated. They have vodka, whiskey and plenty of PBRs. I had whiskey and coke all night, and each drink was $ 5. You can’t get those prices anywhere in Brooklyn.
The music was good and I found myself trying to salsa at one point and also at another point singing along to an oldie. I like to keep things simple. Play some good music, have some good company around, and cheap drinks and I am happy as a clam.
If you want a different experience other than the B&T scene, or a speakeasy, then find one of these parties. They are usually off the beaten track and your mind will be caught off-​guard in the most delightful ways.
I have been known to engage in some, ahem, «mischievous» acts here on a few nights…

Anyone who’s read Jeff Stark’s nonsensenyc list knows about the underground Brooklyn warehouse parties that go on each week. The parties usually are remotely located in far-​flung stretches of Brooklyn, primarily to avoid the attention of law enforcement. Some of these parties are truly magical, providing a welcome diversion to the models-​and-​bottles, bros-​and-​hos driven Manhattan club scene; others are dirty-​hipster/​art-​school hot messes, poorly organized, shoddily executed, and borderline dangerous.
Rubulad falls into the latter-​category. Located in the middle of nowhere (25 minute walk from the Graham L stop, exactly), this warehouse party was a two-​floor industrial loft next to a truck depot. Ascended by a narrow, dimly-​lit staircase, the entire party had a DIY-​feel, but like a Home Depot project gone wrong. Various art installations and graffiti randomly decorated the walls. Makeshift bathrooms were installed within the apartment, with the faint smell of sewage permeating the room. Crowd control was negligible, with patrons spilling unsafely onto the neighboring rooftops.
Rubulad’s dance party had two dance floors: one with a live band crammed into the corner of the room and the other, an outdoor tent spinning some Girl-​Talk inspired laptronica. The indoor space felt like a sauna, on account of the sweaty, teeming bodies crowded inside and the lack of cross-​ventilation. The outdoor tent was perched on the adjacent loft’s rooftop, which became difficult to move around as more people came into party. None of the music made me feel like dancing, unfortunately.
There are other safer and better organized parties in Brooklyn: The Rub’s monthly party @ Southpaw, Questlove’s Thursday residency at Brooklyn Bowl, and the occasional themed blowouts by the Gemini and Scorpio team.

This party is worth one visit and nothing more, as another reviewer stated. After forking over the $ 20 admission fee, I spent the next 45 minutes being jostled by drunk, puking and high hipsters as they struggled towards the «bar» (aka a minuscule assortment of liquor).
My cool art school friends swore this was wild, free and fun, but it was far from the Bohemian rhapsody it promised to be. Also, the cops shut it down after just 2 hours.

…
hahahahaha!!!
ever watch shortbus?
great vibes, run by cool people, and lots of freedom. lots o’ fun.

Rubulad was so good that ‘the man’ decided that it was unfit for human occupancy. Everyone was kicked out yesterday. Pray for the return of Rubulad. It is a treasure of NYC.

Ahhh Rubalad, good times, good times. In case you haven’t noticed by the other reviews, Rubalad is this huge party that happens every once in a while which attracts a VERY eclectic mix of people, occurs in several rooms/​levels of a warehouse with the most random shit all over the place, and where there are very little rules. Seriously, I once saw a guy walking around nude here; they didn’t even care. They charge a $ 20 cover now, but they never used to. If you’re an artsy, fun person or just have an open mind, you’ll enjoy it. If you’re more of a nightclub, pay $ 300 for a $ 50 bottle of vodka person, you won’t. Its not for everybody and I wouldn’t reccomend going too frequently as thats a sure sign of insanity, but try it at least once as its hard to find a place that does parties like this that regularly. And expect a pretty wild night.

Perfect place for a quiet night out the kids… if the «kids» refers to your certain preteen party monsters with strong preferences for neon body paint and death-​becomes-​her cocktail attire.
…
Sitting in my brooklyn apt a few hours previous, i had nothing to worry about other than reaching the bottom of my proverbial bottle… But 25 minutes later, I was being herded up a crowded staircase scented with that iconic perfume…“last nights hooker“
Once inside i was greeted with a barrage of different guests, ranging from the love-​hug ravers, overly disheveled hipsters, to the few confused NYU bros who were wandering around searching for the keg-​stand room… and to be completely honest, Rubalad may have a keg-​stand room– because it certainly has everything else.
Granted, you’re not going to find any fancy hibiscus martinis or warm vatted scotch here, the bar consists of 3 types of high school quality booze and a few mixers, but if your looking to climb into a hidden bear cave, scale a ladder to nowhere, or get lost somewhere in a sea of terrifying stuffed animals, you have come to the right place. Every single corner of this dusty warehouse is clogged full of something, and yes, positively every surface is most definitely covered with bits of illegal substances/​various bodily fluids.
Still, I cant deny, I stayed til 5, dancing the night away in the sweaty crowd of bedazzled 20 somethings. When I woke up the next day I had a respectable hangover, about 7 mystery bruises, & gold glitter dusted through my hair… would I do it again… hmm, perhaps, but it would probably take a pre-​party handle of whiskey to get me there.

I’ve only been to Rubulad once, but it was one of the bizarre nights of my life. In a good way, of course.
Apparently the parties at Rubulad are often themed, and on that night it was «Make your own cult!» There were people dressed in robes, costume makeup, grey suits, oh– and a guy in a dolphin costume who passed sandwiches out amongst the crowd.
In one room, an artist demonstrated his robotic percussion music and recited a performance piece. In another room, silent films were being played accompanied by mariachi music. Downstairs there was a DJ and all sorts of 80’s dancing. Outside there was a fire eater.
The décor is everything you’d imagine on a bad acid trip, but it’s perfect for the environment.
I say, go at least once. Take a bottle of booze and have the strangest night of your life.

I went to a party here last winter. It was a good time, for sure. But yeah, the paper installation art caves are definitely a little scary around all the blunts and cigarettes. Good times, but probably not a good idea to stay if it gets too crowded

Yes it’s a cool, creative venue-​it exemplifies the «Brooklyn warehouse party’.» One part burning man, one part rave, one part underground circus show.
But the New Years Eve party was incredibly irresponsible and wound up ruining a hell of a lot of peoples’ nights. It was so crowded that it was not fun and it was kinda dangerous. The fire department showed up and cops shut it down. We had been there less than an hour.
It find it highly objectionable that the people putting this on (or the people they paid) all hung out at the entrance collecting a very steep $ 30 cover, but had NO ONE doing crowd control. Even after it was so crowded that you literally couldn’t move and the masses started shoving each other down the organizers kept funneling people in. You couldn’t dance or even raise your arms. Not fun. And honestly it WAS A DEATH TRAP! All those decorations, curtains, and do it your self loft build outs are very flammable. There were a bunch of narrow corridors and bottlenecks were it took 10 minutes to go 30 feet. People were encouraged to smoke not only *ahem* herbs but cigarettes inside of large pieces of installation art and obscured nooks. There were electrical wires, overloaded power bars and shoddy lights everywhere. Even though they appeared to have a sprinkler system had there been a fire, even a small one, there would have been a stampede. There is no doubt in my mind that people would have been trampled to death in the event of a perceived emergency. Even something as small as a fistfight would have gotten a bunch of people hurt. I’ve been to plenty of underground parties and raves that were illegally overcrowded and «unsafe,» I usually don’t care-​whatever fun is fun. But Rubulad was dangerous enough that I have to say I’m kind of relieved the authorities stepped in. I haven’t been in a venue that overcrowded in years. If this joint had any kind of crowd control I would give it 5 stars
Considering this was heavily advertised and that Rubulad events have been going on for years the organizers should have known better. At the very least maybe offer a refund, I feel cheated.

oh boy, it’s not everyday that you get to write a review about the oldest and most underground of brooklyn warehouse parties… You’ve all been to brooklyn I hope…
this one used to be situated on south 5^th street in williamsburg, beneath the williamsburg bridge, back oh since the late 90’s… i know i know. In those days it was a bit sketchy south of grand, but all the cool kids wanted to go there cause it was far enough afield that the c0ppers wouldn’t bother nobody. you remember dancing is illegal in nyc right? so is packing a few thousand drug fueled revelers into a multi-​room kaleidescopic party warehouse!
RUBULAD the name comes from the phone number actually. It was an acronym for their digits. back when 718 was the only area code in brooklyn, you know, when cellphones were new!
So what about the party itself? It is very burning man inspired, I guess when a few hapless newyorkers stumbled upon burning man in the mid-​nineties, they learned a thing or two from those mad hatters out in San Francisco, and brought the insanity back to our find metropolis. And the rest is history! Sweaty dance floors filled with costumed hipsters, students, brooklyn bedlam, old rockers, and people who just never got enough! an authentic absinthe bar from before it was legalized, and ganga smoking on occasion… I’ll also point out the lovely brownies on hand, and even mac + cheese!
If retro 70’s ecclectic mix a la KCRW isn’t your style, the second dance floor room has a slightly different mix, usually more funk styled… You can also enjoy the upper level for bands, performance, and even mini film screenings. on the rooftop there is your usual flirting, and merriment and some bbq in the summer time.
All-​in-​all it’s an experience, so you should definitely go at least once. I think it’s $ 15 these days maybe less with a costume. Get on Jeff Stark’s list to get updates. RUBULAD has an email list too, chris at spill dot net. Happens every three weeks, and I think the next one might be the 23^rd…
Best way to get there is to share a cab with 3 friends. It’ll cost you $ 15 from the village, and probably $ 20+ to return via black cab late at night (there is a line of them all nite, trying to rip off drunk partiers…) bring your PJs, this party goes until sunrise!
and if you can’t get enough there, you better go to the big one:

I love sketchy brooklyn parties. I’ve been to many and most of them. But for some reason I had gone three years without having ever gone to Rubulad, probably because it’s a bitch to get to flushing/
+ :
–really cool décor hanging from ceilings and all over the place
–winding around 3 floors of different feeling spaces is really fun
–all the weird music and performances you can stand
–a true attempt by the owners to create something «out there»
–cool themes
— :
-(and this is a HUGE one): it’s insanely overcrowded and sweaty,
you spend the whole time there being pushed by bodies and having to shove your way through the crowd. It’s like being born but instead being in a womb, you’re being squeezed through 900 hipster kids trying not to burn you with their cigarettes.
–sloppy drunk underage kids. burning you with their cigarettes.