Saturdays
11:00PM - 5:00AM
$ with pass / $ without
$ with pass
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@ Mother

875 Hudson @ 14th Street
Greenwich Village, Manhattan
(212) 929-6060
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In May of 1997, Time Out New York's cover story focused on the recent crackdown on clubs in the city because of Giuliani's assertion that dancing leads to drug use. On that cover, under the words "CLUB CRISIS!" was a comely young lady strapped into a "sexy robot" costume that would come to symbolize the city's kinkiest dance club, Click + Drag. Ironically, Click + Drag is still going strong, almost three years later, thanks to the perseverance of the staff its and fetish-loving patrons.

Click + Drag is held at Mother, an oasis in the meat-packing district, which also hosts events such as Long Black Veil, Clit Club, and the Jackie 60 replacement, Queen Mother. Not surprisingly, none of these events is alike to another, and Click is the oddest. Not a sex club, but not really just a dance club, this is a place to let your synthetic hair down, lace your PVC corset up, and grab your faux-phaser for a night of cyber-fetish frivolity.

Standing outside amidst the mingling aromas of blood, beer, and rendered fat, you are assessed by the door op— sometimes the shoe-tastic Kitty Boots, sometimes C+D sysop Abby Ehmann for appropriate attire. The standard dress codes is as follows:

WEAR CYBERSLUT, GOTHIC, CLASSIC FETISH, DARK FETISH, VAMPYRE, TREKKIE, ANIME, SEXY ROBOT, IMAGINATIVE HEAD-TO-TOE-BLACK, GENDERHACKING, GOTHIC EROTICA OR ACCESS DENIED! NO BLUE DENIM, NO ATHLETIC WEAR, NO WHITE SNEAKERS, NO EXCEPTIONS!

There is a weekly theme, and depending on that theme, other dress recommendations have included "dominatrix debutante", "wear battery operated light sources", "Russ Meyer hot mama", "glamnerd", and "Tinky Winky" among others. They're serious, too!

Upon entering the club, paying your fee, and choosing whether or not you want to spend all night in the club or all morning washing that stamp off your cheek, you see the result of the strict regulations: The Versailles Room, full of the most beautiful creatures in New York, chatting and imbibing while a curious mix of music matching the theme plays low enough for intimate conversations to be had on the antique chairs and couches. Rose, the lovely, but sometimes cantankerous waitress, will take your order or give you hell for not drinking. Be prepared for higher drink prices; this is the fetish scene after all.

When leaving the Versailles Room for other parts of the club, you have two choices. Make a quick left into the main dance floor area, or take the stairs to the right to visit the Domme Lounge. The dance floor is small, making it necessary to get to know your neighbor as the club starts to fill, but it is often fairly empty before midnight with a smattering of room-fillers holding up the bar. A rotating cast of DJs play the early slot, treating the dozen or so people in the room to anything from obscure new wave (Roman Holiday), to Wax Trax classics (Johanna Constantine), to ethereal (Mistress McCutchan). DJ Load Rezenhand comes on at twelve to spin his special mix of hard-ish house and electronica with a sprinkling of industrial. During the evening, theme-dressed go-go dancers take the platforms. Around one there is a show on the velvet-curtained stage, perhaps a band, a fashion show, or just performance art with a kinky twist. From four to five, DJ Auton spins the kind of industrial music you need room to dance to. Thankfully, the crowd has thinned out by this time, and these dancers are of a hardier stock than their predecessors.

Downstairs, the Domme Lounge, not much more than a painted basement with cushy benches and a bar, offers occasional fortune tellings, fetish performances, and special DJs. The bar down here closes earlier than those upstairs but it is a pleasant "chill out" room which can also be the nexus of your evening, depending on the week. Also downstairs is the coat check, a vital part of the evening, as lugging around the trenchcoat you used to cover your bra-and-thong outfit isn't key to successful mingling.

Restrooms are located off the Versailles Room and downstairs, but be warned: occasionally there will be a Bathroom-Cam in operation, for those of an extroverted nature. The signal is broadcast to the TVs in the Domme Lounge, and the shows normally draw quite a crowd. Don't worry, though, potties sporting a Bathroom-Cam will also sport a big sign, so you won't be making a star out of your posterior without your knowledge.

Commentary by Alexia Henke and Clifford Low, Wednesday, February 9th, 2000.