Last night took us to Capitale for the Kitchen Benefit. Superglam. Do you know what a “step and repeat” is? Neither did I until I started covering these events. A “step and repeat” is when the publicist herds “bold faced names” in front of a branded backdrop and a bunch of photographers jostle and fight to get a good snap of the “celebrity” – or whomever is deemed important- that they can then bring back to their publication or sell to the newswires, etc.

Being a humble arts + culture person, mostly concerned with substance over style, I had never really been exposed to the kind of fame-mad consumer consciousness that engenders this sort of thing. I thought maybe, over time, I’d get to enjoy it. But not really. Its a lot of standing around waiting to visually -and verbally- assault famous people who really just want to hang out with their friends. I can see why fotogs get cranky – they’ve got a job to do – and I can see why celebs get cranky – they just wanna hang out without their every move being documented. And yet a picture of a famous person attracts eyeballs which is what we all want in this interweb biz, because it drives advertising. Oy vey! So here’s some pix, a mix of glam and glitz. (more pix at http://www.andrewbicknell.com/KitchenBenefit/)*

Kirsten Dunst

David Byrne and Melena from the TIMES

GIbby Haynes

The fun part is meeting the other people working – the fotogs, writers, etc. Last night I met this hilarious young fella named Micah Jesse and a statuesque beauty named Tia Walker. Chatting with them helped pass the time as I waited for something, anything, to happen. Because I was there as “press” it was harder to wander off and chat with the people I actually knew – like Adrienne Truscott, Carmine Covelli, Nick Hallett and Layla & Sonya of robbinschilds. The Kitchen staff are always awesome – shoutout to Kerry and Drew – and thanks to Blake and Yuri for being so accomodating.

The highlight of the night was definitely the Sonic Youth jam – ten minutes of noise and feedback to entertain the suits. Good times, good times. Laurie Anderson did that piece about “you must need an expert to tell you its a problem” which was good too. I think I saw her do it somewhere else not too long ago. Lou Reed was there looking dour as ever. Gibby Haynes. Gibby fucking Haynes! Kirsten Dunst. I saw Dean Moss stroll by. Mike Taylor. RoseLee Goldberg. Aparently some fashion guy named Gabi who makes circle purses. Some society types. Charlotte Ronson. Yadda yadda.

It was a fun enough night but I’m a real downtown type – I like mess and glitter and chaos and tranny-tastic goodness. But gala benefits are for the swank set so us artsy folks can continue to do our thing. Thank you to the swank set!

The Kitchen is an amazing institution that has consistently remained committed to experimentation and innovation. And with ten dollar tickets there’s no excuse not to go. Unless its sold out. so buy your tix now and go to the kitchen to see robbinschilds next weekend!!!

*Superbig Deluxe-Size thanks to Andrew Bicknell for filling in as fotog.  He’s fun, smart, charming and gets great pictures.  Definitely someone to call for house photography, fashion and social events of all shapes and sizes.