Dirty South, meet Dirty Hartford!

This coming Friday night you can find us at Room 960 where we'll be working that room harder than a big city socialite. Over the past three years, Room 960 has become the premier venue for big name deejays that often play in locales like New York City, Miami, London and beyond. Thanks to the efforts of Boramusic.com, Hartford has been taken to a new level where these jet set jocks actually make Hartford a regular stop on their worldwide tours. Tiesto, Gabriel & Dresden, rocker Tommy Lee and Roger Sanchez are a few of the many who have graced the turntables in our capital city.

This weekend Boramusic.com will host an event with Dirty South, currently one of the world's biggest deejays haling from Australia. Dirty South, pleased to meet you, mate!

What makes the Boramusic.com events so fun is that it attracts the glitterati of Hartford. Expect to see lots of pretty people and serious clubbers from all walks of life, which is a very good thing for this city. As the music thumps throughout your soul, the lights blind you and with the crowd screaming in joy, you'll actually wonder if this is Hartford. People say its the closest thing to European clubbing without having to leave, and trust us, from our past experiences it's as close as you'll come that global clubbing experience at home.

Look around for us. We'll be the ones getting sloppy and hanging out in the VIP area, swilling back the martini du jour and prowling the oh-so sexy crowd that's jacked up (and ready to go!) on the primordial rhythms of house music. Rawrr!!!

The Farm vs. Big Blue

The retail wars are on. Again.

Word on the street is that West Farms Mall is taking the next punch in the battle of the malls. They tried their hardest to stop Blue Back Square from becoming a reality, and as a result, they're now they're facing a potential law suit in the millions. Not to mention the millons of dollars they spent in a public relations effort to stop Blue Back Square from developing. Ouch.

So what now? Well, we've heard that West Farms plans to expand and add a new wing that will feature high end brand names like Tiffany, Louis Vuitton and others in an attempt to regain the crown. Oh, and what New England malling destination would be complete without a Dunkin Donuts.

It should be interesting to see how things play out over the course of this, but the score so far seems to be Blue Back Square 1, West Farms 0.

Do you Java any good scoop?

Repeat after us. TGIF, TGIF, TGIF. The weekend has finally arrived and it's time to blow that Fred Flintstone whistle and yabba-dabba-do yourself out of the daily grind. So with the upcoming weekend, we leave you with something that just got under our skin this morning.

We love Mary. Mary Ellen Fillo that is, but we're re-evaluating our opinion of the gossip queen after reading this morning's Java page. For those of you who simply don't know, Fillo writes the daily Java column in the Hartford Courant. It's supposed to be a dishy page of celebrity gossip and news, kind of like the New York Post's Page Six, with a mix of Connecticut based dirt and international celebrity news. We personally love seeing the birthdays of our favorite celebs.

It's worth noting that on rare occasion Fillo will catch wind of some "real" celebrity coming through Connecticut and write about it. But she never reports on any of the actual events or celebrity sightings. For example, Fall Out Boy cutie Pete Wentz and his girlfriend Ashlee Simpson were at Room 960 this past summer for an event. Did Fillo's celeb-obsessed journalistic nose lead her to this? No. Not even close.

So as we were sipping our coffee this morning we nearly spit our java all over Java page. Fillo writes:

... While Some Facets of Life Lose Luster
George David, chairman and chief executive officer of Connecticut-based
United Technologies Corp., has filed for divorce.

We'll spare you from the entire article that spans a mind numbingly 9 paragraphs detailing the marriage, the lawyers involved and other bullsh*t. Is this really celebrity gossip? Is this the best Fillo can do? Do the people really care about another Connecticut corporate stiff getting a divorce? We think not. People divorce every day, wake up and smell the java. According to a recent statistic, the average divorce rate is 4.95 per 1,000 people in the United States. Is this shocking news in the Connecticut celebrity community that George David is divorcing. Please...

So with that we are offering a grand prize of our unconditional love to anyone who can snap a picture of Fillo out and about the city streets of Hartford past midnight. Email it to hartfordscoop@gmail.com and we'll forever be your friend.

Another death in Hartford...

Ok, we know that the title of this entry may be a bit morbid for some, so you need to listen closely for the sarcasm. Hear it? There it is! Good!

Here's the scoop, and you better brace yourself. 'Tis a sad day here in Hartford, as the mother magazine of all things cool in Hartford has finally succumbed to its ultimate fate - death. Yes, the rumors are true, CT Slant magazine is finally over. Sniffle, sniffle. We can't help but wonder how Hartford will continue to go on without its one true guide to all things hip.

We have to admit, the billboards and talk of a new magazine in town got us a little excited. After years and years of turning to the pages of the Hartford Advocate (yawn), it was finally nice to see someone else emerge on the scene. But ahhh, such trickery! The minds behind the Advocate and Hartford Courant (ala New Mass Media) pulled the wool over our eyes and delivered a piss poor excuse for a magazine with a focus of looking at life in Connecticut with a different slant. Cute.

As we're sure you will agree, there was nothing cool about CT Slant. It focused on a handful of downtown restaurants, nightclubs, far away exotic locales no one will ever visit and other fodder. We nearly pissed our pants when we read in the May 2007 issue that knitting was cool where "hipsters everywhere can be seen knitting on the subway..." Seriously?!?!?

So with the absence of CT Slant, what will take its place? Low and behold, Phoenix rising. There's now a new website that will be run by the same people called Metromix. Looking back we only wish we had got in on the death pool for CT Slant from the start. Anyone willing to take bets on how long this one will last?

So with that said, we bid you a fond adieu CT Slant and leave you with one of our favorite gravestone epitaphs:

She Did It The Hard Way
Bette Davis
RIP

Sunday Night Wanderings in Blue Back Square

Welcome to Monday morning. The weekend is now just a foggy memory and we're doing our best to get through the morning hours here. A bad case of the Mondays and we're already two coffees deep. By the time you're done reading this, we'll be three down.

So this past Sunday we ventured out of Hartford and over to our friends in the West to Blue Back Square. We have to admit, we've really had no real reason to head over and see it "first". We we're just waiting for the right reason to go and that reason was a movie at the new Criterion theater. The threat of snow-ice-rain was imminent but that didn't stop us. Wimps.

Our show was at 7:ish and we got there around 5 with some time to kill. This offered us the perfect opportunity to strut our stuff and stroll through the square to see what all the hype is about. We screeched in off Raymond Road and couldn't find parking. A good sign, but no one was out on the streets... hmmm. After circling around a few times, we decided to park in the garage. With our Sunday's best on, we hit the Square - except there was no one around to show off our couture too.

First stop was the National Jean Company for a look see at the latest in $200 jeans. Yes, there are lots and lots of jeans, trendy shirts and outfits for all the guys and ladies to choose from. We'll definitely be back here for more. After carousing the shop - I the dumber of the two - haven't quite unpacked all of my winter clothing and needed gloves. So we flitted over to REI for some winter gloves. Needless to say there were plenty to choose from, if big-outdoorsy-logo'ed brands are your thing. I dropped $22 on a pair of nice REI gloves that were comfy and would get me through the cold. We looked around drooling at all of the skis and snowboards, but were constantly reminded through store announcements that they were closing in 15 minutes. We get it, it's time to go.

We then popped into Barnes & Noble to pick up our latest monthly run of trash and smut magazines and ended up staying in there until 6:30 or so. Our last stop before the big flick was the Cheescake Factory for a quick cocktial and appetizer. Au contraire, mon frere... the place was packed to the gills! After muscling our way through the crowd at the bar, we couldn't find a single barstool to perch upon. We decided it wasn't worth the hassle and headed on over to our movie to call it a night.

So here's the scoop. Blue Back Square has a lot to offer, but we just couldn't get past the fake feeling it radiated. Yah, yah we know, it's not entirely complete and maybe we're jumping the gun here, but it just felt strange and fabricated. We couldn't quite put our finger on it but the best way to describe it was that it felt like walking around a Hollywood movie set. It certainly didn't feel like the West Hartford Center we know with its unique charm, quaint boutique shops and fabulous independent restaurants. So the question is: Is there room for big corporate chains and mom-and-pop shops in the Center? Time will tell.

Overall, Blue Back Square has got it going on, but we can't help but cringe and wonder why Hartford can't get their act together and make any real progress with Adriaen's Landing. It would be an incredible accomplishment and boost to the city's image if major retailers on par with the ones Blue Back were reeled in could be brought downtown. Downtown needs this. Will it ever happen? What are your thoughts?

LA's Celebrity DJ AM to Rock Downtown

Just like the old disco proverb says, Thank God It's Friday. Finally, the weekend has arrived. It's been a long week at the grind for us here and we're sure it has been for you too. So with that said, the plan is to get dolled up, throw on our ultra-best and tear up the streets of downtown Hartford tonight!!!

We'll probably make our first stop at Koji for some pre-game debauchery. If you haven't been, we highly recommend it. Koji is a swank little bar/restaurant on Asylum that makes the meanest Scorpion Bowls this side of Tokyo. And if drinks aren't your thing, they have a menu full of lighter fare and plenty of Yakitori to choose from. Food and drink aside, we simply love how the place is always packed with people having (and looking for) a good time. There's just something so right about eating meat off a stick, drowning our faces in big bowls of jungle juice and watching Godzilla on the flatscreens throughout the room.

Not sure how it couldn't be, but if that isn't your scene, well perhaps getting freaky on the dance floor is. We're going to be complete starfu*kers tonight and head on over to the Emperor at the Linden for their one year anniversary party. For the big soiree they've brought in celebrity DJ AM (aka Adam Goldstein) from Los Angeles to rock the party. Don't expect to see Nicole Richie in tow, but we're sure you'll see Hartford's best trying their hardest to be oh-so-Los Angeles cool. Who knows, maybe AM's new Canadian supermodel Jessica Stam will be by his side. For those of you unfamiliar with AM's sound, he'll hopscotch across all genres of music and mash up a blend of hip-hop, rock, house music and even the occasional movie theme.

Make sure to bring your sunglasses, this one's going late night and it's bound to get ugly in a good way.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas... Or Is It?

Ahhh, the holidays are upon us once again. Don't freak out, but as of today there are only 27 days left until Christmas... if that's your sort of thing. Well, it's our sort of thing and we're going to talk about it.

On the drive back into Hartford last night after work, we couldn't help but notice how bleak downtown looked. Sure we understand that the glory days of department stores that once lit up the downtown streets are long gone and we can deal with that. And we'll even go as far to say that the city has made an effort to light up the downtown street lamps with lights shaped in the form of little Christmas trees... but that just doesn't cut it. Hartford is, after all, the capital and wouldn't you think that more would - or should - be done? Bushnell Park, pictured below, once lit all of the trees around the Capital Building reminding us all that it's Christmas time. And if it didn't remind you that it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas, at least it looked pretty.



So we have to ask, where has all the holiday cheer gone and what happened to the decorating of the trees in Bushnell Park? Does anyone else miss them? We do...

Does fashion exist in Hartford?

Do the people in Hartford really have a "look"? The Hartford Business Journal recently wrote an article entitled The Fabric Of Our City: Does business in Hartford have a look? and reports from three angles: companies that have a distinct dress code, companies who don't and companies who have become relaxed. Fair and balanced? We think they did a good job at pointing out that "corporate dress" is a thing of the past. However, the article got us thinking a little further than the nine-to-fiver who comes into Hartford and flees right after work.

It's fair to say that you can sum up New York fashion in a few words. Very clean, stylish, trendy, Wall Street, funky. Boston conjures up images of Dockers, boat shoes and yuppies. But what about good ole' Hartford? What's the look of our little city when the lights go down?

We like to think that there are a few different looks:

Dress to Impress. Those who make an effort.
If you ever find yourself at Emperor, Koji or Room 960 on any given weekend, you're bound to run into some well groomed guys dressed in chic button down shirts or trendy t-shirts and pretty little girls prancing around in pumps and short skirts. People in these places actually make an effort to look good and don their best threads. Good to see people actually look in the mirror before they go out!

Those who can care less.
Have you been up to the joints by Union Station lately? My God. We have to wear our sunglasses at night just to hide! Trust us, it really is that scary! There are those who dress up like they just left the office (ahem, see HBJ article on khakis and polos) and then there are the others who look like they just rolled out of bed. For Christ sake, make an effort!! No one wants to look at you in the clothes you dusted off from your storage bins. Get out and shop!

Ghettofantabulous.
We're all for individual expression, but nothing gets us going more than seeing a grown man with his ass crack hanging out and pants falling down to his knees. Does anyone really dress like this? New rule: Carry an extra belt, because if you see someone like this first whack them with it and then do the right thing by putting it on their pants!

There's no real secret to looking good when going out. Be creative and expressive. What you wear tends to say a lot about you. Guys, for a never-ending list of fashion tips, make sure to check out GQ or Details Magazine online. Lots of good stuff here. And for the ladies, check in with the mother of all women's magazines, Vogue.

And if you're feeling really adventurous, check out Tuesday's Clothing or Stackpole, Moore & Tryon in downtown Hartford for some local fashion flavors. It's also worth noting that Tuesday's is no longer on the corner of Asylum and Ann Street. They're now up on the corner of Pratt and Trumbull.

And that's the scoop...
OR

Hello Hartford!!

Hello Hartford!

Here’s the scoop. We’re what you would call the TMZ or the Perez Hilton of our beloved capital city, except only better. Why? Because we’ve got the scoop on everything and anything in Hartford – or so we'd like to think!

Truth is, there have been some websites over the years that are just too damn one-sided and others that are well, just plain boring. Yawn... oh yes, and to be fair we dare not leave out our good friends at the Hartford Courant, Slant Magazine and the Hartford Advocate. Think of us as a new news source for things related to all things in Hartford.

With that said, it’s rumored that the force behind the clubs Velvet and System is back on the scene again and is thinking of getting back into it. Were any of you at the Velvet reunion on Thanksgiving Eve?

Would a return of another Velvet or System be good or bad for Hartford's nightlife? You decide – let us know what you think.