The blog item (from Feb. 2008):
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/goingoutgurus/2008/02/multiple_changes_beginning_at.html The News at Five
Big shakeups are ahead at Five after club owner John Boyle parted ways with longtime management team of Tim Sherman and Hooman Pedram, who were responsible for turning the 18th Street venue into a magnet for house music fans.
"The first thing we're going to change is Friday and Thursday nights," explains new Operations Manager Jeff Duke. No final decision has been made about Thursdays, but Friday, currently the domain of house music DJs, whether locals like Tom B or international stars like Dirty Vegas, is going in a new direction. "Friday is going to be more hip-hop, reggae and breaks," Duke explains, "and slowly move into house for the after-hours crowd. We don't want to compete with the other four clubs around us who are playing house."
One adjustment that's going to be far more obvious: Five's super-relaxed dress code is disappearing -- "That's not going to fly anymore," Duke says -- and the club's going to have a stricter door policy. We'll see how that goes.
Washington's club community has been buzzing about the new management, especially because one of its first acts was to remove Wednesday night's appearance by legendary English drum 'n' bass DJ Fabio from the schedule. (It was moved to the neighboring lounge Andalu, which is a fraction of the size of Five.) Duke claims the show was relocated because Five was going to lose money on Fabio's appearance, while promoter Bobby Jae Chun, who also DJing at the event, told me before the event that the change wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, because Five was having sound issues over the weekend -- a view that's been echoed on some Internet message boards.
Despite the problems with Fabio, Duke and Chun say everything looks good for next month's drum 'n' bass blowout with groundbreaking DJ Andy C, the well-known duo Ed Rush & Optical and the buzzed-about Sub Focus. "Everything [on the calendar] in March will still be going on," Duke says.
Still, those assurances haven't stopped rumors about Five's new direction from flying all over the scene; High-ranking employees at nearby nightspots and DJs who've previously spun at Five have independently told me that they've heard the space was going to become a live music venue. (Before Five opened, the building housed a concert hall called the Garage.)
Duke dismisses those ideas. "The club is still open," he says, "but we're in the process of cleaning house." Right now, his agenda includes a new design for the interior, new sound and lighting, staffing changes and possibly switching the promoters who run the club's various events. Watch this space for more information.
