New Yorkers are a jaded group, but even they are willing to recognize that it’s not every day you get the chance see Kanye West and the Strokes perform in the same night, never mind just a few feet in front of you. That’s just what occurred on a rain-drenched night last week at Capitale, where Hennessy invited some 1,100 guests to sip cocktails and take in the varied musical acts—UK electronica band Goldfrapp opened the evening—in a setting that was intimate and, given the caliber of talent, down right exclusive. “We wanted to create a true luxury experience,” said Hennessy senior brand manager Tom Byrczek of the event, dubbed Hennessy Artistry.
The evening got a soggy start. Many guests arrived early and ended up huddling under umbrellas until the doors opened at 8 PM (tenting only covered the few feet of red carpet). The “world experience bar,” created by Relevent’s Tony Berger, took over Capitale’s front room with vignettes of four distinct cities in each corner. A lit-up replica of Radio City Music Hall represented New York, while sleek red pagodas represented Shanghai, floor-to-ceiling red drapes, black leather couches, and black-and-white photos evoked Moscow, and crystal chandeliers, fluffy couches, and 12-foot-tall window frames looking at the Eiffel Tower represented Paris. While the room was decor heavy, the high-tech highlight was a plasma wall of nine screens located above the bar, which later on played simulcasts of the performances going on just steps away.
Inside the venue’s ballroom, the focus was on the 60-foot-stage that London-based KLP Entertainment built alongside the room’s west wall (typically stages go against the ballroom’s north wall). Instead of relying on lights and smoke to accent the show, Berger brought in ten LED walls, seven of which were attached to motors that allowed them to change positions in between performances, to act as a backdrop. “We thought the best way to differentiate the acts was through video,” Berger said. While Goldfrapp and the Strokes relied on vibrant colors and patterns playing on the walls, West played footage of scantily-clad women with headlines like “Vixen” and “Hot Fun” alongside his hit “Gold Digger.”
Undoubtedly the acts were worth waiting for, but the night was full of delays that caused the crowd to dwindle. Goldfrapp came on for a 45-minute set around 9:00 PM, and it was roughly an hour after that ended before the Strokes took the stage, and West didn’t appear until after midnight. Luckily, ample amounts of Hennessy—the bars’ only alcoholic offering—and a pre-West DJ spinning old-school hip-hop kept the energy levels high for the celebrity-heavy crowd. While an open-air V.I.P. lounge was adjacent to the ballroom floor, Kirsten Dunst, Jake Gyllenhaal, Carmen Electra, Joshua Jackson, and Tracy Morgan preferred mixing with the crowd and getting as close as possible to West, who brought on surprise guest Pharrell Williams.
—Courtney Thompson
Photos: Jeff Thomas/Image Capture (Kanye West, stage, New York vignette, Paris vignette, Goldfrapp, string musicians, Pharrell Williams)
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