2010.03.02 - New York Post - New York’s Hottest Party Boy (Axl)

New York’s hottest party boy

t was just after 8 a.m. on Feb. 12, and for the last three hours Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose had been knocking back cocktails of vodka, cranberry juice and champagne at hip NYC lounge Greenhouse. Hot off the stage from an electric two-hour gig at the John Varvatos store on the Bowery, Rose still had enough energy to keep the party going with his entourage of 20 or more rockers and hangers-on.

“It’s kind of his thing,” said Greenhouse co-owner Barry Mullineaux of Rose’s early after-partying that morning (Mullineaux later named a rose-colored champagne cocktail “the Axl Rose” in honor of the rocker’s wild morning at his club.). “His shows always run late, and he’s a true rock star so he liked to have after-parties after all of his shows.”

But Rose’s recent high jinks are legendary even where rockers are concerned. For the last three weeks, the singer has been on an epic bender in New York, tearing through the city’s nightclubs and bars like he’s still the stick-thin 25-year-old who became a worldwide phenomenon after the release of his album “Appetite for Destruction.”

Since he arrived in the city for his Fashion Week concert on Feb. 11, he’s gone out nearly every night (and continued on till the morning), usually crashing afterward at his $1,550-a-night suite in the Essex House Hotel. His assault on New York night life has made him a one-man stimulus package during the scene’s winter doldrums — and the city’s nocturnes are thrilled.

“It’s like he’s teaching the next generation how it’s done,” said one source who has joined Rose on at least half a dozen of his jaunts, where Kings of Leon singer Caleb Followill has also been spotted. “Who’s a bigger rock star than Axl Rose?”

One of Rose’s guitarists, Richard Fortus, is in the process of getting started on an elaborate back tattoo at Graceland in Brooklyn, which will take some time to complete.

Though Rose, who lives on the West Coast, has been in New York on and off in the last couple years, night-life insiders say he hasn’t hit the town this hard since 2006.

That year, Rose was in town to play a show at the now-defunct club The Plumm — and got into a punch-up with preppy designer Tommy Hilfiger. (Rose moved a drink that belonged to one of Hilfiger’s friends, so Hilfiger hit him in the face. The clothier was shown the door, and Rose later performed “You’re Crazy” — dedicating the song to Hilfiger.)

Now, the rocker, who turned 48 on Feb. 6, is back on the rampage in the Big Apple. Rose asked to play the concert at the Varvatos store — for reasons that are still unclear — and proprietor John Varvatos was happy to oblige. “We thought they were only going to play five or six songs,” Varvatos said of Rose and his band. In fact, he played 17 to a packed room which included Kevin Bacon.

Rose clearly enjoyed the show. Following his appearance at the store, also the former home of CBGB, Rose raved on his Twitter account: “The NY shows were insane!! Love the free form laid back vibe . . . John [Varvatos] was really great! And to keep CBGB’s rockin’?! Badass!! . . . We all had a great time, it was a madhouse!! . . . I LOVE NY!!”

He wasn’t kidding. The next day he made late night stops at 1Oak followed by a mid-morning bash at Essex House.

On Sunday night, Feb. 14, Guns N’ Roses played a late-night gig at Rose Bar to a crowd of 150 that included Mickey Rourke. “Are you as hung-over as I am?” he snarled between GNR hits “Paradise City” and “Welcome to the Jungle.”

Then he went upstairs to a private suite where the party continued from 3 a.m. until 8 a.m.

Two nights later, he hit the Spin Club for pingpong games with none other than Scarlett Johansson. (He later showed up at posh watering hole Avenue, paddle still in hand).

On Thursday, Feb. 18, he crashed three clubs: The Box, SoHo’s Goldbar and SL in the Meatpacking District. At the last venue, he expressed an interest in buying a house in the metropolitan area — possibly in Connecticut, an insider there said. He capped off that night at a private loft in NoHo, where he drank a $1,000 bottle of wine with members of the Black Eyed Peas.

Although he has no wife or children to worry about, the middle-aged rocker has put on at least 15 pounds since his heyday and doesn’t appear to have a strict eating and drinking regimen to keep him in tip-top shape. Dressed in unbuttoned shirts and chunky man jewelry while sporting a wacky biker mustache, he looks more like a Western outlaw than a skinny metal kid.

Rose refused to give an interview for this article, but people who know him say his hard partying is simply a balance to his tough road schedule. “He works hard on the road, so who cares if he wants to blow off some steam when he’s off duty? What’s the fuss? He’s havin’ a good time. God bless him,” said Nur Khan, a Rose Bar bigwig, who set up Rose’s show and after-party there.

As for the late hours Rose plays and performs, says author Ray LeMoine who’s partied with the rocker in the past three weeks, “He’s Axl Rose playing in a small club. When do you want him to go on? I want him playing at 3 a.m. when I’m completely f – – – – d up.”

Another person who’s partied with Rose says he’s working on a new album after last year’s disappointing “Chinese Democracy” — the first Guns N’ Roses studio album in 15 years — and has something to prove.

LeMoine thinks Rose lets the negative press get to him more that he should. “The interesting thing about the guy is that he’ll tell stories and you’ll say, ‘Dude, you’re Axl Rose, you’ve got to not worry about that s – – t,’ “ LeMoine says. “You’ve put out so many great records and you’re the man, but he won’t hear it … there’s a nuanced psychological thing about the guy where he’s not trying to be Axl Rose.”

So far, no one knows when the party — or his existential crisis — will end. As Rose prepared to leave one club, The Post cornered him and asked how late he generally stays out. Rose just smirked. “As long as it takes,” he said.

Axl’s party playlist

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12:

* The John Varvatos store, 315 Bowery: Brought the house down with a rockin’ set. You go, Axl!

* Greenhouse, 150 Varick St.: Downed a few of his signature “Axl Rose” drinks from – gulp – 5 a.m. to 8 a.m.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14:

* 1Oak, 453 W. 17th St.: Partied with Skid Row lead singer Sebastian Bach and a small

entourage.

* Essex House, 160 Central Park South: After-party in Axl’s room!

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15:

* Gramercy Park Hotel’s Rose Bar, 2 Lexington Ave.: Played a gig, then headed upstairs to party with Sebastian Bach and Mickey Rourke.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19:

* The Box, 189 Chrystie St.: Finally made it to the Simon Hammerstein hot spot. (He tried to show up a few nights before but it was closed.)

* Mike’s apartment, a private after-hours top-secret spot at Great Jones and Lafayette streets: Whooped it up in the NoHo party loft.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21:

* Standard Hotel, 848 Washington St.: Got his meatpacking district on. Woo!

* Greenhouse, 150 Varick St.: Kept the club going into the wee, wee hours of the morning.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22:

* We don’t know where he was but his 5 a.m. calls to Mike’s apartment, Juliet and Greenhouse yielded nothing.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24:

*SPiN New York at 48 E. 23rd St; Hung with ScarJo, played ping-pong.

* Avenue, 116 10th Ave.

* Mike’s apartment, NoHo

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26:

* The Box, 189 Chrystie St.: Box, redux.

* GoldBar at 389 Broome St.

* SL at 409 West 14th St.

* Mike’s apartment, NoHo.

https://nypost.com/2010/03/02/new-yorks-hottest-party-boy/