When we heard Adidas was celebrating their “60 Years of Soles and Stripes” by hosting a house party somewhere on Williamsburg’s North 10th St., we could only imagine what kind of “house” they’d be taking over. How would this iconic three-stripes brand fit a few hundred of their closest friends and fans inside some rickety (or slick) private loft? As soon as we approached the velvet rope, however, (clipboard presided over by none other than our favorite friendly doorman/author, Thomas Onorato), we realized there’d be plenty of room.

This was no house at all, but therein was the venue’s pleasant irony. In actuality, the fête was held in a vast, unfinished warehouse hiding a parking garage, its facade lovingly wrapped in a vinyl cartoon rendering of a quaint suburban house, complete with shrubbery.

The interior was equally festooned with all things homey and festive: a well-stocked kitchen with pizza, mac & cheese, walled rooms with window panes and a giant Adidas birthday cake, balloons, comfy couches, family portraits, a fireplace mantel, DJ Touch of Class spinning near a parquet dancefloor, and last but not least, backyard-style bars with coolers, serving up unlimited pink André champagne and Stella under patio umbrellas. Simple yet effective, no lines or long waits, space to dance, and everything to make we revelers feel right at home.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band, New York’s best mash-up/love in of laid back 70′s funk, Studio 54-era glam and (perhaps) progged-out Sonny & Cher, was the perfect act to get the crowd on their feet. Tonight’s set wasn’t their usual langorous, multi-singer/supergroup series of songs but a tightly woven, groovy teaser of PHB’s hits like “You’ll Disappear” and “All of the Above.” To add to the win-win night, strangers toasted with champagne, fans decorated their hair with the band’s logo’d black-tipped feathers, break dancers were inspired by the beats, cake was eaten, pictures were taken and much dancing ensued.–MVW/photos by Tim Nestor

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