On a normal night, the West Village dive Julius is a relatively quiet place to grab a few beers; but when Sam Smith throws a Pride party there, the place becomes electric. On June 14, the bar was packed with guests ordering vodka sodas and a selection of Super Gay cocktails. A server slowly moved through the crowd with a tray of hamburgers and onion rings. Remarkably, there was an empty stage with only a microphone and a piano; it didn't take long for attendees to put two and two together and expect a performance.
But the night wasn't billed as a Sam Smith “concert.” In fact, the person who seemed to be enjoying Sam Smith's party the most was Sam Smith, who towered far above the crowd in a Julius t-shirt and tartan skirt. For most of the night, the stage remained empty as Smith and some friends stayed in the back of the space dancing to a DJ set by Lady Bunny. Kim Petras was also seen taking pictures with friends, while Dylan Mulvaney made his way through the crowd and made his way to Smith's group. Photographer and downtown outfitter Hunter Abrams came with his own shiny Julius shirt.
“Julius is the best bar in New York, it's a national treasure,” Abrams tells NYLON. “Whenever something happens here, I'll be here. I had my birthday here, we celebrated my friends engagement here. It's the best bar.”
Around 11:00 p.m., Lady Bunny took a microphone to try and get the crowd off the stage, signaling that Smith was about to arrive. The crowd didn't dissolve at all, but excitement ran through the room. Shortly after 11 p.m., Smith took the stage as Lady Bunny's voice blared from the DJ booth explaining that Smith would have another friend play the piano for him: Alicia Keys. Keys (fittingly) is an excellent pianist, and together, the two performed a duet of “I'm Not the Only One.” At the final chorus, the crowd broke into rhythmic clapping and singing. Long after the pair fled back behind the curtain, all he could talk about was their performance.
“Sam Smith and Alicia Keys are icons,” says artist Wes Aderhold. “The fact that they're introducing themselves to the gay community here is absolutely amazing.”
