Bash Compactor: Gay Bar Bday Bash

Some of us remember a time when Chip Duckett’s PopRocks!—the Thursday night party at Bar 13—featured an open bar from 10 to 11 and regular sightings of John Cameron Mitchell and Rufus Wainwright made up for Friday morning’s hangover. After a hiatus, the party came back two weeks ago, drawing in the midterm- postponing NYU gaylets to dance to a two-and-a-halfhour Britney marathon. But like many nights at Bar 13, all the good stuff happens upstairs. Last Thursday was no exception. Leaving the Abercrombie set behind, I snuck into Choke star Sam Rockwell’s 40th birthday party on the second floor. Soon enough I was ciggie-to-ciggie with Rockwell’s famous friends. Peter Dinklage was much hotter in person than on screen, and a scruffy, jeansclad Billy Crudup was looking incredibly sexy.Milk star Allison Pill was slightly sour—when I pulled Sam Rockwell up next to her and started asking questions she turned me down flat. Of course, the club’s 21-plus policy didn’t stop Gossip Girl’s 18-year-old Connor Paolo from dropping by. I guess when you’ve held hands with Angelina Jolie, the way Connor did back on the set of Alexander in 2004, the rules don’t really apply. Or maybe nobody else recognized him—in a sea of baby-faced blondes, the twinky teen actor managed to blend right in. —Antonio Cerna