Bar Crash: Black Cat Smoke Out
Lighting up in a bar became illegal as the Washington, DC smoking ban went into effect midnight last night. Local music venue/watering hole the Black Cat , whose staff was almost unanimous in their denunciation of the ban, celebrated last night with an official Smoke Out, at which patrons could enjoy their last legal public cigarettes.
We went with Joel Didriksen from Kingpin Photography to document the obvious chaos and carnage that was sure to ensue when black-clad Health Department shock troops stormed the Red Room at 12: 01 brandishing riot gear and, ironically, tear gas.
But it was the Black Cat, so all that happened at 12 was that the bartender lit up and someone put Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" on the jukebox.
The gallery of pictures can be found here . Anyone who leaves a comment about how now they can finally go out without their clothes smelling like an ashtray the next morning will be summarily banned.