On the Make: The Hustle of Urban Nightlife (Religion and Postmodernism Series)

David Grazian’s riveting tour of downtown Philadelphia and its newly bustling nightlife scene reveals the city as an urban playground where everyone dabbles in games of chance and perpetrates elaborate cons. Entertainment in the city has evolved into a professional industry replete with set designers, stage directors, and method actors whose dazzling illusions tempt even the shrewdest of customers. As entertaining and illuminating as the confessional stories it recounts, __On the Make__ is a fascinating exposé of the smoke and mirrors employed in the city at night. It's nighttime in the city and everybody's working a hustle. Winking bartenders and smiling waitresses flirt their way to bigger tips. Hostesses and bouncers hit up the crowd of would-be customers for bribes. And on the other side of the velvet rope, single men and women are on a perpetual hunt to score - or at least pick up a phone number. Every night of the week they all play the same game, relentlessly competing for money, sex, self-esteem, and status. David Grazian's riveting tour of downtown Philadelphia and its newly bustling nightlife scene reveals the city as an urban playground where everyone dabbles in games of chance and perpetrates elaborate cons. Entertainment in the city has evolved into a professional industry replete with set designers, stage directors, and method actors whose dazzling illusions tempt even the shrewdest of customers. Public relations consultants, event planners, and a new breed of urban hustler - the so-called "reality marketer" who gets paid to party - all walk a fine line between spinning hype and outright duplicity. For the young and affluent, nightlife is a sport - a combative game of deception and risk complete with pregame drinking rituals and trendy uniforms. They navigate the dangers and delights of the city with a combination of wide-eyed optimism and streetwise savvy, drawing from their own bag of tricks that include everything from the right makeup and costume to fake IDs, counterfeit phone numbers, and wingmen. As entertaining and illuminating as the confessional stories it recounts, David Grazian's On the Make is a fascinating expose; of the smoke and mirrors employed in the city at night "David Grazian's riveting tour of downtown Philadelphia and its newly bustling nightlife scene reveals the city as an urban playground where everyone dabbles in games of chance and perpetrates elaborate cons. Entertainment in the city has evolved into a professional industry replete with set designers, stage directors, and method actors whose dazzling illusions tempt even the shrewdest of customers. Public relations consultants, event planners, and a new breed of urban hustler--the so-called "reality marketer" who gets paid to party--all walk a fine line between spinning hype and outright duplicity. For the young and affluent, nightlife is a sport--a combative game of deception and risk complete with pregame drinking rituals and trendy uniforms. They navigate the dangers and delights of the city with a combination of wide-eyed optimism and streetwise savvy, drawing from their own bag of tricks that include everything from the right makeup and costume to fake IDs, counterfeit phone numbers, and wingmen. As entertaining and illuminating as the confessional stories it recounts, David Grazian's On the Make is a fascinating expose; of the smoke and mirrors employed in the city at night."--Publisher description Friday Night In Philadelphia : The Art Of The Hustle -- Dynamic Imagineering : The Staging Of Urban Nightlife -- Spin Control : Public Relations And Reality Marketing -- Winning Bar : Nightlife As A Sporting Ritual -- In The Company Of Men : The Girl Hunt And The Myth Of The Pickup -- Hustling The Hustlers : Challenging The Girl Hunt -- Where The Action Is : Storytelling And The Imagination Of Risk -- Smoke And Mirrors : The Experience Of Urban Nightlife. David Grazian. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 243-276) And Index. Takes you on a tour of downtown Philadelphia and its newly bustling nightlife scene that reveals the city as an urban playground where everyone dabbles in games of chance and perpetrates elaborate cons. Including confessional stories, this book is an expose of the smoke and mirrors employed in the city at night.