Just pray you're on the list

IU has a long list of bacchanalian traditions, yearly events that define our semesters: Little 500, one's first battle sinking the Bismark, the Hairy Bear or the simple tailgate. In a sense, they are IU. Yet one tradition, young though it may be, is seeking to carve its own niche into Bloomington's nightlife. It hopes to tear the "pub crawl" atmosphere at the seams and inject a little bit of "the city" into the square. The night takes the name "Obsession," and this year marks its 8th iteration after IU grad James Feeley first began experimenting with the project here in Indiana at club Vertigo in February 2001. This year, he takes the event to Axis Saturday, Nov. 6, accompanied by two IU students, Ryan Alovis, founder of the burgeoning After Party Cleanup organization, and Brian Nessel. These gentlemen know a little bit about what they're doing. Feeley and Alovis have been a part of the "party planning" scene in their respective cities of Chicago and New York for years even before making the jump to Indiana. Working with clients like Jay-Z and Bone Thugs 'N' Harmony, they've developed their own personal formulas for how to throw a party and throw it well. Now a little more grown up, the "squad" is preparing to christen their biggest bash yet here in Bloomington. "We have the ingredients to have a successful cookout," Alovis said. PUNCTUALITY IS THE KEY - IF NOT ONLY TO GET IN
The idea behind Obession is to emulate the upscale, "members only" atmosphere of a metropolitan club experience. This "lounge party" environment will come complete with limo access, private bottle service, a VIP room, the renown Palladium DJ Bogar flown in from Acapulco and a dress code: "dress to impress." And if their previous experiences are any indication of the turnout for this week's event, one might consider arriving early. In New York, Alovis has seen streets shut down to accommodate his lines. In Chicago, Feeley boasts his Thanksgiving Eve parties have crammed over 2,000 people onto one club. Normally, when organizing a sponsored event such as Obsession -- promoting Bianchi and Rossi tours in the hopes of passing a few spring break clients their way -- an arrangement would be made to make an open bar available for the first few hours of the evening. Unfortunately in Indiana, "open bars" are a legal no-no. However, in order to skirt the law, the boys have devised a plan to permit $1.75 "u-call-its" from 9 to 11 p.m. The name implies the rules: anything goes, from Patron shots to Kettle One and tonic to Jaeger Bombs. The event sounds fever-pitched to say the least. However, it's not for everyone in Bloomington. "The people that we attract are the people that like to dress up and go to the bars," Feeley said. "A very desirable crowd." Described further as "clean cut and trendy," Obsession's target audience is far from open-ended. Still, in the past it has attracted enough of Bloomington to make a dent. PLAYING THE CROWD
"You gotta separate the people who spend the most," Alovis said, "but always have a smile on your face." This is the mind frame of a party planner. It is an individual who simply lives, breathes and drinks partying. To make an event such as Obsession happen, there simply can be no other distractions and no inhibitions. This isn't a game for anyone with confidence issues. When speaking about another upcoming project, the hopes of creating a record label, Feeley paints a portrait of the party planner as a true extremist -- because in an industry where your work is defined by the dollars spent and the numbers in attendance, there is no glass ceiling to ambition. "The people that are close to me know that I am going to put together something big soon enough, all I have to say is, if there are stock options, I would invest," Feeley said. "I've been known to put together big things." And to create a "big thing" there is a big list of things that need to get done. Feeley notes that his hands touch nearly every aspect of the event at some point during the process. He books hotels and air accommodations for the DJ, designs the graphic for the flyers, sends them to the printer, answers countless phone calls and e-mails and sets up meetings with sororities and fraternities. "I handle everything personally," Feeley said. "When you're in this business dealing with this type of thing, if something were to go wrong, I always like to have the final look on it. Because in the end it's gonna come back to me." He does enlist some help from his partners who, according to Alovis, handle a bit more of the marketing aspect and a team of assistants to keep the actual night running smoothly by hosting the VIP room and attending to client concerns. However, there is no light-end of the burden. "It's not a normal 9 to 5 job," Alovis said. "You're up at 10 and rarely sleep. I think it's possible to have a normal life, but you'd take away from the 'bottom line.'" And with an event that here in Bloomington costs around $10,000 and still manages to be, as Feeley modestly claims, "a profitable business," that bottom-line seems to be something worth sacrificing some hours of shut-eye -- and sometimes even a bit more. "I've had girlfriends," Alovis confessed, "but when you're out every night …" The rest seemed to be understood. Feeley, on the other hand, takes more of a business model approach to balancing love and money. "I was just visiting my girlfriend in New York, I had so many phone calls and e-mails, she was just like 'I can't believe you're always doing something,'" Feeley said. "Still, I always try to find some way to fix it. It's all about time management." In the end, there seems to be something more than the monetary reward or the allure of the female at the end of their rainbows. There is a genuine passion for the excitement, for the running around and the endless to-do lists. It's a drug that can only be bought by the socialite and consumed by the workaholic. "Every day it's great," Alovis said. "If I wanted to walk in a different direction I could do so easily, but I love this business." One wonders whether the genius behind titling the event "Obsession" was as well thought out -- it is truly fitting. For the creators, their dedication to the product is nothing short of obsession. For the participants, no other phrase could exemplify exactly how the after-hours frenzy of booze, skin and music can continually draw them away from their normal lives, regardless of the countless stories of hangovers, one-night-stands and frighteningly large bar bills. The boys claim it will be a night to remember, something Bloomington has never seen before. "If people give us a chance, they'll never see Bloomington the way we'll show them that night," Alovis said. "Bloomington is a bar school, but it deserves to have more."