Missing the good times @ Cielo

I guess it is inevitable that all good things come to an end. I am very conflicted as I write this, because Cielo used to be one of my favorite clubs. After Crobar closed Cielo took the number one spot for exceptional house music. Cielo is small, comfortable and has a good sound system; it draws a mixed crowd of all ages and backgrounds. Last Saturday the DJ lineup was fantastic: Rob Keith, Samsara, Arana and Kenny Summit, premier of Wobble party. Club was at capacity, the beats were sexy and delicious and the crowd was nice. Add up the ingredients and you should have a hell of a party right? Not quite…
Last year in August I went to hear Steve Lawler at Cielo by myself. As soon as I got in, the sound system went out and Lawler had to bring it back, which took him about half an hour all while the lights were on and crowd was patiently waiting, behaving very well. He got the sound back and the party was amazing, crowd really interacting…Dancing, striking conversations with perfect strangers, screaming, whistling… I was by myself and didn’t feel out of place at all and that says something for an atmosphere of the place. A little later Roger Sanchez had an issue with sound system as well and I started thinking that the owners were not paying attention to the club. Place acquired that horrible musty smell of too many drinks spilled and never properly cleaned. I stopped going.
But last Saturday I wanted to check out Wobble party as I really respect Rob Keith and Samsara. Walking in I noticed that the smell was gone and the sound was very clean. I got really happy about it, thinking: Great! Cielo is back! But as the night went on I could not escape the feeling of doom. As if the place itself was on its last breath and no effort of the DJs could bring it back to life, it didn't matter that the club was packed. There was no unity.
People danced a little but the spirit was awful and by 2:30 the crowd dwindled perhaps sensing the same thing I did. Certainly I will give it another try as Junior Vasquez is playing Sunday and I can’t miss it for the world, but the feeling I left with was that its just a matter of time before Cielo will be closed. I hope I am wrong because NYC can’t afford to lose another club.