You're reading: After hot opening, Promzona sparks up again

Plus: Am Cham's Zukoski changing sandwich meats; Eric's nominated one of the only gay-friendly bars in town; Clinton quoting from a poem by Taras Shevchenko

night of June 23, the scene at the club was burning hot, as flames consumed most of the stage. Things started to heat up after a fire-spitting performer apparently didn't realize how flammable banners could be and blew a mouthful of gas onto one of the colorful signs. It was quickly ignited, the hall was evacuated and, in the most shocking development, firefighters actually arrived in a timely fashion. The situation was declared safe and, in testament to the toughness of Kyiv's clubbers, the party went on without incident 'til dawn.

Am Cham's Zukoski moving

After apparently eating his fill of Am Cham Spam, Jorge Zukoski has decided to change sandwich meats. Kyiv's man about town is moving on to pursue a career at Mr. Snack, a fledgling fast food franchise that the Post nominated in March as Best Fast Food in Kyiv. Hopefully he will use his swing at the growing company to improve customer service, as a sandwich at the tiny outlet can sometimes take longer than a five-course meal at Le Grand Cafe. Analysts say that it is unlikely that Zukoski's new job will allow him to appear multiple times in What's On every week, as it will require him to take on tasks other than function hopping.

It's always gay at Eric's

Kyiv's most famous ex-pat watering hole has earned yet another distinction. According to www.gay.ru, Eric's Bierstube is one of the only gay-friendly bars in town. Others on the rather sparse list include Stray Dog, Matroskaya Tishina, Big Boy and … Stariy Kyiv. That's right, that little Khreshchatyk dive made the list. Apparently Kyiv's gay community isn't very selective.

Keep fighting!

When U.S. President Bill Clinton repeatedly urged Ukrainians to 'Fight and you shall overcome!' during his speech before a crowd of 50,000 on June 6, it seemed like he was quoting an inspiring phrase from a Hallmark card or maybe repeating a slogan from a drug rehabilitation program. That's why it came as a surprise when we discovered the real source of the words: 'Borites – poborete!'
The American president was actually quoting from a poem by Taras Shevchenko called 'Kavkaz.'
In the 1845 poem, Shevchenko was urging Chechens not to give up their fight for independence from Russia.

Ultimate melts down

Kyiv's Ultimate Meltdown Frisbee team ultimately suffered a crushing defeat in the championship game of the East European Plate in Latvia. The meltdown occurred when the team slipped to a 4-0 deficit against St. Petersburg. That led to the Meltdown getting buried in a metaphorical sarcophagus from which they were unable to climb out. The final score was 11-6. The second-place finish is a step up from the fifth-place spot captured in France earlier this year. Kyiv's other two teams, Meltdown 2 and Meltdown women, failed to win a single game.