Cirque de so late
Reptiles, jugglers are newest club gimmicks

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Take a look behind our velvet rope. We've got a martini-sipping contortionist. And, if you're lucky, real-life rock stars stopping in for a midnight jam.

That's the come-on you might hear from New York's newest nightclubs, which are literally bending over backward to come up with gimmicks that set them apart from the crowd.

Snitch
59 W. 21st St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues; (212) 727-7775.

Check behind the red curtain at this new Flatiron District club and you'll find a stage set up with drum kits, amps and guitars - equipment that is kept on the ready just in case Snitch co-owners Duff McKagan and Scott Weialnd (of Velvet Revolver) and Brett Scallion (of Fuel) want to stop by and rock.

The stars recently played a short acoustic set, covering Cheap Trick's "Surrender" and "Used to Love Her" by McKagan's old band, Guns N' Roses.

Other bands have talked about doing shows here, but the sets are always impromptu, so you're not guaranteed to catch one.

What club goers can count on are sassy waitresses in custom ripped and chopped vinate concert tees delivering bottles of Bud and bacon and eggs to a crowd that likes to party late into the night.

On the weekend, Snitch is open 24 hours. "Back in the '80s, there were places to just hang out in New York, and lately that has been missing," says McKagan. "This is a true rock and roll hangout."