I think I must have a Guido magnet somewhere deep inside me. This weekend, as Miranda was investigating Vinny’s appearance at Elevate, my hometown of Montclair, NJ was also beset by shorefolk. The Situation, who spawned one of the most viral catchphrases since “hot tranny mess“, was making a club appearance on main street Bloomfield Ave—as far from my house there as Elevate is from my apartment building in New Haven. My brother Owen went that night to get pizza (appropriate) at a favorite vendor, Villa Victoria, and a cougar-lady asked him whether he was going to “da club.” Owen is 16. Apparently, though, this is a case where his youth helped him out: had he been in the club, he might have been caught up in the melee that took place at the club (AP: “fights broke out among the crowds who gathered for the advertised meet and greet”), which is eerily similar to the craziness at Vinny’s appearance.

Montclair blog Baristanet has a slideshow of the fans walking in to see The Situation.