Partyhopper

Usually, the Hard Rock Cafe would not factor into my idea of a fun Saturday night. But who could resist the offer of an intimate evening with Nick Lachey? It even proved to be worth the hour or so my cab spent crawling incrementally through midtown traffic (tourists in town for the holiday season are great for New York’s economy, but it’s hard to appreciate them when you’re running late to meet Mr. Lachey).

David Wright and James
Photos by Michele Billig

Nick has a reputation for being professional, down-to-earth and an all-around good guy. But on this night he did something shocking—he actually arrived early, which is not the kind of behavior I’ve come to expect from famous singers. Clearly he was excited to attend the second annual Do the Wright Thing gala, which was hosted by Mets third baseman David Wright and benefited his foundation, which supports various children's causes. After all, if there’s anything that rivals Nick’s passion for music (or for girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo, who was home sick—get well soon, Vanessa!), it’s sports.

I once interviewed Nick for my Guilty Pleasures page in In Style, and his indulgences included a black Beamer, shopping sprees at Lowe’s (the home-improvement and hardware superstore) and something called a Kegerator (it turned out to be a mini-fridge for beer). But his latest big purchase is co-ownership of an entire baseball team (the Tacoma Rainiers of Washington). So much for those rumors about Nick not being a big spender.

Nick Lachey on-stage

“I just flew in last night, and this city is packed with people,” he said before launching into an unplugged set. The same could be said for the VIP room, where I found Jonathan Papelbon of the Boston Red Sox and Jason Marquis of the St. Louis Cardinals, as well as InStyle.com’s newly appointed associate entertainment editor, Bronwyn Barnes, and a few of my favorite VIPR reps: Mary Kaye Daniels and Michele Billig from BWR, and Shawn Sachs from Ken Sunshine Consultants. Not once did I catch any of them checking their BlackBerries, which just goes to show you how charismatic Nick is on-stage.

His set included hits like “What’s Left of Me,” “I Can’t Hate You Anymore” and his new single, “Resolution,” which he introduced by asking the crowd: “Anybody figure out their New Year’s resolution yet? This song is mine.” (Later, the sports fanatic inquired: “Who’s gonna watch the Giants game tomorrow?")

Afterward, Mary Kaye offered to take me backstage to meet David, even though I had a feeling she was eager to kick off her Cynthia Rowley heels. I don’t have the most glamorous image of baseball stars—why is it that they’re always spitting on the field?—but David looks more like a male model in person. Turns out that he’s charming and funny as well as photogenic, not to mention big-hearted: It’s impressive that at the young age of 23 he spends his breaks from baseball season running a charity rather than clubbing.

Given his leading-man looks, I wondered if he would ever consider moonlighting in the movies. “Sure, I’d love to, but I’d just have to figure out that acting thing first,” David said with a laugh. Hollywood casting agents, take note: The camera loves this guy—even my cheap digital camera!

-- James Patrick Herman