Nightranger

PENISES, PINATAS We embraced our inner art tart this week, hitting up two openings that were anything but predictable wine-and-cheesers. Wednesday it was the Outfestpremiere party for performance legend (and Weeklystaffer) RonAtheyand musicologist JuliaSnapper’snew multimedia opera, TheJudasCradle,at REDCAT.Art queen VaginalDavishosted the after-bash, presenting her parody of NYC provocateur VanessaBeecroft’swork, a “living sculpture” featuring two dozen guys and gals covered in black and white nylon (some with faux-cocks, some with faux-hawks), which attendees could meander around and study. The group included ChrisEvans,a.k.a. “the Human Torch” in the hit movie FantasticFour,Tajof 13BC(the piercer who gave JanetJacksonher boobie bobbles) and KimberlyKim,bar-mistress of soon-to-close WeHo wonderland ParlourClub,which was just purchased by SeanMcPherson(Swingers/Bar Marmont).Vag’s popular Friday-night fete, Bricktops,is rumored to be going monthly and moving to LittlePedro’sdowntown. There was entertainment at JeffElectricGallery’sThursday-night opening, “L.A. vs. Montreal” (featuring drawings by TrueLoveRecords’CaliDewittand bro PatrickDewitt,among others), in Silver Lake too: a giantTecatebeer-canpiñata.Unfortunately, the homemade monstrosity was covered with reflective tape which proved totally unbreakable, so frustrated candy fiends tore out the bottom and emptied the load onto the front sidewalk, then stomped the thing to oblivion. Luckily the free beer was sponsored by Red Stripe. POOL SHARKS The blog world is in a tizzy over theRooseveltHotel’snew TropicanaBar,with stories about hotel guests being snubbed entrance, KirstenDunst(her again?) jumpin’ in the pool with all her clothes on, and proprietress AmandaScheer-Demmegetting cuffed by the cops after noise complaints — but our recent Friday night there was downright serene. We actually found the Sade/SteelyDan–heavysoundtrack a little too mellow, though we hear the jams are more rockin’ on Thursday and Sunday, the latter offering a daytime pool party where girls have been sunning topless. Your turn, Kirsten! Apparently every star in the universe has done the Rose pose by the pool recently, even rock god MickJagger.Alas, Sir Mick was nowhere in sight on Friday, though MarisaTomei,HeatherGrahamand RobSchneiderwere, not to mention usual suspects/stick figures LindsayLohanand NikkiHilton.Ms. Hilton also brought her man KevinConnellyfrom HBO’s Entourage,who will surely be name-dropping the hot spot in a forthcoming episode. BANDSTANDS Nightranger spun some tunes at party chicaMissScarlette’ssecond annual all-girl HangtheDJsnight at theEchoon Saturday, arriving just after Cali-popsters Rooneyplayed an early secret gig for fans and family (singer RobertCarmine’sbro JasonSchwartzmanand gal pal ZooeyDeschanelwere in the house). SF rockers VonIvaplayed HTDJs later — and girl-band geeks take note: Their rock-meets-synth-wave shit is bananas! Kinda like MovingUnits,who we hear are either broken up or “on a break.” In other band news, wacky glamsters the S’CoolGirlsare looking for female backup singers, and according to their mass e-mail, “Scenesters are welcome as long as you have a voice. Looks are a must.” But of course.