View more photos in the "Nightranger: Ghettogloss Fab, Milestoned, and B-day Lovin'" slideshow.
Lina Lecaro
Vanessa Gonzalez shows her stripes at Bardot.
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MILESTONED
After a short break, Nightranger is back; and talk about an introspective and enlightening couple of weeks. Recently marking 20 years at L.A. Weekly and our big 4-0 b-day, we celebrated with a brazen bash at Bardot above the Avalon the Friday before last. It was more than just a night to welcome in (rather than hide from) the fabulous 40s with friends (both real-life and Facebook-flamed), and organizing our own event became an edifying experience. We sure have a deeper respect for those who regularly promote/throw parties. Will anyone come? What else is going on the same night? Is the invite/ flier any good? (Ours appropriated the cover of the Rolling Stones’ Some Girls with our mug superimposed throughout.)Will the DJ deliver? Will there be drama? It’s enough to obliterate the excitement of having a gathering in the first place. It turned out smashingly, ultimately. Attendees included artsy, punky, unique and just plain talented folks we’ve written about and gotten to know over the years. DJ Adam 12 (She Wants Revenge) and Aaron Castle (A Club Called Rhonda) definitely had everyone dancing their bums off (12 even trekked back and forth from a gig at Club Firecracker in Chinatown), and Deuce Events provided scrumptious cupcakes for all. Still, stuff like venue concerns and scenester beefs had to be contended with beforehand. We’ve never been one to air dirty laundry in this column, and we won’t start now, but let’s just say that those who read the comments section on our Facebook invite page were treated to some fervent rants from a venerable music Svengali about his conflict with a certain radio/nightlife legend. Ultimately, neither attended, though one of them did send along a great gift. Our planned live performance had to be unexpectedly canceled, and at one point, it got so packed, some people on our list didn’t get in. Shindigs can easily become shit-digs, it seems. We can only imagine the chaos and crises club promoters and owners deal with on a regular basis. We might be getting older, but after seeing nightlifing from the other side, we’re sure not getting jaded . not yet, anyway.
BAR NONE
We weren’t the first to choose Friday at the beauteous Bardot — hosted by Rich Royal, Gracie Cakes, Jason Scoppa and Alexi Yulish — as a birthday locale. Vegan chef/event promoter Stephen Hauptfuhr, former Club Planet staffer Julian Luethold and The Lady Tigra herself did the same weeks previously, but we’ll bet we had the most colorful crowd that the place (where Prince is a regular) has seen in a while. Former MOCA events planner/soon-to-be reality star Vanessa Gonzalez came in a zebra-stripe jump suit (with gift wrapped in matching paper), co-hosts Giddle Partridge and Lenora Claire were done up in their flamboyant finest, singers Josie Cotton and Josi Kat were cartoon gorgeous (what is it about that name?), and Rancid’s Tim Armstrong and pal John Roecker (currently working on a ’70s-style TV show featuring Armstrong as “the evil mastermind who runs Los Angeles”) held court in a corner table overlooking the dance floor, as Roecker showed off his new anti–Ed Hardy T-shirt line. Art tarts Kate Crash (who just marked the 30th anniversary of EZTV with a music/sculpture spectacle at Highways), Heidi Calvert and Jean Natalia (Wigout!) brought their charismatic wiles, while fellow journos, including BuzzbandLA’s Kevin Bronson (one of our fave eds from our time freelancing for the L.A. Times), Yahoo’s Lyndsey Parker and, of course, our wonderful L.A. Weekly colleagues were in the house, as were power couple Bruce & Else Duff (from Angus Khan and Derby Dolls, respectively), the boys of Motorcycle Boy (who came down after opening for The Zeros at the Redwood, one of two big competing events that night, the other being the Lost in a Supermarket site launch at the suddenly hot Liberace Penthouse). Along with the presence of seasoned L.A. art and music figures Tequila Mockingbird, Sean DeLear and Ginger Coyote,each of whom were boldfaced names in the Weekly’s LA Dee Da column (our predecessor) since before we even set foot in a club, it was a full-circle evening that really left us spinning. Thanks to all who came out to celebrate. There were too many to list, but check out our online slide show this week, filled with many of the fantastic faces and frocks (shot by moi and “Curious” Josh Reiss).
MELROSE PLACED
Ghettogloss’s Fiora Boes (another birthday attendee) marked her own landmark event last week: the debut of her gallery’s brand-new location. In many ways, Ghetto, formerly on Glendale Boulevard in Silver Lake, epitomized its locale’s lifestyle (creative, casual and often-crazy parties and patrons, and PBR — sold from a soda machine!). S’Lakers are surely sad to see it go, but its new spot on Melrose should ultimately help it shine brighter. In addition to retail store and gallery, GG is an art-rental house, and being closer to the Westside is sure to give the place a higher profile with the entertainment industry. Last Saturday night’s grand-opening rager, debuting the new, appropriately themed art show Gone Hollywood (with works by Rime, Ryan Graeff, The Restitution Press, Eric Fisher and others), may have seen the biggest crowd ever, with hundreds of heads flowing into the back parking lot. Nico Stai offered a rockin’ set with a full band (proving more potent and visceral than the acoustic one we saw at Origami Records a couple of months ago), designer Santino Rice, the eve’s DJ, proved he’s not just good with fashioning garb but also music sets, and a wonderfully wacky-chic assortment of patrons rivaled the works on the walls, most notably — and noticeably — songwriter/artist Allee Willis, who also happens to own “the world’s largest kitsch collection.” Willis will showcase her astounding stuff at Gloss’ next exhibit, relaunching her “Kitsch of the Day” blog and more on September 14. Oh, and the Glossy ones are still in S’Lake weekly for their Art & Craft Fair at Micheltorena School on Sunset. Check it out this Saturday during the Sunset Junction Street Fair, if you’re going. As always, we’ll be there, so look for the full street beat here next week.
