View more photos in Lina Lecaro's "Nightranger: Hustlers, Drrrama!! and Gossip" slideshow.
Lina Lecaro
Mick Rock and Beth Ditto get Wonderlusty
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Coming up with club names — like band names — can be a precarious endeavor. The word(s) must represent the attitude, style and, if possible, musical scheme of the night, and they need to do it with flair. We’ve never met a Russian at Club Moscow, or seen a peen at Full Frontal, for example, but both monikers set an evocative tone for their parties, which has proven successful. Sometimes, though, a name can be a little too right on. This has definitely been the case at Club Drrrama!!, in the Purple Room at the Standard on Sunset. After mounting conflict between the two hosts — Terrence Golden and Leopold Nunan — the flamboyant fete marked its final party last Thursday, and its demise was not without dirrrt (much of which was documented on each man’s Facebook page ... before deleting). Golden says the club’s event featuring (the) Bonnie Pointer on Thanksgiving was no feast attendance-wise, and the subsequent blame game turned what was already a strained partnership into a breakup. Via e-mail, Nunan, who’s currently in Brazil, claims it was Golden who didn’t hold up his end on promoting, so he declared the club over, at least while he’s out of the country.
Both sassy lads promise new nights in the future. There are three sides to every story, especially when it comes to the club scene, but when Nunan returns from South America, we suggest the pair take it to the floor for a dance-off. After all, Thursday’s closing party saw puh-lenty of competitive posey-prancing, as DJ Eddie X (of famed ’90s after hours Temple) was spinning and it happened to be the birthday of Hector Xtravaganza, head of the L.A. chapter of the legendary House of Xtravaganza, the dance crew that inspired Madonna’s “Vogue” video. They put on quite a show, and with regulars like these, we’re sure that whatever each promoter does in the future will grrreat, even if it ain’t together or at this venue. We’ve always loved Purple Room’s groovy Barbarella vibe, especially the swings there, but we’ve yet to avoid random Hollywood douchebags pushing us too hard or trying to look up our dress while on them ... yes, even at a gay party! Plus, the place is a kind of a hassle to get to, and the drinks are pricey.
(B)locked in
Some might say the above is the case at many Strip locales, but certain venues have always been worth the traffic-y trek. The Key Club was one such spot, and now that it’s shuttered, it might seem to suggest that Sunset Boulevard is suffering business concerns that go beyond promoter ego or frenemy fracas. Key’s prez Keith Pressman (whom we worked for as a DJ a few years ago inside the Plush Lounge downstairs) indicated that he hasn’t exactly thrown away the key(s), but since he’s “in the middle of negotiations” regarding the club’s future, he can’t say much else. We’ll have the scoop here as soon as the ink’s dry, so stay tuned. In the meantime, the venue’s most popular night, Steel Panther’s Monday residency, is staying on Sunset, at House of Blues.
Our Thursday-night Strip-hop was refreshingly traffic-free, but that was surely more about the hairdo-destroying downpour than the area’s vitality. In fact, early in the eve we joined a rather impressive crowd for a gathering at another Strip landmark, the Hustler store. The variety show called “Sex, Drugs and Rock n’ Roll,” hosted by Stan Kent (in conjunction with the store’s “In the Flesh” program), brings together provocative writers and performers for an eve of entertainment and discussion in the adjacent café. Amid the assorted vibrators (the Hello Kitty minis: cute xxxmas gifts!), lubes and the café’s “beaver brews” and fruity “con-cock-tions,” Rachel Resnick, author of the revealing memoir “Love Junkie,” porn star/therapist Nina Hartley, sultry singer Ricky Berger and belly dancer SafaClaire Litton joined for an engaging eve of (sexually confident) girl power — a sharp contrast from the bodacious boy bash at the Standard.
In related news, Hustler, the Standard and rockin’ venues including the Roxy, the Comedy Store, and the Viper Room are throwing Tweetcrawl III — The Strip for the Holidays this Friday, Dec. 18, during which ugly sweater–clad revelers are invited to visit the clubs along Sunset for good cheer, dreidels, crafts, prizes, booze, caroling, naughtiness, comedy, music, food, mistletoe and collectible commemorative buttons at each. Check twitter.com/theSunsetStrip for updates. Tweet, drink and be merry.
No Reservations
Hip hotels like the Standard and the W have become so much more than places to stay, haven’t they? In-house clubs, bars and stylish events of all sorts have made them real nightlife players, attracting heads who’ve never even known the bliss of their fluffy pillows. Nightranger can now say we have. Last Friday, the W Hotel, San Diego, put us up so we could attend a one-of-a-kind event: the climax of their “Wonderlust Series” with a performance by the Gossip in their “living room” a.k.a lobby bar area. We missed Beth Ditto and co. when they were in L.A. and the chance to chat with both Mick Rock (the photographer extraordinaire who hosted the series) and recent L.A. Weekly cover girl Ditto (heading back to L.A. that night to shoot a cover story for Paper mag) was worth the drenched drive. Where does Beth like to hang when in our fair city? you may wonder. “Jeremy Scott’s house,” she answered simply. Guitarist Nathan Howdeshell had a list of faves, though: Part Time Punks, Cha Cha Lounge, Spaceland, to name a few. From our conversation, we also learned that Beth “gives good blowjobs” and tends to puke a lot after shows. The obligatory Gossip cover during the set was “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” and let’s just say when you’re a Ditto fan, the answer is everything. S.D. scenesters, by the way, aren’t so different from those in L.A.: An assortment of model types, feathered femmes and trendy-togged ones danced to Posso the DJ (from L.A.) after the show. Could a Gaslamp Tweetcrawl be in the future? One thing’s for sure, S.D.’s Dubya — and Westwood’s for that matter — has definitely set a nice bar for entertainment, so the new Hollywood hotel (set to open on January 15) had better step it up.
