While bloggers and op-ed columnists have raged with glee, and some moral indignation, about Republicans visiting a hot-to-trot nightclub in West Hollywood called Voyeur, nearby residents couldn't care less about scantily clad women dancing for a bunch of political power brokers.

What bothered them about the trendy nightspot? One word: noise.

At a recent neighborhood watch meeting held at The Surly Goat, a beer bar in West Hollywood, Voyeur was the first topic of discussion, with West Hollywood Commercial Code Compliance Manager Jeffrey Aubel, who handles such things as loud, possibly illegal, pounding beats coming from the city's numerous nightclubs, in attendance.

Speaking several days before the Republican National Committee and Voyeur became intertwined in a sex scandal of sorts, a handful of residents weren't thinking too much about what was happening inside the nightclub, but what was coming out of it: very loud music.

While many residents at the meeting said Voyeur had improved as a neighbor — the nightclub, which is located on Santa Monica Boulevard, stands next to a residential area — there were still others who wanted the hot spot to lower the volume a few notches.

Voyeur general manager Michael Kassar attended the meeting and seemed to take it all in stride. A few days later, though, his world would dramatically change — rather than being tied up in a minor local dispute, Kassar would be dealing with the national press and a major political scandal.

L.A. Weekly, it just so happens, interviewed Kassar about a totally different controversy that had been brewing in West Hollywood — a proposed outdoor smoking ban for all of the city's nightclubs, bars, and restaurants.

Kassar thought the ban was a terrible idea.

“It hurts all nightlife business,” he said. “And I've never heard one complaint about outdoor smoking.”

Then he went off and listened to his neighbors' gripes.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

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