THE NIGHT STUFF
Chemistry Lounge draws a stylish crowd

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

DJ Mr. INC, above, lends his artistry to a recent installment of the Chemistry Lounge, a weekly event at Auntie Pasto's in Kapahulu. In a booth nearby, Heather Smertycha of Honolulu, Veronica Lopez of Waimanalo and Molly Nye of Honolulu take a breather and sip beverages. Photos by Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Matty Liu, left, promoter of the Chemistry Lounge, pauses for a chat with Kailua residents Angela Kieran-Vast, center, and Tehani Ebalei.

Other parties — most notably, Pussycat Lounge's five-year anniversary meow fest — were happening elsewhere, but Chemistry Lounge still rounded up a wall-to-wall gathering of the beautiful and, well, simply good-looking into the restaurant's intimate confines. You can't help but admire a crowd that makes Birkenstocks, Volcom tees and Roxy tanks look as stylish as Prada. Chemistry dipped a toe in both worlds.

"Is it like this every week?" asked Marina Sanders, scoping the small but crowded dance floor for her friend Ally. It was my first time at Chemistry, too, so I could barely manage a wittier reply wittier than "I dunno."

"Ally met a surfer guy. At least he said he was a surfer guy. She's wanted to meet one, like, since we got here. Are a lot of these guys actually surfers?"

Again, I responded that I didn't know. But Marina seemed to be on a roll with the assumption. After all, she and Ally had found out about Chemistry from Kenny. And Kenny was the so-called "surfer guy" that Ally had vanished with. Liu himself has some professional-level surfing on his resume. And Marina and I were standing next to two guys talking about tomorrow's surf forecast.

Math wasn't really required on this question, I thought. But Marina (like Ally) was from South Carolina, so she was excused. Plus, I found her accent downright charming.

"It's usually a pretty good place to just chill," said Kathy Harmon, an admittedly sporadic Chemistry attendee. "The drinks are cheap. The guys are easy on the eyes. And usually I think it's a lot mellower than this. The crowd tonight is definitely spring break. It's nice, though, don't you think?"

It was all right. And people were agreeing to talk to me, which gave me a lot to write about. Kathy was right about the drinks. The music — a nice enough mix of familiar and unfamiliar urban hip-hop and R&B — was aces, as well. But I needed a guy for some XY chromosome input.

"I'm saving money to go to Ibiza for spring break," said Manny, clutching his third beer in 15 minutes. "If I like it, I might stay."

Uh-huh. I was thinking this wasn't the guy with all the answers either, until I asked Manny how he found Chemistry.

"Look around you, man!" he said. "I just keep my ear to the ground. Do that and you'll always hear where all the fine women are gonna be."

Not exactly the teachings of Buddha, but Manny did offer to buy me a fresh beer. And that was enough to tolerate "The Tao of Manny" for another 10 minutes before heading for Pussycat.

Got a night spot or club event we should check out? Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.

What: Chemistry Lounge.

Where: Auntie Pasto's in Kapahulu, 559 Kapahulu Ave., 739-2426.

When: 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Tuesdays.

Cover: $5.

Younger than 21 OK? No.

Age of crowd: Twentysomethings.

Dress code: None.

Attire we saw: Casual and dressy. On men: dress shirts, aloha shirts, print and solid tees, polos, jeans, baseball caps. On women: cocktail dresses, tanks, tube tops, camisoles, crop tops, peasant blouses, jeans.

Our arrival/departure: 11 p.m./ 1 a.m.

What we drank: Bartender's iced tea, Absolut cranberry ($8).

Peak crowd while there: About 100 to 125.

Queue?: No.

Sample music: "Hypnotize" (Notorious B.I.G.), "Cool Like Dat" (Digable Planets), "Got Till It's Gone" (Janet Jackson), "Keep Their Heads Ringin' " (Dr. Dre).

Dancing? Yes.

Overheard line of the night: "Julia's definitely gonna get ... kicked off after tonight. Listening to Faith Hill sing that song is bad enough." (A discussion concerning that evening's "American Idol" competition. Julia DeMato's rendition of "Breathe" hastened her exit the next evening.)

Night notes ...

After getting the early a.m. masses moving at Pussycat Lounge's fifth anniversary bash a couple of weeks back, star DJ Keoki decided to stick around for a couple more kitty parties. The O'ahu-raised turntable legend spins his final Pussycat gig Tuesday. Wave Waikiki opens at 9 p.m. Cover is $7. Expect Keoki's turn at the tables some time Wednesday morning.

Another edition of BigTom Presents' Fresh monthly goes off at Club Mist Saturday. The theme this month is "Fresh: Under Construction." Guesting on the turntable will be DJ Mike Duretto from Los Angeles. Doors open at 10 p.m. Call 955-4852 for more information.