THE NIGHT STUFF
Try Green Room on Fridays for 'pre-clubbing'

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer

Peyks the Snake, Crystal Clear Crowe (center) and Maria Tuschall moved over to The Green Room on a recent Friday evening after dinner at Indigo for some "Surfin' and Sippin.'" Photos by Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

A long alley leads to the entrance of the Indigo restaurant and its lounge The Green Room.

DJ Charles spins some alternative hip-hop in the Green Room on a recent Friday night as customers sip cocktails and chat.

"You used to go to a lot more lounges in the beginning," said Dana, who threatened violence if I mentioned her last name. (Note to Dana: You never gave it to me.) "I think you'd like Fridays at The Green Room before you check out other places.

"Don't go over there expecting it's gonna be, like, totally happening, though," she said. I wasn't moved.

But Dana was enthusiastic. She said she and her friends enjoyed "pre-clubbing" at The Green Room. "Pre-clubbing," to paraphrase Dana's longer explanation, was girl talk over drinks and pupu before heading for a club and losing each other in a miasma of loud J. Lo and way too many horny twenty- and thirtysomethings hoping to hook up.

After I asked Dana if she was getting a paycheck from Indigo (she insisted she wasn't), I agreed to check it out.

Even a crowd of 30 fills The Green Room quite nicely, and when I arrived, there wasn't a vacant bar stool or teak love seat to be found. A few tables were available outside, but service wasn't exactly happening there, so I found a couple of people to bother.

"We finish work at, like, 9 or 9:30 on Fridays," said Marlee Kinney, 25. "This is cool because we can just walk over a couple of blocks to unwind."

"And the drinks here are soooo purrrrfect, for that," cooed Lori (like Dana, no last name, please). She was drinking something blue and looked a little teal herself. I asked where they were headed after drinks.

"Home, and you're not invited!" snapped Lori, smiling and downing the rest of her blue drink. (In case you're wondering, she wasn't driving.)

The Green Room emptied rather severely to about 15, just before 11 p.m. I found a table and waited for a couple of friends to arrive from Murphy's down the street. The last half-hour's worth of unadventurous — though hardly annoying — '80s R&B, pop and funk gave way to some pleasant enough house to down drinks by.

Indigo's bartenders have never done me wrong where a brain-scrambling gin martini is concerned, and this night was no exception. And once in the Green Room, service was fast and attentive throughout the evening.

As Dana had forewarned, the place wasn't "totally happening." But only if you want more than great drinks and food, conversation, and some sweet background music and environs to enjoy both. We didn't, so we stuck around.

The crowd count went up and down during our two hours — never quite matching its early-evening peak, but picking up quite nicely again, inside and outside, when we exited. Some funky post-midnight alternative hip-hop even inspired a handful of people to get up and dance a bit.

Sorry, Dana. We opted for home afterward. We'll try the "pre-clubbing" thing next time.

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.

What: Surfin' & Sippin'.

Where: The Green Room, Indigo Eurasian Cuisine, 1121 Nu'uanu Ave., 521-2900.

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

Cover: Free.

Younger than 21 OK? No.

Age of crowd: Mid-20s-50s.

Dress code: Smart casual and business attire.

Attire we saw: Casual and dressy. On men: dress shirts/slacks, aloha shirts, solid tees, sweaters, khakis, khaki shorts, jeans, jean shorts. On women: cocktail and designer dresses, blouse/pant combos, tanks, jeans.

Our arrival/departure: 10:30 p.m./12:30 a.m.

What we drank: Bombay Sapphire martini, chocolate martini ($12).

Peak crowd while there: 30.

Queue?: No.

Sample music: '80s R&B, dance pop, funk; house, alternative hip-hop.

Dancing? A little bit.

Overheard line of the night: "He was playing ... Josh Groban, loud, in a convertible, with the top down! ... You know there wasn't gonna be a second date, girl." — From a conversation between two women near Indigo's outside bar.

Night Notes ...

A couple of interesting monthlies are set to kick off Saturday in a couple of equally interesting venues. Rebel Girl Underground, an evening of all-female DJing, freestyle vocalizing and art, launches at Chuck's Cellar in Waikiki from 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Across town at recently renovated O'Toole's on Nu'uanu Avenue, On The Corner will feature a house, classics, '80s and tech disco DJ mix from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Both events $5, for 21 and older only.

Looking for some nicely done alt-rock covers from the '90s? We stumbled into the energetic tail end of a set by four-member Sam's Garage last month at Bedroq Bar & Grill and were duly impressed. A cool little scene, too. Catch the band at Bedroq again on Saturday night from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.