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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, February 28, 2003

THE NIGHT STUFF
Dive into the Piranha Room for fun with a bite

A pair of angels — Marina Terwilliger, left, and Malia Pucong — greet guests at the Ocean Club's Piranha Room. On a recent night, there were three separate queues waiting to get into the part-danceteria, part-fluorescent wannabe cabaret club.

Photos by Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer

In addition to taking in the outrageous entertainment, the crowd at Ocean Club's Piranha Room can enjoy a nicely varied DJ mix.
Ocean Club's Electric Piranha Room is a party that has always dared to be different, both unto itself and when held up to other after-hours monthlies.

A year after its launch, the part-DJed danceteria, part-fluorescent wannabe cabaret remains a welcome breath of fresh day-glo outlandishness on Honolulu's night scene. Its mission: To procure as much irreverence as its well-dressed and straight-laced clientele can handle.

From the beginning, Ocean Club has dropped everything from stilt walkers, contortionists, drag queens, all manner of dancers, and even a phosphor-luminescent light circus from San Francisco into each Piranha mix as swift and welcome entertainment relief from dance-floor monotony.

Piranha's constant is an environment of multidimensional lighting effects complementing an equally varied mix of dance pop, electronica, hip-hop and R&B, day-glo attired go-go dancers, and several hundred good-looking or trying-hard-to-be-good-looking people.

Strangely enough, the whole thing works. More importantly, it seemed wholly original as well.

The entertainment candy offered at last weekend's Piranha Room was (I was told by a regular) a bit more low-key than usual. But my partner in Night Stuff and I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The crowd simply ate up the performance of a heavy-set, fake-jewelry-laden drag queen taunting male patrons with a sashay-filled cover of Kenny Loggins' "This Is It." With enormous fake breasts (at least, I think they were fake) barely contained by a too-tight black top, and a penchant for squeezing them to the chorus when not trying to knock men off balance with them, she was a gum-snapping all-too-brief joy to watch.

Later in the evening, a trio of male dancers in red top hats and pants, white shirts, suspenders, dark glasses and glittered faces took its robotic dance moves to the dance floor after an engaging (but again, all-too-brief) showcase. A fashion show earlier in the evening with scantily clad females in bikinis and clingy fashions was less entertaining.

Even with patrons in three (!) separate queues waiting to get in, Ocean Club's interiors were kept admirably comfortable and maneuverable. Service was attentive and our drinks were well-mixed.

Interested in all this well-behaved outrageousness? Unless you enjoy counting blue cars on Ala Moana, get there early. Or find someone who can get you into Piranha's V.I.P. line, then thank them for the favor.

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

• • •

What: Electric Piranha Room.

Where: Ocean Club, Restaurant Row, 531-8444, 526-9888.

When: 8 p.m.-4 a.m., last Saturday of the month.

Cover: $5 before 9 p.m/$10 after 9 p.m.

Younger than 21 OK? No.

Age of crowd: Early 20s to late 40s.

Dress code: "Dazzling nightlife attire."

Attire we saw: Mostly dressy. On men: dress shirts and slacks, aloha shirts, pullovers, sweaters, solid tees, khakis, jeans, some designer eyewear. On women: cocktail dresses, camisoles, tanks, leather skirts and tops, berets, boots, platform heels.

Our arrival/departure: 10:30 p.m./1:30 a.m.

What we drank: Bombay Sapphire martini, Belvedere cosmopolitan ($11.50).

Peak crowd while there: A full house of several hundred.

Queue?: Yes, three of them.

Sample music: "Dirrty" (Christina Aguilera), "Hella Good" (No Doubt), "Always On Time" (Ja Rule feat. Ashanti), " '03 Bonnie & Clyde" (Jay-Z feat. Beyonce Knowles), "Days Go By" (Dirty Vegas).

Dancing? Yes.

True: Piranha Room is a benefit for Project Shine, a local charity offering free makeovers and photo shoots to patients with life-threatening illnesses.

Overheard line of the night: "Goose ... this is what I call a target-rich environment." — A couple of male barflies eyeing women walking in.

• • •

Night notes ...

Single much? Mass Appeal Entertainment kicked off a 10-week DJ lounge called "Sex in the City" at Nick's Fishmarket last Friday. The highlight of each edition is a speed dating game with prize giveaways. Winners each night qualify for a final showdown with a grand prize of a trip to New York for two. Show up at 10 p.m. Couples welcome, too.

JC's Bar offers up another superb evening of live Honolulu rock with Hellbound Hounds at 9 p.m. today. Also on the bill, Ho Bras and the wonderfully retro-tinged garage rock of Haunted Pines. And all of this musical goodness for just $6. JC's is in the Waikiki Towne Center, 2301 Kuhio Ave., second floor.