THE NIGHT STUFF
Saloon's crowd feeds off energetic Piranha Brothers

At Irish Rose Saloon in Waikiki, you can have a drink (and share a kiss) like Jenn Owens and Ryan Janowiec. Photos by Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Dan Getchell engages in some friendly competition at the dartboard.

The Piranha Brothers are, from left, Sean Thibadeaux, Michael Piranha and Tom "Piranha" Gierman. Night notes ... After more than four years of techno, underground, fetish and swing parties, The Shelter at 1739 Kalakaua Ave. will close its doors Feb. 1. Not surprisingly, it's doing so with a 20-DJ techno blowout. Around the corner on Kapi'olani Boulevard, Virus Entertainment closed earlier this month, leaving Afterhours looking for a new home. DJ promoters Architechs have taken over hidden McCully-area bar Club Mist the past couple of weeks for Firecrackin' Fridays. Look for a Night Stuff visit soon.

In fact, I'll even go ahead and call the Piranhas arguably the hardest-working cover band in Waikiki.

The band easily could earn the title on the virtues of its three-hour sets of rock 'n' roll served up straight, with zero breaks. But what really makes this cover band stand out — outside of some well-greased musicianship and a clear love for what it does — is the effort it puts into stuffing its set list with a more than five decades' worth of diverse, smartly selected rock.

A standing-room-only gig we attended on a recent Friday night attracted an interesting multi-aged mix of patrons to the wonderfully muggy, cave-like confines of the Irish Rose to dance, drink and dance some more.

"Freebird!" shouted a grizzled, Bud-clutching joker in a Red Sox cap after covers of The Youngbloods' "Get Together" and the Beatles' "Nowhere Man" strangely raised the hopes of his inner Skynyrd. Instead, the Piranhas dug defiantly into dance-floor-filling versions of Third Eye Blind's "Never Let You Go" and Incubus' "Drive" that bummed his trip until a cover of the Doobie Brothers' "China Grove" lifted it again.

My variably aged partners in Night Stuff that evening seemed to enjoy the Piranha mix as well. Twentysomething Dawn was moved by an aggressive take on the Three Doors Down hit "Kryptonite"; thirtysomething Kam by a playful cover of The Cars' "Just What I Needed."

The Piranhas — bless 'em — rarely slowed down their repertoire (which included a sampling of original works, too) for anything that wasn't danceable. The crowd, in turn, responded by sticking around for much of the band's gig. Our group secured the last empty table we would see all evening.

My only disappointment of the night? A server politely informing me that the bar lacked the proper equipment to make a black and tan. It was a small quibble, though, for the privilege of watching any band that could make a segue from The Commodores' "Brick House" into INXS' "Need You Tonight" not seem like the most unnatural thing to do in the world, musically speaking.

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

What: The Piranha Brothers.

Where: Irish Rose Saloon, 227 Lewers St., 924-7711.

When: 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursdays-Saturdays.

Cover: None.

Younger than 21 OK? No.

Age of crowd: late 20s to late 60s.

Dress code: None.

Attire we saw: Mostly casual. On men: jeans, aloha shirts, print- and solid-Ts, shorts, caps, sandals, slippers, sneaks. On women: casual blouses, peasant blouses, aloha shirts, tanks, jeans, shorts, dresses.

Our arrival/departure: 9:15 p.m./11:45 p.m.

What we drank: Bartender's iced tea, Smirnoff ice ($9.25).

Peak crowd while there: About 150.

Queue?: No.

Sample music: "Wild Night," "Then The Morning Comes," "Let's Get It On," "There She Goes," "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress," all performed by the Piranha Brothers.

Dancing? Yes.