THE NIGHT STUFF
O Lounge could use more lounge-like intimacy

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

O Lounge bartender Jessica Meyer chats with Keola McColgan and Jay Linzi, both of Kailua. Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Dave Richie of Hawai'i Kai and Mark Wayner of Hawai'i Loa Ridge high-five it during a Friday-evening pool game at O Lounge.

Amy Enomoto, left, and Atsuko Ishikawa, visiting from Tokyo, also find plenty to amuse them at the O Lounge pool table.

The O Lounge 1349 Kapi'olani Blvd. (in the old China House restaurant) 944-8436 Recurring events: Executive Tuesday (drink and menu specials), 5 p.m.-midnight. Rock Out Wednesdays (with Edgewater), 5 p.m., band performs at 7 p.m. Glamour Thursdays (fashion shows/models), 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Artist Groove Network Fridays (DJs), 9 p.m.-2 a.m. DFX Saturdays (DJs), 9 p.m.-2 a.m.

The O Lounge launched last month with grand hopes of attracting the monied crowds that lend Wonder Lounge and Skyline their upscale cache. Less than a month later, The O was still waiting for them to show up.

An absence of a weekly entertainment schedule was — at least to this writer — the first disturbing sign of a rushed, perhaps unorganized O Lounge launch. Not surprisingly, The O's opening-night buzz — if there was any — quickly disappeared.

The lesson here? A paint job and some renovation of a warehouse-sized former restaurant space on Kapi'olani Avenue, scattered Asian-themed furnishings, and Cristal on demand, while nice, do not an "ultralounge" make. It also won't attract young adults with expensive tastes — and the cash to indulge them — already comfortable with the W Honolulu's brand name and a million-dollar view from the Hanohano Room.

So I wasn't all that surprised when The O Lounge quietly revamped and reintroduced its entertainment schedule last weekend (see box). Artist Groove Network was hosting a launch party for its new weekly when we stopped by last Friday.

With sparse furnishings and ceiling-suspended draperies used as makeshift "walls" in its large main room, The O's interior lacked the intimacy of a real lounge. A couple of large, low-to-the-ground tables lined with red cushions and Chinese-themed throw pillows for lounging strived for some level of classy intimacy, but couldn't quite achieve it alone.

Two VIP rooms — furnished with couches, chairs, a few tables and some potted palms — seemed comfortable enough, if a tad too brightly lit. The moody red lighting illuminating the rest of the club seemed in search of a setting with, you guessed it, more intimacy.

Not all was disappointing, though. The O's service staff made sure we were well taken care of even with a large crowd to deal with. Our server's sincere apology for the slow delivery of our drinks from The O's busy main bar was also appreciated. A wine bar tucked in back of the club was a nice touch. Sadly, it wasn't all that busy.

Another positive was the diversity and enthusiasm of the crowd. Rowdy with conversation and constantly exploring the room's hook-up possibilities, Artist Groove Network's impressive clash of ethnicities and fashions ranged from the designer dressy to the surf-punk casual to the absolutely fashion clueless.

In no particular order, a klatch of bald guys in designer shades, a couple of tattooed-and-chain-smoking lesbians in love, and a Versace-clad male bragging about being a "North Shore" extra and avoiding Shannen Doherty's eye line made our evening of people watching complete.

If The O Lounge manages to hold on to this crowd, it may have a more diverse niche it never expected.

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

Nightspotting

GOODBYE, STUDIO 1

A Trip The Lights show with members of hip-hop collective The Visionaries at 9 tonight at Studio 1 also marks the last after-hours gasp of the grand downtown visual- and performance-arts space.

Launched in late 2002, Studio 1 quickly became an epicenter for eclectic after-hours art, DJ and live performance events. First Thursdays poetry slams and Lightsleepers' Trip The Lights quickly became Studio 1's most popular events.

In 2003, First Thursdays was recognized by National Poetry Slam as one of the best-attended slam competitions nationwide. A number of one-time-only events such as the DMC/Technics American Battleground DJ Championship and performances hosted by Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre and GirlFest also brought in crowds.

But Studio 1 fell on hard times earlier this year when attendance and liquor sales at events began to slip. With Studio 1 already in debt in early October, owner/operator Jack Frick told The Advertiser the venue would close before the end of the year without a quick infusion of cash, or outside investment partners.

Frick did not return a call for comment on the closing or his future plans by press time.

First Thursdays founder/promoter Kealoha has already announced a new location for the monthly slam: the Hawaiian Hut, at 8:30 p.m. starting Dec. 2. Trip's Kavet the Catalyst said he was scouting several locations for his hip-hop monthly.