"It's the end of an era for that kind of stuff," said Greg Azus, who is promoting the final act at Gussie's, a hypnotist named Sailesh. "It's just an old-fashioned rock and roll club. And it's one of the last clubs to survive over 20 years with a live music format."

Gussie's quickly gained a reputation for offering once-famous bands at a bargain, recalled Robert Villaverde, who used to sell promotional advertising for Gussie's on the old KPOI radio station.

"They had a three-day pass for $15 — what a deal," Villaverde said. "There were some great bands that a lot of us grew up with, you're talking 35- to 50-year-olds who showed up to relive their youth."

Sailesh will perform three nights at Gussie's — Oct. 14, 15 and 16. Then, owner Dennis Smith will close the bar.

The property owner, Loyalty Development Co. Ltd., plans to turn the site on North Nimitz Highway into a car dealership, Smith said yesterday. Loyalty Development officials did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

David Rolf, manager of the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association, said the lot size is too small to accommodate a new car dealership.

"It'll probably have to be a used car lot," Rolf said.

In the last 18 months, Gussie's had been operating on a month-to-month lease. As the rent went up, Gussie's could still draw a crowd on a good night.

"We're still making money, just not as much as before," Smith said. "The night club business is always tough. Nothing comes easy. Like a lot of things, you just don't do as good as you did in the old days."

Gussie L'amour's opened on April 15, 1983. Like its owners, Smith and Wayne Cates, Gussie's got its start in Alaska.

The original Gussie L'amour's was named after an Alaskan saloon girl and was the sister business to Smith's and Cates' other bar, Swiftwater Bill's, named after "a guy who hung around the saloons," Smith said.

The Honolulu version of Gussie's, sandwiched between car dealerships, Honolulu International Airport and an airport hotel, didn't bother pretending to be a classy kind of place.

The 10,000 square feet of space always smelled like beer and brought in a peculiar range of acts — from Nancy Sinatra to hip hop to oil wrestling.

"For a time, we did a session with jazz artists," Smith said. "We did country for a while, a little bit of everything."

There were wet T-shirt contests, the Mamas and the Papas, Tommy Chong of "Cheech and Chong" fame and lots of big-hair bands like Great White.

"Those kind of bands always draw a good drinking crowd," Smith said. "It's the kind of crowd that used to go out all of the time and is a little bit older now. They still like rock and roll and they still know how to have fun. They just don't do it as often."

But Gussie's will end with the illusion of a hypnotist, rather than music.

Smith shrugged. "It wasn't my choice," Smith said. "He just had the place booked that week."