THE NIGHT STUFF
It's mellow on the Dark Side

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Patrons wind up the weekend at Dark Side of the Moon, Brew Moon's Sunday evening groove: Above: Margaux Alvarez of Nu'uanu and Jared Vincent of Kaimuki. Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Ryan Dyck of Winnipeg, Canada, and Tim Weigert of Minneapolis.

Sally Ann Humphreys of Hawai'i Kai and Shiloh Swanson of Kapahulu.

Jasmine Ng, left, of Palolo, and Mikeala Chai, of Hawai'i Kai, dance at the Dark Side of the Moon at Brew Moon.

DARK SIDE OF THE MOON Where: Brew Moon, Ward Centre, second floor When: 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Sundays Cover: $5 (21 and older only) What to wear: Casually dressy or full-on dressy. One dude spent mad cash on a white jacket, white slacks and pristine white sneaks. Soundtrack: "Goodies" — Ciara; "Loud Hangover" — Funkmaster Flex; "It's Like That" — Mariah Carey. Bathroom attendant holding paper towels hostage? No.

Founding DJ collective Stone Groove Family no longer works the turntables. Turnout — while never wall-to-patio large — is hardly what it used to be.

But give the weekly — one of the longest-running ones in town and one of the first restaurant-turned-nightclub after-hours gigs — some props for survival skills.

On a recent visit, the crowd count barely topped 30. An even mix of casually and dressily attired boys and girls — most of them twentysomethings in klatches simply drinking and talking story — took up residency on the Moon's outdoor lanai.

Inside, the Moon's bar area was cleared of tables for a dance floor and two-turntable/two-speaker setup. There were no moon lights or strobes. No mirrorball. Just the Moon's own moody lighting and the orange glow of lanai torches.

Very simple. And good enough for enjoying a tasty $3 black hole lager over conversation before facing another Monday.

Turntablist Jimmy Taco offered up a sweet mix of hip-hop and R&B. A little bit of the well-known (Notorious B.I.G., Ciara), a lot of the should-be-well-known (Funkmaster Flex) and Mariah Carey's latest manicured scratch at street credibility.

Surveying the night's smallish crowd and little-used floor, Taco confessed it was a slower Sunday than usual for Dark Side.

"But it's always a good crowd," he said. "Always mellow."

We'll take his word for it.

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

NIGHTNOTES

RAP ON THIS

DJ Rap is used to hyperbole. She's been called both the "queen" and "first lady" of drum-n-bass. She's also a producer, recording artist, label head and (though we're not running her pic here) sort of hot. House music has struck her fancy of late. So expect her to mix a little of it into her usual jungle juice, Saturday at Wave Waikiki. From 9 p.m., 18 and older, $15 pre-sale, $20 door. Visit www.groovetickets.com for tickets.

GREETINGS FROM LUBBOCK!

Woo-ee-oo, he don't look like Buddy Holly. Oh-oh, not like Mary Tyler Moore, either. True, Lubbock, Texas, singer-songwriter Caleb Jude Green lacks a certain resemblance to his hometown's famed rock pioneer. But word has it he's, like, a swell acoustic musician. And he's headlining "Audio/Visual," an acoustic music and art show also featuring local talents Spring Awakening, Steph Kawamura and Rocky Green. At the Studio of Roy Venters, 1160 Nu'uanu Ave., 7 p.m. today. Call 358-4386.