THE NIGHT STUFF
Everyone welcome at Hula's

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

There's rarely a dull moment at Hula's Bar & Lei Stand in Waikiki. Saniti Silaphone of Cincinnati gets into the groove on the always-busy dance floor. Hula's has been packing them in for 30 years. Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Carlo "DJ Kiokio" Chiocchio of Los Angeles manned the turntables on a Thursday night in February.

Tanja Krone of Kapolei blends in at Hula's. On any given night there's a lot of guys and at least some gals at the renowned nightspot.

HULA's BAR & LEI STAND Where: 134 Kapahulu Ave., second floor, 923-0669 Hours: 10 a.m.-2 a.m.; DJs nightly from 9 p.m. What to wear: Just go on with your bad self and you'll be fine. Age of crowd: 2Os-50s Soundtrack: Depending on the night, variations of house, current dance or semi-oldies Available if the mood strikes you: Starbucks' bottled Frappuccino Best seats: Any overlooking Kapahulu Avenue action or beyond

Guest San Francisco house DJ Ellen Ferrato had just hit the tables and was spinning a wicked fast funk-and-horn-infused soundtrack. Hula's dance floor — still one of the town's most consistently packed, 30 years and counting — was quickly filling up. Some other guy who'd introduced himself to me minutes before as "the black sheep of the Skywalker family, honey" was egging me on.

A visit to Hula's is rarely without these and other simple pleasures. There's the four-sided bamboo/teak/hardwood-accented bar and atmosphere-oozing collection of South Pacific kitsch and Waikiki memorabilia. Collared, shirtless and Speedo-ed male go-go dancers. A do-anything-and-dress-any-way-you-darn-well-please crowd. And a sweet open-air, above-ground location with a Diamond Head view.

World-renowned gay nightclub or not, Hula's on almost any night of the week is simply a great place for anyone of open mind to hang for drinks and dancing. Gay, straight, unsure? Hula's welcomes all.

Discounting Ferrato's much-appreciated presence, the Thursday evening I stopped by was much like any other. A lot of boys. A good handful of girls. And a few toned, shirtless, tight-blue-jean-clad bartenders and servers attentively watching over us all.

Hula's and Wave Waikiki owner Jack Law made his way around the room while ever-creative Honolulu producer/director/choreographer Derek Daniels filled me in on future projects.

Hula's was so effectively sprinkled with good-looking people, Mindy Parsons questioned why no one — male or female — had found her blond, curvy, blue-eyed Indiana-bred self worth approaching. Handed the wild idea that perhaps she should consider making the first move, she looked seriously offended.

The pixie-ish Ferrato had pulled off a tight striped shirt to reveal an even tighter black tank and incredibly toned arms when Attell introduced himself.

He needed to dance. I couldn't blame him. Even the always-grinning Ferrato couldn't resist moving to her own grooves.

Rest assured, my man Mike found someone else soon enough.

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

NIGHTNOTES:

KTUH DJs FOR EARTH DAY

It's at Indigo Eurasine Cuisine tonight. A portion of the $7 cover ($5 with student ID) goes to the Earth Day Network. And here's the kicker: 18 KTUH-FM DJs spinning more than 20 music genres in three rooms! It's "Get Fresh" and KTUH-FM's Earth Day party.

On the menu: goth, industrial, hip-hop, drum-n-bass, funk, soul, house, nu-jazz, lovers' rock, dancehall, Latin, Brazilian, etc. ... from DJs Kavet the Catalyst, Nocturna, G-Spot, Bone, Metal (X), Loriel, Makadangdang, Chronkite, Rhombus, Mano Lopez, etc. From 9:30 p.m., 21 and older.

SHORT BUS STOP

Upset you couldn't get tickets to see Norah Jones on Saturday? We wouldn't exactly call SoCal ska-punkers Long Beach Short Bus a substitute but, hey, better than staying home, right? Made up of former Sublime members, Bus plays Kapono's tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $16 advance, $20 door. Missing Dave, Justin Black and Amplified open. Tickets at (800) 325-7328; info at 536-2161, ext. 107.