Every week, the TGIF tabloid explores the island's after- hours world — the clubs, the lounges, the art scene, the late-night eateries.

Advertiser writer Derek Paiva reviews the late-night offerings, giving critiques of the ambiance, the food, the music, the people.

You can find those commentaries in Paiva's weekly feature, The Night Stuff.

And while Paiva gets to survey nightclubs for a living, readers get to pass on their opinions, too.

Paiva says he gets e-mails from many of you about how completely on the money he is, or, as he puts it, "how ridiculously blind, deaf and dumb I am about a night spot's charms."

(He says he likes both kinds of e-mail, by the way.)

On Friday, TGIF's crew is adding a new feature to the mix with Nightspotting, a highlights page in grid form that emphasizes weekly information about noteworthy night spots.

"Nightspotting grew from the impression that clubbing in Honolulu has undergone a leap that accompanies our city's growing downtown arts scene and our growing economy," said Elizabeth Kieszkowski, Island Life editor.

As calendar listings and features in TGIF reflect, locations in Chinatown and Waikiki, around Ala Moana and even in Kapahulu, Kaka'ako and Pearl City are promoting inventive evenings, featuring jazz, hip-hop, house music, reggae and rock. Many also feature adventurous food and modern, internationally flavored design.

Kieszkowski said that in an effort to more fully reflect that growing energy, the Nightspotting feature includes categories such as one-time-only events with live music; local and out-of-town DJs; and notable night spots that may be worth checking out for their friendly, consistent or just plain cool appeal.

This is an addition, not a change in coverage. Paiva's Night Stuff feature will continue in TGIF.

Nightspotting is a way to expand on Night Stuff and give readers more information each week. It will be compiled by Paiva, TGIF editor Debra Yuen and June Yago, who week in and week out provides all the section's calendar listings, telling you what is going on around town.

The TGIF staff is asking promoters to keep them informed about the special events they are planning or ongoing gigs.

Send them all the information — including the time, venue, a description of the event or performers, admission fee/cover (if any), age limits (if any), a phone number we can publish and high-resolution photos of the performers — to tgif@honoluluadvertiser.com, or fax to 525-8055.

Paiva admits to an ebb and flow in his world of nightclub coverage.

In the slower spring and fall months, when college classes are in session and promoters cut back on weekly parties lest they face empty venues, Paiva says he may need to search for something to fill a column.

But then, he says, "a cooler-than-all-heck lounge or unique-for-Honolulu cinema/music lounge" will open, and his job becomes "fresh and new fun again."

But week in and week out, whether it's a one-time-only event or the not so new, Nightspotting will provide information for those who drop in to the night scene just every so often or those who want a weekly accounting of what's going on.

Reach Anne Harpham at aharpham@honoluluadvertiser.com.