Night Lights: Weekend Wrapup Feb. 10-13
One of those mixed blessings I count at the end of every weekend is how many diverse and colorful nightlife scenes we have on the island. Mixed, because there’s only so many things I can do every weekend, with so much more that I’m missing out on.
It’s rare, but every so often, I still meet those people who are like “there’s nothing going on… I’m just not gonna bother going out.”
I’m quick to correct them, pointing out that there are, indeed, always things going on, and depending on what scene(s) you feel most comfortable in and what type of music you want to listen to that night, you’ll probably find something that you really enjoy.
A pet peeve of mine is when people make excuses not to go to a venue that throws all kinds of events, because they’ve pigeonholed it based on one event that happens there. At most Chinatown clubs, you’ll be able to catch everything from 80s to indie rock to hip-hop to house and techno in the same place, depending on the night. Pearl Ultralounge, another good example. It’s not all booty-shakin’ music. I’ve been to costume parties, minimal techno nights, and, as was the case last Thursday, really good professional networking events there.
Nextworking, the quarterly young professionals’ networking event thrown by Pacific Edge Magazine and a diverse group of well-connected promoters and brands, is one of those nights where you never know who you’ll meet. I came out of there with my wallet bursting with business cards, from photographers and new media folks, doctors and realtors and business owners, fashionistas and auto detailers.
It’s nice to put real faces to brands whose Twitter accounts I follow, or have put off following for fear they’ll spam me with robotic ads.
Yes, despite how much the interwebz have changed our life, I still enjoy going to networking events, because the strongest connection you can make is still in person.
Here’s the gallery:
Nextworking Mixer @ Pearl
Friday was an exciting night. I started by driving down to check out Showbox Honolulu, Jed Roa’s new spot. Across the street from Honolulu Community College (just past the Sprint store if you’re coming from town), the outside doesn’t look like much besides a warehouse. When I got there, though, the parking lot ($5 self-parking, with additional parking beside the river) was full of excited people waiting for a show by the Hawaii Fire Artists.
As often as I’ve seen them perform, the fire dancers were in rare form Friday, with plenty of space to move around and plenty of scorching moves to keep everyone mesmerized.
Inside, the venue didn’t disappoint either, although there was a pretty serious traffic jam around Showbox’s only bar, where drinks were a reasonably-priced $5-$6.
Giinko Marischino, Beats Antique and the girls from Shakti Dance Movement all put on incredible performances:
I wanted to stay all night, but back in Chinatown, Devil Doll was getting ready to go on stage at NextDoor, and I didn’t want to miss it.
Inside was so packed and sweaty, I don’t know how frontwoman Colleen Duffy managed to get enough breath to sing, but sing she did. I don’t know how I managed to shoot in the crowd, either, but here’s the gallery as proof:
Saturday, I spun the early set at Camera Obscura’s annual Vampires Ball (it’s been quite a while), but the crowd (and the outfits) were so good that I ended up staying to shoot photos of all the fangs, corsets and suits:
Next weekend, I think, the electronica scene is really gonna shine, with JJ Flores spinning on Thursday at SoHo, and Mark Farina at NextDoor on Friday, plus Space, a new electronica party located at Cafe Sarang (746 Ilaniwai St.), on Friday as well.
For the rockers, Deftones and OneRepublic, Friday and Monday, respectively, will be playing at The Waterfront.
