Posted on: Friday, January 26, 2007
THE NIGHT STUFF
Lotus moves with two levels of sound
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
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John Abenoja of Mo'ili'ili and Lisa Heindl of Salt Lake, foreground, were hanging out at the Lotus Soundbar on a Friday evening.
REBECCA BREYER | The Honolulu Advertiser
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NIGHT NOTES ...
The Beautiful people Hold the James Blunt. Queue any nonwhiny Christina Aguilera if you've got it. Fashion-photog-by-day, local-celeb-lovin'-party-host by night Russell Tanoue shines up the mirror for another edition of Beautiful, 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday at Indigo Eurasian Cuisine. Cover is $10 (unless you know Mr. Tanoue). Rockin' Reggae You know Robert Nesta Marley's birthday is around the corner when reggae faves such as Yellowman and Barrington Levy start showing up in town en masse to play live. You'll find both at the Reggae On Da Rocks music festival, tonight at Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Also performing: Tanya Stevens, Israel Vibrations, Elan, Sasha, Rebelution and more. Presale tickets are $15 at the park or www.groovetickets.com.
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Amber is the color of lighting at Lotus, which features a sleek and modern interior.
Lotus photos
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LOTUS SOUNDBAR
Where: 2301 Kuhio Ave.
Phone, Web sites: 924-1688, www.lotusoundbar.com, www.myspace.com/lotusoundbar
Hours: 9 p.m.-4 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays; 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Sundays-Thursdays
Age of crowd: Mostly twenty- and thirtysomethings
I'm under 21: Sorry. No entry.
I'm over 40: Like house, hip-hop and a chill loungelike environment? You'll be fine.
What to wear: Lotus cries out for folks to make an effort fashion-wise. Many did, opting for designer even when going casual. Skull caps were virtually nonexistent. Slinky cocktail dresses were numerous enough to notice. Loose jeans, dress shirts and new sneaks were the preferred dude-wear.
Cover: $10 (on the Friday I stopped by)
The soundtrack: Upstairs featured smooth urban hip-hop mixed with the occasional club classic ("Hypnotize" — Notorious B.I.G., "Return of the Mack" — Mark Morrison," "Naughty Girl" — Beyonce, etc.). Downstairs featured anonymous house and downtempo at a decent volume for chat.
Chance of hearing Barry White: Slim
Chance of hearing The Roots: Questlove would've dug the upstairs lounge.
Sound system: A couple of standup speakers near a small turntablist station parked up front offered the downstairs lounge an unobtrusive environment for conversation. Upstairs, a quartet of speaker towers surrounding the dance floor cast a thick blanket of warm sonics over folks moved enough to move.
Shall we dance? No one downstairs really was. Upstairs, the dance floor got noticeably more crowded post-1 a.m. and whenever classic grooves got a spin.
Solo dancer friendly? If the music moves you, no one will mind.
Interiors: Modern and casually upscale. The white walls of Lotus' downstairs lounge reflected enough ambient light to keep proceedings visible yet moody. The room's sleek, low-to-the-ground red and beige loungers proved way more comfortable than they appeared. A back-lit, wood-accented bar dominated the back of the lounge. Abstract and filmed art were projected on the white walls. Funky mod oil lamps topped several tables. Large floor lamps lighted entirely in amber huddled near a couple of modular lounger pods upstairs. Dark walls kept light from oil lamps, lotus blossom votives, a couple of flickering glass chandeliers, and two walls of votives from making faces too visible. Waves of multicolored light splashed serenely across the back of the main bar.
I'm single and looking: You're best off in the chatty downstairs lounge scoping new arrivals.
Boys and girls: A nicely even mix.
The VIP treatment: E-mail vip@lotusoundbar.com for bottle service.
Got parking? Nope. We parked at the former Waikiki Theatres lot on Seaside Avenue.
Guesting this week: Dimitri From Paris brings his danceable funk-flavored electronica (check out his sweet "A Night at the Playboy Mansion" mix CD) to Lotus tonight.
Coming soon: More rooms, more out-of-town guests, promotion manager Ramyt's variety-promising (bossa nova, trip-hop, atmospheric drum 'n' bass, hip-hop, etc.) Vybe party (Feb. 24) with DJ Behrouz. Check out Lotus' MySpace site for schedules.
Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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