Changes at the
Living Room

AFTER sticking to house music every weekend since opening a few weeks back, promoters of the Living Room at Fisherman's Wharf changed things up last Friday. With the help of MC Mox (a k a "American Idol" contestant Jonah Moananu) and the Direct Descendants crew, "The Next Level" is strictly hip-hop, a move that will probably help to get more people into the venue before summer ends ...

SATURDAY night was the busiest of the weekend for me. With so many quality events going on, it was hard to choose which ones to check out.

A lack of parking meant I wasn't able to see Space Catalog at Anna Bannana's, Emirc and the rest of Flip the Bird Entertainment over at Bedroq, or wish G-Spot a happy birthday at "Feng Shui."

So it was off to the Hanohano Room to check out Ravi, a drummer whose claim to fame seems to be that he's performed for Hugh Hefner at the Playboy mansion. After saying hello to Flash Hansen and Matty Boy Hazelgrove, and spotting fashion designer Zana Tsutakawa and former UH baseball player Scooter Martines, it was back to the lobby for me -- Ravi was having way more fun banging on his drums and dancing with the girls surrounding him than I was watching him do it ...

THE EARLY exit from "Skyline" turned out to be a good thing, since it gave me a chance to check out two new spots that opened last weekend.

First was a visit to the Buddha Bar, a new venture by Paul Shih and friends at the former House of Hong. Daniel J was on the decks when I stopped by on Saturday, and the downstairs lounge was packed. Don't sleep on this one ...

ALSO NEW is "Quiet Storm Saturdays" at 39 Hotel Street, a new community-oriented multimedia space run by Gelareh Khoie. After dodging the homeless people and shady-looking characters hanging out on the sidewalk, the upstairs loft is like a slightly smaller Studio 1.

DJ Harvey spun house music on turntables in the middle of the room on Saturday, while people looked at artwork on the walls. Khoie doesn't have a liquor license yet, so it was soda only at the bar (unless you were smart enough to BYOB).

One feature that makes this place unique is the rooftop lounge. It's got a cool industrial feel to it, and once summer ends it should be a lot more comfortable to kick it outside ...

AND AFTER five years at Brew Moon, the Stone Groove Family wrapped up its involvement with "Dark Side of the Moon" on Sunday night.

It was good to see so many people come out and show their respect to the DJ collective, and the guys didn't disappoint. With a $3 draft in hand, I enjoyed the sets by DJs G-Dog, SubZero and special guest DJ Delve. Even DJ Jrama got dressed up for the occasion, sporting a collared shirt and rocking braids in his hair ...