Lights out finale for Wave Waikiki

Waving goodbye to a Waikiki icon

THE WAVE WAIKIKI closed big on Saturday. The longtime Waikiki landmark was hot, loud and crowded -- a good-time vibe reminiscent of those high-flying days of the early 1980s when the drinking age was 18 and the Wave was the hub of a thriving community of nightclubs "on the edge of Waikiki."

The memories flowed all night long.

WEB EXTRA » visit our online gallery for more photos from the Wave's finale night.

Real estate auctioneer "Surfer Joe" Teipel, who stopped by with his wife, Miho, said their first date had been at the Wave. "I invited her to a James Bond movie premiere, and she's never let me forget -- and (makes sure) everybody else remembers -- that I made her meet me here. I didn't pick her up."

"Loud Larry" Lieberman, who sat in on drums Saturday with Oriental Love Ring, recalled meeting his future wife, Sandy, "upstairs by the air conditioner where it was cooler. It was Cinco de Mayo 1989."

Sandy reached even further back in her memories, recalling trying to use a fake ID to sneak into the club. She discovered that her mother had called the club and warned them. "Matt (the doorman) said, 'We're sorry, but we can't let you in. Your mommy called and said that you were underage!' That's a bad memory but we laugh about it now."

People hit the clubs a lot earlier in those days, and it was like old times on Saturday. Doors opened at 9, and the valets took in more cars in the first 15 minutes than they normally do in an hour.

Those who made the mistake of arriving fashionably late, or going to some other nightclub first, had a long wait in line while the party went on without them.

So many people arrived on time that Pimpbot went on early, followed by Sonya Mendez with a karaoke-style set of songs dating from the early '80s when Sonya & the Revolucion headlined the club.

A powerful set by Oriental Love Ring brought the party full circle. OLR was a major presence at the Wave in the late '80s, but the quartet's guitarist, Beano Shots, had previously made history as a member of the Squids, the group that opened the Wave in 1980.

"Back in those days we had to build the stage," Shots said. "There was no stage, no lights; it was really grass roots. It was the beginning of a brand-new scene, and I'm so happy to have been a part of it all these years, from the very beginning to now, to the end."

PETER BOND, who headlined as a member of Hat Makes the Man before forming OLR with Shots, joked that his favorite memories were too racy to print. "(They) all have drugs or sex involved with them, so I'd totally incriminate myself, but they were all great."

Mendez said the highlight of her years was singing "Every Breath You Take" while Sting was in the audience.

"It was a Friday night. The air conditioning had broken, and I thought there was no way the Police are going to stay at the Wave, but they did ... and I dedicated it to Sting, and they invited me to have a drink with them up in the glass-enclosed lounge," she said.

THE WAVE was one of Hawaii's prime concert venues and has featured acts ranging from Bow Wow Wow and George Thorogood & the Destroyers, to the Blue Hearts and Fleetwood Zoo.

Gary Skinner was 15 when he went to the Wave with his father, Honolulu businessman Brad Skinner, and got to hang out upstairs with Wave Waikiki owner Jack Law and concert promoters Ken Rosene and Greg Mundy.

"It was after a Deep Purple concert. It was unbelievable. It was the greatest after-show party I'd ever been to."

More favorite shows:

» Powerman 5000, said Erica Aloang of Missing Dave. "They were rocking out really so hard. The place was so hot and sweaty and so loud. It was like all the concerts back in the day that they don't have anymore."

» San Francisco DJ Miguel Migs and vocalist Lisa Shaw "sometime in the '90s," said DJ Byron the Fur. "It was just the most beautiful performance you could ever see. The lighting, the vibe of the entire club, it was just energetic."

» Grace Jones, said Kea Ernestberg, who remembers Jones spitting red wine on those closest to the stage.

» "All those contests they used to have up on the stage," Valerie Curtis said. "I can't remember what they were (about), but there were a lot of naked people up there. It got kind of nasty sometimes, but it was still entertaining."

OTHERS focused less on what was happening on stage, more on their own behavior.

DJ Grant "G-Dog" Fukuda credited the Wave with "great hangovers since I was 17 years old, (and) it's still my favorite glorified dive bar."

Event promoter Kawaka Kanae said his favorite memories involved "drinking at the bar, even if I don't remember half of it. Good bartenders."

Waikiki night-life veteran John Austin took a break from selling limited-edition Wave Waikiki T-shirts to say that he'd "burned too many brain cells here."

Event promoter Russ Inouye had a "Vertical Junkies" party going on at Chai's Island Bistro on Saturday but stopped by the Wave first to pay his respects and see the club one last time.

"Because we're promoters I'd always get here, like, 2:30 (or) 3 in the morning, so the memories are a little foggy but always good. I think this is the first time in 10 years of coming here that I was here before 2 o'clock, but I've always had a good time."

Ken Hutchison of Oldies 107.9 praised "the great sound system. One of the best places in Hawaii to play if you're a band. Terrific sound all the time. Always a great crowd. It's been an icon here for years."

FINALLY, some goodbyes:

Lucilia Lu said she will miss the Wave because "everyone can go ... wherever they came from. They can be in tuxedos or Goth clothes or roller skates ... and we're not gonna have a place like that anymore."

Shane Takeshita praised Wave owner Jack Law for keeping the club open and innovative for more than 25 years: "The future should appreciate Jack. ... There are a lot of people who have a tremendous amount of memories that started here (or) ended here, and it's gonna be sad to see it go."