[Dynagroove] [Club Review: House] LoCal review

[mark e]

[sorry for the crosspost]

What up kids, here's a [long-ass] review of the new Hollywood club, LoCal:

THE 411:

Thursday nights in Hollywood

1999 N. Sycaore Ave in HW
10pm-2am
21+
2 bars -- Koi Garden -- Smoking patio -- SMOKIN' VIEW

323.850.8662

$5 b4 10:30, $10 after
$2 valet (but c'mon, tip the guy for Christ's sake!)

My rating, overall: A-/B+

Let's break it down:

VENUE: Friggin' AMAZING.  Located at the Yamashiro Hotel/restaurant, this 
has got to be one of, if not the coolest club venue I've ever been to, 
especially in Hollywood.  Sitting atop a beautiful location in the Hollywood 
Hills, it offers a truly breathtaking view of the city. A lounge area ran 
around the two sides of the building (the other 2 sides were the 
restaurant), with many comfy tables offering up some of that awesome view.  
The middle of the restaurant was a covered patio, perhaps 50' square, with a 
Koi garden and gas space heaters.  There were two dance areas, with the main 
one spinning more housey-type music, and the outdoor reserved for downtempo 
all night. Drinks were pretty reasonably prices for a HW club ($5.50 for my 
Sam Adams; the mixed drinks ranged from $6-$9).  I didn't get a look at the 
actual dinner menu, but the lounge menu was reasonably priced (sushi from $5 
- $10, appetizers mostly in this range as well).  Service: excellent, we 
were treated well by all we came in contact with.

MUSIC: Ok, I have to be honest here.  During the early evening (we arrived 
at 10:29 to get the $5 cover), the music was pretty downtempo.  I expect 
this when I get to a place early; they have to warm up the decks and the 
crowd.  Around 11:30, the music inside started to pick up a bit, and we 
danced despite the utter lack of anyone else on the floor.  I'm not sure who 
the DJ was, but I'm pretty sure it was Scott K, 'cause Tony Watson is a tall 
guy, right?  While I'm certainly no DJ myself, I can appreciate good and bad 
mixing.  Now, I'm not gonna say the mixing "sucked," because it didn't; 
however, I won't say it was "great," 'cause it wasn't. I've only been to 
More once (their other residency, Friday nights @ Gabbah on Melrose), and 
I've seen this kid throw down MUCH BETTER than he did last night. I will 
chalk it up to "he had an off night," rather than "he didn't spin my style," 
because the few other people who WERE paying attention kinda looked around 
at each other like WTF?

Oh before I forget, whoever was out on the decks in the patio at about 12:30 
was pretty damn good.  Check out "[We had] A Thing, by Abstract 
Truth...sweet track.

SOUND: Sound in the outdoor area was provided by a pair or Mackie monitors, 
which was adequate for the mood and tempo. Inside, I have a couple of 
thoughts: a tiny bit too much high end, not enough bass or volume.  It was a 
JBL speaker setup, although I didn't really look to see what kind of amps 
they had. Perhaps the venue had complained before about serious, 
groundshaking bass?  I do not know...

CROWD: Definitely a Hollywood crowd, although not hostile or anything. I 
felt a tad underdressed in my crazy shirt and kickwear pants =) Most of the 
people were not really paying attention to the music too closely, but seemed 
to be enjoying themselves.

OVERALL:  I will DEFINITELY go back to LoCal, and Highly Recommend it to all 
you 21+ers.  You can't beat the view, the ambiance, and the reasonable [for 
HW] drink/light dining prices.  And BIG UPS to the promoters for offering 
the earlybird discount for broke, unemployed fools like yours truly.  Only 
"points" I knocked off were for less-than-stellar mixing and sound inside, 
but that's maaaaaybe just me.  Otherwise...GO CHECK IT OUT!

peace

-mark


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