Club Highland at The Hollywood and Highland Mall. At last, you’ve graduated from lowly patron of ground-level kiosks and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels (effin’ good pretzels though) to the velvet-roped waiting lines and plastic, Greco Roman girders that scream Hollywood Decadence, à la Ed Wood. And a never-ending maze of dance room after dance room (or maybe it just seemed never ending after the jager) with a guy obsessively projecting the same 5-minute loop of Hentai porn over and over again, like Michael Jackson watching Elizabeth Taylor movies. Never mind the scuzz, though; Black Gold’s here to distract you, and despite a surprisingly short set, they chose hits like “Shine” and “Plans and Reveries” to garner them a few new followers. The crowd, clearly there to express DJ adoration more than anything, did their best to grind up against each other and get moving to Than Luu’s drum beats and Shiben’s thundering bass lines on tracks like “Detroit.”
Supreme leader Erick Ronick’s dynamic piano playing and pitch-perfect vocals seemed to help get everyone in a bit more of a partying mood — kind of difficult with lumbering security cronies on all sides of the dance floor, like we were swing kids being watched by SS officers. BG gets extra points for all the candy they brought, placed in large black-and-gold, cryogenic chamber-looking canisters which my cohort and I were all too happy to shove our meaty little paws into. (Am I the only one who still doesn’t know what the hell is in a 3 Musketeers bar, yet still likes them?) Devils, whore-angels, Poison Ivys and assorted miscreants danced halfheartedly to a few of the openers, but these Hollywood Hillers needn’t have worried–DJ PJ Bloom was quickly on board to lend a hand with his frenzied beats and bizarre rhythms.
Then there was this guy, and everything just seemed to come full circle.
A lot of people spent too much time with their hands in their pockets and staring into space–but again this might have been that cartoon porno they had playing (which while fascinating doesn’t gel too well with DJ music or rock of any kind, except the wakachikka of wah-wah pedals). Still, it might explain why certain girls and guys seemed to be taking every opportunity remove items of clothing (only to reveal body paint-doh!!). Drinks were aplenty and it wasn’t too crowded; between this and the endless dance rooms it made for a fun evening. The Highlands, located on the top floor of the Hollywood @ Highland Mall, is a must-visit for any avid club goer or tourist looking for a true taste of the Hollywood party scene.
Words by Jeff Nau, Photos by Sidney McMullen
