Few things in the world of nightlife impress me as much as the successful launch of a reimagined club or party.  So, it was with no small amount of joy that I witnessed the debut of Giorgio’s: Chapter 2 – the new evolution of the chic dance party thrown weekly by Bryan Rabin and Adam Bravin at mmhmmm at The Standard, Hollywood.

Having built Giorgio’s on the sounds of Disco (no coincidence, it being named for iconic dance-music producer Giorgio Moroder – himself, a frequent guest of the club), Bryan and Adam figured that after nearly three years, it was time to mix things up; so they decided to change the club’s music format to incorporate the sounds of the ‘80s.  So, what does this mean?  Expect a lot of the second British Invasion – the New Romanticism and New Wave music to which I came of age – as well as early Hip Hop, Freestyle, and New Jack Swing.  The constant being a funky, danceable beat.

The party, Saturday night, started poolside, at the Standard; where, from 8pm until 10pm, a couple hundred VIPs (including Alan Cumming, Rose Apodaca, Annabel Schofield, Julia Clancey, Lisa Edelstein, Kathy Jeung, and David LaChapelle) mingled, drank, posed, chatted, and caught-up to a set that Adam had cleverly curated, in advance.  Then, as the clock struck ten (or would have, if anyone had clocks, anymore), everyone made their way past the Front Desk, to the ropes, where Henri showed them through the kitchen, to mmhmmm; where Adam was reigning over the ones-and-twos. 

I can’t recall Giorgio’s ever being so packed (and I’m there pretty often).  And I was running into friends, everywhere I turned.  Here was songwriting wunderkind, Justin Tranter (celebrating his third song to hit number one, on the Billboard charts) with the dazzling Darian Darling.  There was recent One Night for ONE DROP headliner Leona Lewis, celebrating her birthday with a gaggle of girls; as across the room, theatre producer Sally Horchow was celebrating the day of her birth with a dozen pals, including the stunning Lola Glaudini, showing-off her new cropped ‘do.  After being bounced around like a human pinball, I made my way to the patio (air!!!), and after saying howdy to Pussycat Dolls founder/creator, Robin Antin; heard my name shouted, and turned to find my friend Fabianne Espinola, in town, from Milan.  No way!

But I had to get back inside, as I was privy to the fact that the first of the evening’s two surprise performances was about to begin.  Suddenly, the club went dark.  Then, when the music came back on, it was “Ebben? Ne Andrò Lontana” – the famous aria from the Catalani opera, La Wally that appeared in the 1981 French film, Diva – only instead of being sung by Wilhelmina Wiggins, the part of the soprano was performed on the Theremin by renowned virtuoso Armen Ra; who - lit by a single pink-gelled spotlight – was clad in Thierry Mugler, and painted for the gods!

It took a moment (or three) for everyone to realize what was happening; but when they did, the room came together, and fell-out.  And while it can be very difficult for a classical musician to perform in a nightclub; the collective jaws of everyone in the booths and tables had co me undone, in appreciation.  At the end of the performance, cheers of “Brava!” echoed around the room.

Then, after Ra left the stage, burlesque beauty and 2002 Miss Exotic World, Kitten DeVille got up and got down, her hips gyrating furiously to the music of Joan Jett (“Bad Reputation”) and Plastic Bertrand (“Ça Plane Pour Moi”).

To wrap things up, here’s a quick rundown (by category) of those seen on the scene, at Giorgio’s, last Saturday:

FashionJulia Clancey, Dita von Teese, Brian Wolk & Claude Morais (Ruffian), Jerome C. Rousseau, costume designer/jeweler Michael Schmidt, buyer Fabianne Espinola, Christos Garkinos (Decades), stylist Roberta Wagner, and Emmy-winning costume designer Janie Bryant (Deadwood, Mad Men),

PhotographyDavid LaChapelle, Andrew MacPhearson with stylist Joanna Hadfield, Amy Neusinger, Alix Malka, and Amanda Demme

The Written WordJames St. James (Freak Show, Disco Bloodbath), Merle Ginsberg, Frankie Clarke (Frankie’s Planet), Booth Moore and Adam Tschorn (Los Angeles Times), George Kotsiopoulos (C, Fashion Police), and curator Rose Apodaca

Film/TV/Theater – Tony-winning thespian Alan Cumming (The Good Wife, Cabaret), Lisa Edelstein (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, House, M.D.) with husband, artist Robert Russell, Emmy-winning Voice-over artist, John Roberts (Linda Belcher on Bob’s Burgers), Ian Nelson (Freak Show, Teen Wolf), Wolf Fleetwood-Ross (Actors Anonymous), Annabel Schofield (Dallas), Lola Glaudini (Criminal Minds), Tony Okungbowa (Echo Park), producer Donald De Line, and Alexander Skarsgård (Tarzan, True Blood)

Jet SetJessica de Rothschild, Alexandra von Furstenberg with husband Dax Miller, producer Sally Horchow, Leah Forester, Robert Kass, and hotelier Jeff Klein

MusicJustin Tranter, Kevin Haskins (Bauhaus), Jody Watley with Nate Allen Smith and Rosero McCoy of Shalamar ReLoaded, The Struts, Leona Lewis, and Brooke Candy

Bryan Rabin and Adam Bravin present GIORGIO’S Chapter 2: A New Sound
Saturdays at The Standard, Hollywood
Click HERE for info

Get into it!
#Giorgios

The world’s greatest hip-hop collective returns this weekend with the second edition of the history-making WU-TANG CLAN: THE SAGA CONTINUES… THE LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY