Credit: The Beauty Bar, Hollywood
For a Wednesday night in Hollywood off of Cahuenga Boulevard, the Beauty Bar was getting its mind blown by the funky beats of guest DJs kidPEACE and CutmarC. The interior was warm and playful with an aura of pink ambiance befitting of a retro beauty parlor inspired bar. Imagine a mid 1960s set up your grandmother would adore but wouldn’t understand – equipped with faux retro hair dryers, vanity mirrors, vintage beauty décor in the window front, and even a photo booth ($5)…alongside a fully stocked bar.
While taking a shot of rum I noticed that a woman and her boyfriend opened the double doors, peeked inside, and walked up to the bar and asked the bartender if they could get an actual haircut. The bartender looked amused and told them that they were mistaken and asked if they wanted a drink. They declined and exited embarrassed and still hair challenged. My friend, rogue hairstylist and co-guest DJ, CutmarC joked that he should set up shop right there on the bar floor in front of the window so passerby’s could come in and get a cut while they drink. Not a bad idea, I thought. This idea could be good for promotion. It is, after all, the Beauty Bar. Why not make people even more beautiful in La La Land?
The atmosphere surrounding the Beauty Bar was busy and buzzing with customers getting free bubble gum flavored vodka shots from four very sweet, giving, and camera clutching women in bright pink Britney wigs. My guess is that they were trying to capture all the evidence of debauchery going on. Not a bad set up you finely disguised, sneaky, liquor toting ladies. Outside there was a live television shoot going on – complete with lighting and worried people with clipboards and hands free sets telling patrons on the sidewalk (who could care less) to move because they were trying to get a scene shot. You could hear DJ kidPEACE supply the fuel for their shoot with her set of spins starring Bob Marley and The Wailers, Lake Side, and pushing the party into overdrive with songs by Indeep, and Dr Dre. The crowd looked like they were loosening up and gettin’ on their good foot!
It seemed the speakers were sending out a mighty fine buzz because all you could see coming down the street and stopping in front of the Beauty Bar was the Pap. It must have been TMZ because you could see their flashing bulbs and feel their invasiveness from a mile away. You could have sworn that a Hilton or a Lohan tried to escape them by actually walking down the sidewalk trying to escape them. Fueling the beats, DJ kidPEACE and CutmarC shimmied everyone into the jam of some real old school dance classics by The Commodores, James Brown, Rick James, and Stevie Wonder to name a few. After they puppet mastered the dance floor into a funk storm with The Gap Band and Warren G, they brought the bass bumping of Chromeo, and Ducksauce to the mix. At the close of the night DJ kidPEACE ended her set on a high note with her own favorite band Guns N Roses. So money.
