Live music, comedy brings Westwood to life

Published: Friday, January 30, 1998

Friday, January 30, 1998

PERFORMERS: Restaurants, clubs bring professional bands, host open mikes to lure UCLA students

By Vanessa VanderZanden

Daily Bruin Staff

Tonight, you have no tests to study for or papers to write. Tonight, you require live entertainment and a place with atmosphere. Tonight, you hit the streets of ... Westwood?

"Students don't want to have to drive into Hollywood or Santa Monica," explains Mike Vaez, coordinator of the Westwood Brewery's comedy night. "Now, with all the different bars in town and things changing just a little bit, the Westwood Brewery hit this live music and entertainment night at the right time."

Offering an open-mike night on Tuesdays for musicians and a comedy evening every Wednesday, The Westwood Brewery helps to create a more college-friendly night-life within Westwood's perimeters.

The Brewery's efforts are shared by both Duet and Monty's, two other restaurant/bars which offer live music routinely. Each of the three establishments grant a unique setting and distinct ambience.

"We provide a place for bands to showcase their talent and for people to go out and see live bands for no cover and have a good time," says bartender and open-mike night coordinator Mark Duncan. "In the small room, it's open mike. Anyone can come and perform. We get everything from acoustic acts to poetry reading to musical comedy. We get all kinds of stuff in there."

Musicians begin sign-ups at 9 p.m., as food usually ends service upstairs at that time, though the downstairs portion of the restaurant remains intact. A second larger room, also open only on Tuesday nights for musical performances, shows three local or UCLA bands a night beginning at 9 p.m. The all-ages hang out includes a comedy evening starting at 7:30 every Wednesday.

"It's always very big," Vaez says. "We have an improv group that sets it up. They usually bring their mailing list, and those people usually come in and eat dinner. Then they file out and a new crowd comes in. It goes like that till midnight."

The concept for both evenings grew out of Vaez's self-thrown birthday on a Tuesday last April, for which he recruited many talented acquaintances to offer entertainment. Soon, the event became a monthly occurrence, taking its current form in August, with Duncan's help. Though the two evenings have relied predominantly on word of mouth to attract attention, the Brewery has managed to attract a large audience.

"These bands come in, have a great time, and do a good job," Vaez proclaims. "They bring in huge crowds, too. You get a whole mixture of people. You get the whole fraternity, sorority following, and you've got just your regular lay students, your independents."

While The Westwood Brewery offers the only forum for comedy and fresh UCLA musicians, Duet fills a different niche in Westwood Village. Focusing on a nightly rotation of DJs and established talent, the 21-and-over nightclub opens its doors at 9 p.m. with bands setting up at around 10 p.m. Though each evening works off a separate theme, the club allows itself some mobility in choosing acts.

"We've just switched from doing reggae on Tuesdays to doing a band called We Bump. They play a lot of the old Gap Band stuff, and '60s disco and '70s disco and funk and soul," offers director of special events Hilary Carr. "It features Baby Gap from the Gap Band. Everyone's doing their own single album project, but this band is where they all come out and just jam. They're going to go for a while."

Wednesdays, on the other hand, remain a bit of a mystery. It may remain predominantly a funk fest, though it could also include a variety of celebrity sit-in spots, where known musicians play single performances with a hired band. Thursdays will fall under the title, "Nothin' But the Blues," with Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Billy Diamond.

"He's the person who named Fats Domino," Carr says. "It's his night, and he's bringing in blues players from all over. Every Thursday night is going to be some seriously killer blues with the major legends."

Fridays will also include well known musicians, this time playing acoustic sets to fit the "Unplugged" theme. Each night requires a ten dollar cover charge, which pays for the price of a drink. However, Tuesdays can be attended free of charge, as long as individuals call ahead of time to place their names on the guest list.

"In the beginning, a lot of UCLA came here," Carr says of Duet's attempt to attract students. "We had a dueling piano bar. For a while, that was a draw, and then people kind of got over it. So we started adding bands. I think people got a little intimidated by us, and it scared everyone off forever. When UCLA came back for school this year, it never really hit with you guys as much."

Yet Carr hopes that flyers containing coupons for a coverless Tuesday night along with the guest list hotline will attract a larger crowd. Meanwhile, the club has cut the piano acts completely and replaced the scene with disco lights and a fog machine. And, although current laws prohibit Duet from advertising itself as a dance club, dancing individuals are not greatly discouraged.

"Everyone's kind of threatened by us because we're stepping outside the little teeny-tiny nine dots," Carr believes. "We're pulling in different crowds, diverse crowds, ethnic crowds. All kinds of different people and I think that's great."

In an oddly similar way, Monty's provides the third stage for Westwood's live entertainment. In the Martini Room, now a self-service smoking lounge, a piano player takes requests on his baby grand from Thursday to Saturday. The main room offers the in-house band, Phase Three, five nights a week.

"Led by Tommy Tuna, he's the man," suggests third generation family owner Michael Levine. "It's Top 40, R&B. They play everything from Sinatra to Tupac to everything in between. Three piece and it sounds like seven. It's bass, drums, and keyboards. Every kid at UCLA knows who Phase Three is."

Beginning at 10 p.m., the 17-year-old band often incites diners and drinkers to take the aisles in dance. Many come dressed for the occasion, as proper attire is required. As Levine says, "You gotta dress decent," which inspires a sophisticated atmosphere.

"It's the last of the supper clubs," admits Levine. "It's gotta reach everybody's needs from 21 to 101."

Upset with Westwood's current predominance of "T-shirt shops, falafel shops and doughnut shops" in place of what used to be upscale clothing stores, Levine takes comfort in his restaurant's continued success. Monty's still serves dinner until 1 a.m. on the weekends and cocktails until 2 a.m. It maintains its elevated air, even after 20 years of service within a college town.

"It's not where you go to drink a three dollar pitcher of beer and throw up on the floor," Levine stipulates. "It's when the college student wants to step up and come to a nice place, he comes here. That's why at one table you could have a 40- or 50-year-old couple listening to the music and having a good time, and at the next table over you could have six or seven students sitting around enjoying the music and having a good time. It works for everybody as long as everybody respects everybody's space."