The more outré, the better at this party
A long time ago (the ‘80s), in a galaxy far, far away, it is a period of psychic unrest. Rebel rockers, striking fabulous poses from hidden bases across big cities (nightclubs), have won a great victory against the evil Imperial Empire (Reagan’s America). In Los Angeles, hot spots like Helena’s and the Flaming Colossus lead the fashion-forward charge toward carnal chaos, an outrageous party aesthetic and flamboyant artistic expression.
From their club-kid perches on opposite coasts, two men, Bryan Rabin and Kelly Cole, have no idea that they will join forces in 2009 -- after the Imperial Empire’s ultimate weapon (bottle service) has nearly strangled the creative breath out of planet night life -- to save the freaky people and restore L.A.’s freedom to be as naughty as it wants to be, through their weekly party, Diamond Dogs.
Rooted in the stark, moderately apocalyptic H.Wood (near Hollywood and Highland), charging no cover, unimpressed by celebrity guff and not requiring anyone to pay $300 for a bottle to sit at a table, Diamond Dogs just may help change the gluttonous language of Hollywood night life for good.
“Nightclubs used to be for people who had similar sensibilities in art, music, fashion and film,” says Rabin, who presided over one of L.A.’s longest-running club nights, Cherry, during the ‘90s before moving on to start an event production firm.
“The idea of someone buying a bottle to come into a nightclub is ridiculous. Money doesn’t mean you’re gonna be fun; celebrity doesn’t mean you’re going to add anything to the room.”
That’s not to say that there isn’t plenty of celebrity on any given night at Diamond Dogs. Barely into its second month, the dance party has drawn the likes of Rose McGowan, Mischa Barton, Ione Skye, Dita Von Teese, Georgia Jagger, Clem Burke and Frank Infante from Blondie, and Bryan Ferry, who Rabin says, arrived with Anne Crawford, saw his album cover at the entrance to the party (which had a distinct Roxy Music theme) and promptly left.
The goal at the door is achieving balance in the room, says Cole, who created the New York it club SPY in the late ‘90s and is a well-known L.A. DJ.
“Glamour to me is when you have a smile on your face,” says Rabin, who wants to welcome young and old people alike. Drawing Hollywood’s young, creative types to Diamond Dogs is the job of their friend and partner, Ian Cripps, the son of a member of the rock band L.A. Guns and, at 20, is Warner Bros.’ youngest A&R; rep.
The catchphrase on the Diamond Dogs flier is, “Invite all the nobody people and all the somebody people.” Nobody people might cringe at that line, but it’s part of the Warholian spectacle and glittery ethos that drives the party. At Diamond Dogs, you might find Kitten DeVille go-go dancing on a platform in one room, while films curated by Anton Yelchin loop silently in another and some starlet who would rather not be named (and probably won’t -- the door guards against tabloid spies) does something deliciously outrageous in a booth by the DJ.
Rabin and Cole have high hopes that the evenings will become even more outlandish. “The economy just crashed, and that’s when things get really fabulous,” says Rabin. “People get really creative because you don’t have those big, gluttonous budgets. So we’re taking the night back. Who wants to go out and be bombarded by rude, awful clones?”
Cole agrees.
“There’s that ambient desperation in Hollywood social life, where the line between the have and have-nots is so clearly drawn,” he says.
“People are sizing you up no matter where you go, and in nightclubs the common denominator had become the credit card.”
However, if you intend to live it up at Diamond Dogs, you may want to bring your credit card anyway. Well drinks go for $10 a pop. This is, after all, Hollywood. But if you want to have just one drink and dance until your feet fall off in the wacky outfit you spent all week sewing from discarded terry cloth and gold lame, Rabin and Cole aren’t going to stop you.
And if you smile just right, you might even get a table, nobody or not.
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Diamond Dogs
Where: H.Wood, 1738 N. Orange, L.A.
When: 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursdays
Price: No cover
Contact: info@DiamondDogs LA.com
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