The Scene: A late-night bash Monday at...

The Scene: A late-night bash Monday at the Hard Rock Cafe for Spin magazine’s third annual swimsuit issue. There were no bathing beauties, but plenty of leather-clad men and women shouting above Tone-Loc and Fine Young Cannibals being blasted through mega-sized speakers. Music industry execs looking ill at ease in suits mingled with shag heads with tattoos and cowboy boots.

The Buzz:The appearance of Harry Connick Jr., the Hot Young Thing from New Orleans who plays standards and blues with a passion that belies his age (21).

Who Was There: The Del Rubio triplets (wearing snakeskin skirts and little silver boots), Stacey Q, supermodel Beverly Johnson, David Weiss of Was (Not Was), The Real Roxanne, Corey Haim, Spin Publisher Bob Guccione Jr.

Dress Mode: Half the crowd came dressed for the heavy metal scene at Cat House, with studded leather jackets and belts, shredded jean jackets, bandannas and long, stringy hair. Men layered vests over big shirts; girls paired long dresses with anklets and mary janes.

Food: Not a huge spread--fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese. Was the Hard Rock trying to teach these people to eat healthy?

Entertainment: Harry Connick Jr., solo and with Tony Bennett, a truly inspired pairing. After a break came the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The other show was in the women’s bathroom, where females crammed themselves into a room measuring 6x6 feet and asphyxiated one another with hairspray.

Justine Bateman Watch: We were getting worried, not having seen Miss B at parties recently. But the actress/poet did show with boyfriend Leif Garrett, who finds that always wearing a scarf around his head is a sure remedy for male pattern baldness. While Leif happily shook his bootay while the Red Hot Chili Peppers played, Justine demurely nodded her head in time to the music. Maybe Tony Bennett was more her style.

Triumphs: Getting the audience to go wild over Harry Connick Jr. and Tony Bennett and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Bennet must have felt good getting cheers from a new generation of twentysomething fans.

Glitches: At the Hard Rock they love loud music, which is fine if there’s some place to go to escape it. Unfortunately, that only leaves the bathroom or outside the restaurant. It was audio claustrophobia.