Funky Fun in the House of Winners

The scene: Warner Music Group’s lavish Grammy Awards party at the Ambassador Hotel. (“It’s sick how much money they’re spending on this thing,” said one patron.) Warner artists Alanis Morissette and Hootie & the Blowfish were big winners, so the crowd was in high spirits in the funky, clearly deodorized, historic hotel, which reopened for the event. There were eclectic eats, plenty of vino in the flow, and a two-lane valet service that moved faster than a high-speed quad.

In the house: Hootie & the Blowfish, Dwight Yoakam, Perry Farrell, Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan and members of the Foo Fighters. . . . But wait, there’s more! With your invitation you will also receive these star sightings: Faye Dunaway, Cher, Adam Sandler, Peter Fonda. . . .

In the house, too: The digs inside could be described as ‘70s royale--plush yet dysfunctional (like the bathrooms that didn’t work). But the star of the scene was the old Cocoanut Grove nightclub within, where swingers Les Brown and his Band of Renown rocked the plastic palms as well as any Grammy act could. “Oh my god,” said a young woman. “They all look like my dad in the back row”.

Fashion statements: Mostly no-comment black-tie, with the occasional outburst of leather pants, metallic tops and sequined skirts.

Chow: Corn mini-tacos, roast beef, sashimi, you name it. And the service was so good it was almost un-American. They actually had people positioned at walkway speed bumps saying, “Watch your step.”

Overheard: A group of Warner execs concocting the band of the future, the granddaddy of Grammy groups: “It’s Whitney and the Hooters!”