A Real To-Do for a Virtual Occasion

Brits mixed with Americans and suits mixed with the tattooed at the launch party for Virgin Megastore’s Web site at the El Capitan in Hollywood Tuesday night. The scene was decidedly low-key (read: not a lot of celebrity sightings), but that didn’t seem to bother the revelers, who ate hearty burgers and onion rings, sucked down pints of Guinness beer and rocked out to an acoustic set by Seal.

The theme was “Whatever Gets You Off” and there were lots of choices. Contortionists, trapeze artists, fire-eaters, drag queens and magicians created a carnival atmosphere for dancers, while tech heads huddled at computer terminals to surf the new site, https://www.virginmega.com. Virgin founder Richard Branson (sans balloon) sprayed a gigantic bottle of champagne over the crowd to inaugurate the site, which has news and features about the music world, its own radio station, and Virgin gear, CDs and more for sale.