No Awards, but Macy Gray Is the Post-Grammy Winner

The big winners on the post-Grammy party front: the fire marshal, who crashed most of the bashes around town and managed to shut down one, and Macy Gray, the wildly acclaimed soul singer who gave a stunning performance at a private party on the Sunset Strip in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

And things were jubilant at the Conga Room, where the man of the moment, Carlos Santana, hosted a private dinner for 125 family members and friends. The intimate gathering included Santana’s “Smooth” partner Rob Thomas, Conga Room co-owner Jimmy Smits, Arista Records founder Clive Davis and folk rapper Everlast. The warm mood was capped by a group sing of the traditional Mexican birthday song “Las Mananitas” for actor Edward James Olmos and Mana drummer Alex Gonzalez, with Santana on the timbales.

With the music industry’s strings controlled by just a few puppeteers, the record labels’ umbrella bashes--hosted by BMG and EMI--were the most opulent. EMI took over the Sunset Landmark (formerly the Hollywood Athletic Club) and transformed the spacious nightclub into a Buddha-meets-Alice-in-Wonderland-at-a-rave scenario.

The entire affair was surreal: From the ever-trippy Perry Farrell deejaying a vicious world-beat confection with belly dancers draped in sparkly garb gyrating before him, to the celebrities floating through the crowd. Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit powwowed with Dr. Dre, who was ecstatic over Eminem’s wins. MTV’s Tom Green, the epitome of dazed and confused, was still reeling from a skateboard accident that occurred an hour before he arrived.

Even more notable than the celebrities, however, were the behind-the-scenes Hollywood club heavies, who rarely congregate in the same place and time (forming a who’s-who-in-Hollywood huddle were Joseph Brooks, Sal Jenco, Mark Kates, Jon Sidel and Sean Mace--their credentials are too extensive to list, but they pretty much run the H-town shuffle).

Until the fire marshal came ‘round midnight and shut the BMG gala down, the mondo company was hosting an equally surreal affair at Quixote Studios in Hollywood. The event conjured up the look and feel of the Asian underground, with gloved hands serving a buffet through incubator-like openings, and waiters using rickshaws as food carts.

BMG, which took home 24 Grammys, could afford to pull out the stops. Guests included Grammy winner Christina Aguilera, Melissa Etheridge, Howard Stern and Courtney Love, who was chatting up songwriter hit machine Diane Warren and palling around with party girl Bijou Phillips.

A BMG spokesman said the party’s official capacity was 1,000, but city officials ordered the party closed when it passed 600. Unfortunate, considering it was Grammy night.

But get this: When the fire marshal visited the Sunset Strip to shut down the coolest party of all, a waaaaaaay-over-capacity private performance by Grammy nominee Macy Gray, Chocolate Bar promoter Aurelito (who hosted the event) meditated. We’re serious: He looked to the heavens in front of the officials and pleaded with them to let the party continue. They did, and it was a knockout affair for everyone in attendance, including party hopper Love. Opening act Black-Eyed Peas heaved up big doses of spiritual rap, which laid the groundwork for an unforgettable performance by Gray, whose debut album is in the Top 20. The energy and excitement permeating the show and the diversity of the crowd meant only one thing: The L.A. musical scene is so alive and ever so well.

With former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Arik Marshall rocking Gray’s band on one side of town, and former Jane’s Addiction frontman Farrell waxing world beat on the other, surely it’s a positive sign o’ the times.

Gray may not have taken home a Grammy, but her performance was the apex of Grammy-night fun. Put it this way: Actual Grammy winner and post-awards man-about-town Lenny Kravitz, who held daughter Zoe in his arms throughout Gray’s show, knew exactly where to be at 2:30 a.m. on music’s biggest night.