What's Up: Pine scene, north and south
By Tim Grobaty
Staff columnist
OPENING THE VAULT: It's a close race between construction workers hitting the final nail on the head and the opening notes of Franky Perez opening for headliner Jonny Lang at the Friday night grand opening for Long Beach's newest club, Vault 350, at 350 Pine Ave., in downtown Long Beach. According to a spokesman at the $4million nightclub, everything's A-OK for the Lang show.
Assuming that's true, $49.50 gets you in to the swanky venue's debut show at 8 o'clock Friday. Expect to pass workers coming out on your way in, because construction is coming right down to showtime. Wondering about opening- night wardrobe? We'd recommend a hard hat.
Vault 350's talent bookers, including old-hand Ken Phebus, are busy signing an eclectic mix of performers for the club. Eventually, the club's management hopes to pack the Vault with 25 shows per month.
So far, the spring and summer shows include the Temptations Revue, June 11 ($60); Mary Chapin Carpenter with Jim Lauderdale, June 12 ($45); Avant, June 25 ($39.50); K-Ci & Jo Jo, July 9 ($39.50); Freddie Jackson, July 10 ($27.50); the United We Funk Tour, with Dazz Band, S.O.S., Con Funk Shun and Midnight Star, July 17 ($30); the Ohio Players, July 24 ($30); the B- 52s, Aug. 13 ($75); and KRS-One, Aug. 21 ($20).
For tickets, try the Vault's Web site (also being hammered at with frequent construction closures):
www.vault350.com , or call the box office, (562) 590-5566. DANCING AT THE PIKE: While Pine Avenuists hope the Vault will pull night life farther north on downtown Long Beach's eternally rocky road, new openings at the Pike at Rainbow Harbor continue to draw attention and money, and crowds to the south side of Ocean Boulevard.
The latest potential major player down the hill is V20, a huge, dazzling and wildly versatile venue/restaurant at the Pike's west end.
The $10 million, 30,000-square- foot facility is going after the lucrative convention market on weekdays, and catering to a nightlife-hungry, dance-happy public crowd on Fridays and Saturdays after its grand opening June 24-26 (the opening night is by invitation only).
Like the Vault, V20 (a condensed way of saying Venue by the Water) will be equipped with a $1million sound system, though the venue will, on Fridays and Saturdays anyway, steer clear of touring musical acts and stick to DJs and dance.
The balance of the time, well, they'll do just about anything you want and can afford in the way of special events for large groups.
"If someone wants to do a theme event, say a Mardi Gras Night, we can do that all the way down to the waiters' clothes, the menu, the props and the lighting,' says V20 CEO Michael Viscuso.
Unless otherwise arranged, the food, says Viscuso, will be pan-Pacific cuisine with a full sushi menu served in the venue's restaurant that, he says, is "semi-private, but very interactive with the dance floor.'
The restaurant and the club's four bars will open at 5 p.m. Fridays and 6 p.m. Saturdays. Jazz bands will perform for diners in the early part of the evenings,' says Viscuso. "Around 10:30, the lights will go down, the music will go up, we'll clear away the tables and it turns into a dance club until 2 a.m. closing.'
Viscuso is a seasoned pro when it comes to nightlife. Among his other properties are J.J.'s Steakhouse in Old Pasadena, and On Broadway Events Center, E Street Alley, Red Circle Cafe and Deco's, all in San Diego