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hope this first newsletter of 2005 finds all of you dear readers
in good spirits and happily recovered from your New Year’s
Eve celebrations. This and the next newsletter will feature solutions
to your new year’s resolutions. It’s a brand new
year and hopefully one of your resolutions will be to pamper
yourself a little more. You deserve it. The Upper Hand Salon
is a mighty fine place to start. Here’s a great idea for
a birthday party, bridal party, an original way to entertain
clients or just a fun idea for a girls’ night out: all
three locations of The Upper Hand Salon and Spa specialize in
hosting parties of all sizes. The salon can provide you with
just what you need for a successful event. Click on the Upper
Hand Salon sponsor box to learn more about the three locations
and the services that they offer. Be sure to sign-up for their
mailing list to receive special news and offers. Other "good
for you" products come from a company called Arbonne, which
offers pure, safe, beneficial products that can be life-changing.
These products can help make your youthful looks last a little
longer. Click on the sponsor box to the left and see if there
are any Arbonne products you’d like to try or learn
more about.
If
getting a little more culture in your life is a resolution
for you, Cirque Du Soleil has a new production
coming to town
called Varekai. The cast and crew of Varekai are already
in town and they celebrated New Year’s Eve at M Bar. The
word varekai means "wherever" in the Romany language
of the universal wanderers, known as the gypsies. This
performance pays tribute to the nomadic soul, to the spirit
and art of
the circus tradition, and to the infinite passion of those
whose journey takes them along the path that leads to Varekai.
The production runs January 6 through February 6 at the
Reliant and tickets start @ $41 for adults and go up to
$195. There
are special "members only" performances February
9-13 for Cirque Club members. I am a Cirque Club member
and I’ll let you in on a little secret, membership
is FREE, just register at www.cirquedusoleil.com. I’m a Symphomaniac, and I’m really excited about
some upcoming shows. Grammy Award-winning Doc Severinsen, bandleader
and trumpeter, is coming to town to conduct and perform with
our city’s Symphony in an evening of symphonic jazz and
big band classics. Doc was the leader of Johnny Carson’s
band on "The Tonight Show" for three decades. He’ll
perform on January 7th, 8th and 9th. The Houston Symphony will
also present a special performance in conjunction with The Art
Guys on January 15th, 16th and 17th called "Illuminations
on Bluebeard's Castle." This unique concert event will feature
an innovative performance of Bela Bartok's only opera, Duke Bluebeard's
Castle. The Art Guys will work hand-in-hand with the Houston
Symphony’s music director, Hans Graf, in a multimedia performance
with unique lighting and choreography to the music and story’s
text. This collaboration will offer the audience the opportunity
to "see the sound" of the Houston Symphony. Patti
Martin is standing by the phone right now to take your orders
for tickets
at the Symphony, call 713-238-1475. If you tell her you heard
about it from the Queen of Clubs, she will give you a 10%
discount on your tickets. Patti rocks! There
are a few after-hours clubs new to the scene, the first
being the Pink Monkey, in the old Rehab spot at 709 Franklin.
It will be open 10PM-6AM on Fridays and Saturdays. For details
about Pink Monkey, call 713-227-PINK. Swift Productions and
www.vinylpimp.com have some influence on Pink Monkey,
so you know it will be a
HUGE success. If you prefer the Shepherd Plaza area of town
for dancing until sunrise, try VIP Blue at 3743 Greenbriar,
near
Richmond. Does anyone remember the old Live Bait Bar? That’s
the spot. Hours are 2AM until 6AM on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s
been quite some time since I’ve left a club in the wee
hours on a Sunday morning to see families driving by on their
way to church. I’m way too old for that now. Joia
Lounge is now open at 2511 Bissonnet, close to Kirby,
see www.joiahouston.com. Joia is a Portuguese term for "jewel." The
interior has a European-influenced theme throughout the venue.
The décor is stark white with Moroccan accents. Colorful
paintings and sheer drapery adorn the walls. The new owners invite
you to experience and enjoy a warm lounge-feel with a little
bit of refuge from the hustle and bustle, and the ultra-expensive
parking, of being at downtown’s bigger nightclubs. I experienced
Joia with Mariana Gomez, Bar Manager at Slainte and the Ruby
Room, and I give it the Queen’s stamp of approval. The
service was impressive and never did more than one cigarette
butt sit in the ashtray at our table without being promptly emptied.
I was fortunate enough to meet the gorgeous GM, Dawn Benjamin,
who is doing a fantastic job and was very attentive to her staff
and guests. Artist Micah Simmons was there, and it is his work
that is displayed on the walls. Micah will host an Art Reception
with two other artists at the Ruby Room on January 29th, which
will be open to the public. Look for details about that in the
January 15th newsletter. Until then, see Micah’s art at
www.blakephotography.com/micah or at Joia. I also ran into the
adorable DJ Alex C., who works at the Standard. The crowd at
Joia was gorgeous, and I’d say the average age was in the
23-30 range (except for me.) DJ Suran was incredible. I’ll
be going back. For information, call 713-521-9928. Learn
more about Joia Lounge and other hot spots in the city at
www.thenightspin.com.
I
cannot talk about lounges without mentioning my most
favorite one. Last month, Six Degrees Lounge hosted
a special, invitation-only
holiday soiree. The place was packed and the guests were
treated to appetizers and cocktails for a couple hours,
compliments
of the owners. They really appreciate their clientele and
it shows. Be sure to click on the Six Degrees sponsor box
on this
newsletter to sign-up for special invitations to their
events. Six Degrees is at 911 Franklin, in the Bayou Lofts.
This is
a fantastic location to host cocktail, corporate, social
or happy hour parties. Angie, Michelle and Julian are some
of
the friendliest bartenders I’ve met so far downtown.
I can’t say it enough times, I love this place and
all the people who make it so great. You can find me there
at least
once a week. There
is a fastdater event at the Ruby Room at 509 Main Street
on January 13th. This is one of those speed-dating events
I’ve
talked about in previous newsletters. If finding a new love or
replacing your current other half, is a new year’s
resolution for you, this event could be a good place to start
the search.
More details are available as well as their schedule of other
parties, at www.fastdater.com. You can also search for a
mate on www.HoustonConnect.com, which is the biggest source
for online
singles in town (over 20,000 members.) They also host great
events. Become a member for just $15 per month and you be
invited to
their parties and activities in addition to meeting other
fantastic and local singles. If
one of your new year’s resolutions is to increase awareness
of your business thorough having a killer website, let me recommend
the three I use most frequently. HJR Design is responsible for
www.slainteirishpub.com which the place is where you can find
me six days a week (working, not always drinking.) Dustie Hollon
is fantabulous! He is extremely talented and professional and
has a list of impressive clients and offers a vast array of services.
See www.hjrdesign.com to learn why I love doing business with
him. My other "main website squeeze" is John Valenzano
of www.hardlightmedia.com who is a creative lad with the capability
to do graphic design, web development, web hosting, computer
animation and multimedia development. John is responsible for
hosting and maintaining my www.houstonqueenofclubs.com website.
John, along with several other business associates, will be hosting
a professional networking mixer at the Ruby Room on January 20th
at 6:00PM. The event is open to the public. Contact him to be
added to the invitation list by emailing johnv@hardlightmedia.com.
I’m also an enormous fan of Khail Mills of www.hypermail.cc.
Khail is my newsletter’s business manager and responsible
for the mailing of and the graphics on the QOC newsletter
that goes out each two weeks and he provides maintenance
for my private
email database. He also creates graphics for other advertising
campaigns, and his clients list is impressive and includes
Laff Stop, Laff Spot, Churrascos, Americas, Arcodoro, Erotic
Cabaret,
Artista, Mission Burritos, Little Woodrows, Rice Epicurean
Markets and Bossa restaurant, just to name a few. Drop him
an email to
see what he can do for your business khail@hypermail.cc. Success
in the City is presenting "Curtain Call" on
Monday, January 17th, beginning at 6:00PM in the Private Rehearsal
Hall at Jones Hall. The event includes delicious appetizers provided
by several local restaurants as well as a cash bar, featuring
the signature "City-tini" Martini and the guests
will be treated to a presentation of Blue Beard's Castle
along with
a dynamic light laser show created by the Art Guys of Houston.
This event is the first of its kind and Success in the City
is proud to offer this unique cultural experience to their
guests.
This event will also mark the unveiling of Success in the
City's Entrepreneurial program for Women in Houston. Please
call 281-391-2636
for details or visit www.successinthecity-houston.com. Seating
is limited and reservations are required. Finally,
I want everyone to know about a monthly event on the
first Sunday of the month from 5:00PM-2:00AM at the Social,
located
at 3730 Washington. The event features DJs Sean Carnahan,
Champa Moore and Randal Jones. It’s called "Sundown" and
is a "meeting of the minds," so to speak, hosted
by promoters and influential people in the nightlife and
entertainment
community and it is open to all guests 21 and up. Some of
the hosts include well-knowns like Charles Garibay, Andy
Kogut, Charles
Solomon, Yogi Goyal, Neil and Danielle Heller, and Jaysen
Clark. There are giveaways and drink specials all night long,
so grab
all your friends and meet me at the Social on January 9th.
Click on www.77002.com/wicked/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=63
Email me if you want to be put on the guest list for that night.
Stay tuned for the January 15th edition to cover more exciting
resolution solutions and news of nightlife events. |
