Hollywood is Only a Block Away

Black and White Night at Hollywood Lounge, located at 3301 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. offers a great time with a vibrant mix of college students, and others, at a wonderfully low cost. Wednesday night is the place to be, as your host, Alison Greer, celebrates the milestones that most folks overlook. On April 20, Greer celebrated 4/20 with a screen­ing of the films, "Reefer Madness" (1936) and "Acid Eaters" (1968), to a brilliant bung of punk rockers, artists and writers.

Photos of famous folks from Humphrey Bogart and James Dean to Gollum and Freddie Kruger litter every bit of wall space. The beautiful barmaid Joy is on hand, pour­ing up shots of happiness for every hoppin' patron. Beth Callahan is one of the smiling supporters. She says, "I've been coming since the beginning in September, I love it! It means a lot to people who come every two weeks. I love that the art is always changing, and the live art is a nice touch."

The night is made even sweeter with drinks like the $2.50 vodka cranberry, $3 Jägermeisters

and $6 Miller Light pitchers. It's all about community building, "there's stuff like this going on in Milwaukee and New York has something similar. It's great," says Jody Casden, also a live artist. She, and artist Tim Lewandowski, started the night with a blank canvas; to the 80s new wave and alternative tunes spun by DJ V and photographer DJ Kelly Ichinose (a.k.a. Jujube). They ended it with fabulous works of art.

Greer will host the next Black and White nights on Wednesday, May 4 ¬¬¬and May 18, where DJ Kendotronic will provide you the music to groove to, jam with the band Soft Candy and watch live art unfold with Ryan Narikawa. So, for your next great adventure, take a trip to Hollywood.