JOLI SELTEN -- Nightlife

*JOLI SELTEN is design desk chief for Times Community News.

Eddie Murphy had a chart-topping song in the ‘80s. I’ve adopted its

chorus as a life motto: “My girl wants to party all the time, party all

the time, party all the time.”

Knowing that, the notion of hitting the town on a Wednesday night

shouldn’t seem farfetched. But after journeying midweek to the Tiki Bar

and Tapas Bar and Grill, I found myself one of only a few in the

Newport-Mesa area with a similar plan.

It all started a couple weeks ago, when I went on a Wednesday evening

to the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, which supports a weekly club called

Abstract Workshop. The place was packed with hip-hop loving

twentysomethings dancing to the grooves of house and guest disc jockeys

and performances by local and internationally known artists.

Break dancers cleared a circle on the floor and shocked the house with

head spins, pop-locking and the quintessential “Beat Street” worm.

There were enough customers to nurture the marketing plans of a young

couple selling hand-made jewelry of wood and beads. It was a fun night,

the kind I think is best because I had no idea what to expect.

Well, expecting far too much this week, I dragged a friend from Culver

City and a Daily Pilot photographer back down to the Tiki Bar on

Wednesday night. I was one of about 10 people in the entire

establishment, and I think four of them work there.

We left the Tiki Bar with plans to return later, figuring we were too

early.

We took the photographer’s suggestion and drove to Tapas Bar and Grill

in Newport Beach. He told me there was reggae music Wednesday nights --

always a plus in my book.

We drove up to find a lack of cars in the parking lot but went in

anyway, hoping for the best.

The place was cute, decorated like a Spanish tapas bar with a very

nice bartender and deejay. There was a lone woman sitting at the bar and,

as the night progressed, a few couples came in.

Members of a reggae band did indeed perform, playing cover tunes by

Bob Marley and a few songs of their own, in a hybrid style of roots

reggae and dancehall.

Myself and a couple were the only people dancing, and the managers

closed the place down around 12:30 a.m.

Though the photographer had run out of steam for the night, my friend

from Culver City and I stayed true to our “trooper” mentality when it

comes to having fun and headed back to the Tiki Bar.

It was true we had previously arrived too early, for now there were a

handful of cars in the parking lot.

But I guess everyone had traveled in the stereotypical Los Angeles

fashion of one person per car. When we peered in the window, we saw the

patronage had grown by maybe 20.

Not enough people to propel our interests, we decided, and sadly drove

home feeling a bit conquered in our attempt to “party all the time.”

Don’t get me wrong. I had fun with the company I was keeping, and I

must admit I was never bored. But in order to stay true to my motto, I

must say I have yet to find the perfect location for a Wednesday night

soiree in Newport-Mesa.