Here’s the best way I can describe my first three hours at Goa Supperclub:
0:01 0:02 0:03 0:04 0:05 0:06 0:07 0:08 0:09 0:10
0:11 0:12 0:13 0:14 0:15 0:16 0:17 0:18 0:19 0:20
0:21 0:22 0:23 0:24 0:25 0:26 0:27 0:28 0:29 0:30
0:31 0:32 0:33 0:34 0:35 0:36 0:37 0:38 0:39 0:40
0:41 0:42 0:43 0:44 0:45 0:46 0:47 0:48 0:49 0:50
0:51 0:52 0:53 0:54 0:55 0:56 0:57 0:58 0:59 1:00
One hour.
1:01 1:02 1:03 1:04 1:05 1:06 1:07 1:08 1:09 1:10
1:11 1:12 1:13 1:14 1:15 1:16 1:17 1:18 1:19 1:20
1:21 1:22 1:23 1:24 1:25 1:26 1:27 1:28 1:29 1:30
1:31 1:32 1:33 1:34 1:35 1:36 1:37 1:38 1:39 1:40
1:41 1:42 1:43 1:44 1:45 1:46 1:47 1:48 1:49 1:50
1:51 1:52 1:53 1:54 1:55 1:56 1:57 1:58 1:59 2:00
Two hours.
2:01 2:02 2:03 2:04 2:05 2:06 2:07 2:08 2:09 2:10
2:11 2:12 2:13 2:14 2:15 2:16 2:17 2:18 2:19 2:20
2:21 2:22 2:23 2:24 2:25 2:26 2:27 2:28 2:29 2:30
2:31 2:32 2:33 2:34 2:35 2:36 2:37 2:38 2:39 2:40
2:41 2:42 2:43 2:44 2:45 2:46 2:47 2:48 2:49 2:50
2:51 2:52 2:53 2:54 2:55 2:56 2:57 2:58 2:59 3:00
Three hours.
So what do you see waiting in line three hours outside a hip Hollywood club? Well, you see Lindsay Lohan entering...and exiting. You see it start to drizzle...and stop. You see two girls on either side of you get into a fight. (Apparently one was a “skank” and the other got into “that skank’s business”; you had to be there.) You see Cris Judd, J. Lo’s ex, waiting in line with the rest of the anybodys. You see Run’s daughter Angela Simmons turned away at the door. You see Gnarls Barkley mastermind Danger Mouse get ushered to the back of the line. You see a heavily tattooed bouncer who says, “What do you think it is, heaven in there? Well it ain’t!” while pushing you back into line.
Welcome to Goa.
From Adolfo Suaya and Michael Sutton, former "General Hospital" star turned successful Hollywood nightclub promoter, comes a club so faux-international it could only exist in L.A. Next door to gay hotspot the Spotlight, Goa is a celeb-friendly dance club, restaurant and bar that's a mishmash of nearly every culture under the sun. Bartenders are decked out in Indian dress, vaguely Moroccan light fixtures cast an amber glow on spit-swapping clubbers, cut-up Persian rugs line the walls and ceilings, and the menu is heavy on the sushi (heck, why not?). Think of Goa as your own personal “It’s a Small World,” only much, much drunker.
Named after the resort state in Southern India, Goa actually has more in common with uber-cool European techno clubs than with the Portuguese-influenced Indian state. The club's promoters say they wanted to “bring the Euro party to L.A.,” and the result is a nightspot that's as much about the beat-heavy dancing as it is the chillaxing, with plenty of comfy lounge areas where couples can go to canoodle between grind sessions on the dance floor.
If you happen to make it in (and from the looks of things, rocking pink Uggs and a surgically-enhanced chest is a boon), you'll be met by a large circular bar with an oversized Shiva candelabra in the center. Directly over this main bar, a clever arrangement of real gold chain—which you can touch on the second floor—makes it look like it's raining gold. The club's close attention to detail carries into the decked-out men’s room, which comes complete with an attendant who hands out cigarettes and bite-size Snickers. Now that's class!
At 2 a.m., we were all reminded that Goa is miles away from Europe. The music stopped, the lights came on, and the DJ apologized for an early end to the night. “Sorry, this is L.A.!” he said, adding, in true Euro fashion, “Now come to my house, sexy ladies!” I turned around and realized I was dancing shoulder to shoulder with Ray Liotta.
All in a night’s work.
Click here for Goa's address, phone number and website.
Amir Kenan is a contributing editor for Metromix Los Angeles.
Spotlight on: Goa [Now closed]
A club so faux-international, it could only exist in L.A.
By Amir Kenan, Special to Metromix
December 19, 2007
(Credit: Thomas Hencz)
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