Outta Sight

Everyone knows there are only a handful of special events a week — other than weekend fare, of course — really worth setting down the remote control for. Two have just gone off the radar. Which means two more will have to fill the void, which will happen — someday. Until then, nightflies will have to cope without a pair of weekly Thursday happenings, Spy’s “Delicious” and Club Waxx’s “SugarCube.” (Both incidentally featured house music, trying to capture those too-mature-for-raves nightflies, all 13 of ’em.)

Take the breakup between Spy (112 Travis) and the folks behind “Delicious.” The night was one of the club’s busiest and best-promoted events. Aside from the music, patrons had their pick of complimentary confections like fruit, whipped cream, miniature candies, flavored condoms and more flirtatious freaky-sneakeries than could be found on a Jennifer Lopez “dress.” Only insiders saw its demise a-comin’.

“Spy is one of those clubs that offer a lot and don’t deliver,” says Robert Grisham, co-creator and co-host of the now-defunct “Delicious.” Spy decision-makers, according to Grisham, didn’t take portions of the deal too seriously. When Grisham and company first buddied up to the club nearly a year ago, he says, Spy promised that age requirements would be lowered to accommodate 18-year-olds. As the weeks wore on and bouncers were still carding kids at the door, an angry Grisham abruptly decided to pack up and get the hell outta Dodge. Spy co-owner Bobby Stark confirms that he and Grisham discussed lowering the age, but after conferring with club brass, Stark decided to nix the idea. “It just increases your risk of HPD coming in and busting you for having underage drinkers,” Stark says. “You got 18-year-olds in there anyway, and, you know, it’s very easy for them to get drunk. So we just decided we didn’t wanna do that.”

Grisham says Spy also fell short in another area. In the works, he says, was a promotional blitz in which patrons would receive free CDs composed by the night’s resident DJs, Cosmic Cat and DJ Alibi. Grisham says Spy never had any intention to produce the discs and just strung him along. Spy counters that delays in manufacturing kept the CDs from falling into clubhoppers’ laps. “As far as, like, the CD goes, I have the CD,” says Stark, who adds that he has 300 copies but no way to distribute them. “The CD was ready, like, two days after [Grisham] quit. I mean, it takes time to make the CDs.”

Nightflies in the know will mostly miss “SugarCube.” Soon after firing up the gig last February, popular local DJs Ethan Klein and Rene “Chello” Rendon began to realize NoDo denizens just weren’t ready for da house. “We were there, and we were doing it, and we were having fun,” says Rendon. “But it just wasn’t what I expected. It was just I saw a lot of the same people, and I wanted different people to come.” With the blessing of the owners, Rendon and Klein decided to close up “SugarCube” in June, opting for occasional residencies at Club Diesel (5851 Southwest Freeway). Their former employers feel their pain. “I understand that everybody has to do something to make money,” says Mike Jacksis, co-owner of Club Waxx (1601 Leeland), “especially if it’s bringing us towards what other major cities do.” Jacksis still would like to do a little sumthin’ with the tandem again. “I know, like Saturdays, we still do sort of like an open booking,” he says. “So I’m sure, you know, they’ll probably maybe throw parties on Saturdays or something.”

Last Call

Still the most intimate and, on occasion, cramped downtown hangout, Swank Lounge (910 Prairie) reminds the Nightfly of that SNL sketch about a club called the Tiny Room, a joint so small only four people could attend at once. (The VIP room was a closet and could seat only one.) But for what Swank lacks in square footage, it makes up for in vibe. Every Friday, “Loft” features DJs Seth Jones and Josh Zulu as they spin lackadaisical house and other assorted grooves along with a weekly guest DJ. “We try to make it an educating experience, because Houston hasn’t really witnessed this style of music, and it’s just coming into popularity here,” says Zulu. “We’re trying to educate people on really what the music is about. It’s more of a positive environment than just exploiting the music.” Two dudes trying to show downtown dwellers they don’t have to exploit something to have a good time? Those are two wild ‘nnnn crazah guys.