AFTER A SUDDEN CLOSURE TUESDAY night, rumors about why Chi-town club Next Door closed its doors were spreading faster than you could say the gentrification of Chinatown.

Event promoters who have regular gigs at the Hotel Street haunt said Wednesday that they had heard the place had been shut down because of some undisclosed violation of a Liquor Commission code, but people affiliated with the club were saying it wasn’t as serious as all that. Turns out both sides were right.

This is what we know:

•Initially, the folks at Next Door weren’t saying anything at all. Then they released an unofficial statement yesterday saying that they had closed because they were having sound problems and that they would reopen tomorrow in time for First Friday.

•A report issued June 6 by the Liquor Commission stated that Next Door has been put on probation. Liquor Commission administrator Dewey Kim said that the club is indeed having sound problems — and neighbor problems. Kim said there have been, and continue to be, complaints about the club’s noise level, prompting the probation. During the probation period of six months, commission officials will make routine visits to the club to monitor its sound levels. He said the commission did not order the club to close, and that Next Door has been making an effort to solve its sound problems by hiring a sound engineer and making improvemnets to the air conditioning system, which helps to buffer the sound.

•At 3:15 today, Next Door issued an official statement saying that it will be closed until August 1 for renovation. The statement said:

The venue will be working on some improvements including adding more air conditioning, re-doing interior decoration, and re-organizing and improving the sound system.
As we approach our 3rd anniversary, we want to improve the quality in ambiance, sound, and our entertainment … All in-house promotions including Acid Wash Wednesday, Chinatown Sessions, and Chinatown Social Club will be postponed until August. These events will NOT be moved to another venue.

It’s still not clear why the club decided to close so suddenly and without notice. Phone calls to Next Door staff members have not been returned.

I HAVE TWO PASSES (each good for two people) to the advance screening of Hellboy II: The Golden Army on Wednesday, July 9 at Dole Cannery to give away. But I can’t just give them away, so here’s how it’s going to work. The two people who prove to be the most pop culture savvy as determined by the following quiz will get the tickets.

The rules: There aren’t any. Just answer the questions correctly and you’re in. But please DON’T post the answers in the comments. Instead, post a comment that says you took the quiz and that you are e-mailing me your answers. The two people who finish first, with the most correct answers win. Easy.

E-mail answers to khaug@honoluluadvertiser.com.

POP (CULTURE) QUIZ 

1. Which of the following was also directed by Hellboy II director  Guillermo Del Toro?
a. The Abyss
b. Y Tu Mama Tambien
c. The Devil’s Backbone
d. The Three Amigos

2. Complete the following lyric from this week’s No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart:
“It’s not what good girls do, not how they should behave
My head gets so confused, hard to obey
I ______ _ ____ ___ _ _____ __.”

3. What cult sci-fi flick has been adapted for the stage as an opera?
a. Blade Runner
b. The Fly
c. 2001: A Space Odyssey
d. Planet of the Apes

4. Who just gave birth to a high-profile baby?
a.  Angelina Jolie
b. Nicole Kidman
c. Tori Spelling
d. Thomas Beatie

5. True or false: Daniel Radcliffe says the new Harry Potter movie is a lot like Trainspotting. 

 

THE DERBY GIRL KNOWN ’round these parts as Rockabilly Wreckher answers the 10 questions.

Rockabilly Wreckher is a member of the Pacific Roller Derby league, a newish crew of derby girls based here in Honolulu that is this city’s most raucous example of chicks in skates. The league is currently training and raising money for its debut appearance at this month’s fourth annual RollerCon in Las Vegas.

The next fundraiser party happens tonight at Anna Bannana’s with music courtesy of SheCanDevour, Busekrus, Commando, Bari Bari 13 and Pimpbot.

Doors open at 8, cover is $7 and there will be drink specials all night.

1. Where are you right now?
At home

2. What is the last album you bought or downloaded?
Kiss Kiss Kill Kill by the Horrorpops.

3. What song always makes you dance?
Anything rockabilly/ska-punk/’80s

4. What is the last book you read?
Flyboys by James Bradley

5. What are the most overrated bands of all time?
The ones that charge you an arm and a leg to see them! Get over yourselves! I’m an avid music lover supporting you and that’s how you repay me? By charging me 38 bones to see you when I remember paying five bucks five years ago when you were in a club with 20 to 30 people at most? Pfffttt….

6. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
San Francisco … or maybe a pub in Ireland drinking the “real” Guinness I keep hearing so much about.

7. You’re running for president. Who’s your running mate?
My husband. He’s smarter than me. He’d keep me in line.

8. What’s in your refrigerator?
Smithwick’s, Blonde Bock, leftover Thai, rotting veggies, and too many condiments… I think there’s some healthy stuff hiding in the back.

9. What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
I like fancy restaurants.

10. Complete the sentence: I want _______.
The island to love roller derby as much as I do!

WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD, this city definitely holds its own … except when it comes to late-night cravings for Mexican food. Why we can’t turn out a decent taco is beyond me, but I’ve come to live with it. Or without it, as the case may be. As for being able to nosh at night, I do what everyone else does: head to Wailana or go home.

And if you think the city is slow on the midnight snack uptake, try finding more than a 7-11 musubi after 10 in Kailua. It’s not going to happen. Unless you happen to be driving home on a weekend when Beto, a genius with a taco truck, is parked outside Bob’s Sports Bar hawking his Mexican take-out to Kailuans who opted to go home hungry after a night out instead of trying to hit up a Honolulu diner. But who’s going home hungry now?

Beto, who parks his taco truck on Hamakua Drive from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, has the right idea. Whether the street eatery, called Beto’s Tacos & Platos, will see enough traffic in sleepy Kailua to make it worth Beto’s while remains to be seen, but a plate of tacos after the recent Dropkick Murphys show was the perfect finish to a long night.

Beto’s short menu includes just the staples: tacos, burritos, nachos and a few rotating specials (plates sell for about $6 each), but that’s all anyone needs at midnight. My favorite dish is the nachos, which are piled high with your choice of beef or chicken, cheese, beans, salsa, sour cream and finished off with a handful of shredded cabbage for nice fresh touch. The two-fisted burritos are good too, though they’re far from sophisticated, which isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s street food, and it is what it is.

Beto, who does all the cooking and serving, is friendly and welcoming … and quick with a tortilla. He’s got speedy service down to a science.

And he has a sense of humor.

Shining like a beacon in the night … but seriously, it’s like a beacon in the night.

To do:
1. Watch The Rape of Europa.
2. Attend the grand opening of Skye Sushi Lounge.
3. Check out the Lego exhibit.
4. See Live.

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The Rape of Europa
Kahala Mall theaters
Check showtimes here

Last year’s documentary about the Nazi art pillaging during World War II and the ally effort to return it, got mixed reviews, but the consensus is that it’s still worth seeing. I missed The Rape of Europa when it was at the Doris Duke Theatre, but it’s opening Friday at the Kahala Mall theaters for a short run, giving me a second chance to catch it on the big screen. Now I just have to wedge it into my schedule.

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Skye Sushi Lounge
Aaron’s Atop the Ala Moana
410 Atkinson Dr., 36th floor
955-4466

Long-time club promoter Rick Rock is launching his next endeavor Friday night at Aaron’s. The event, dubbed Skye Sushi Lounge, is being marketed to “O’ahu’s wealthy 30-something business crowd and hipsters.” The only part of that sentence that describes me is “30-something.” We’ll see how it goes.

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Brick Art
Pearlridge Shopping Center
Through July 20

Lego artist Nathan Sawaya knows how to play with Legos. I was a Lego lover as a kid, so I’m interested in seeing his work. I would be interested anyway because who thinks of doing that? And so what if the exhibition at a shopping mall in Pearl City? I’m over it, and I’m going.

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Live
Bayfest 2008
Kane’ohe Marine Corps Base
Sunday, 8:30 p.m.
$29 advance, $40 at the door
Ticketmaster

I forgot how much I like Live. I even like them enough to see them this weekend at Bayfest. Though the Pennsylvania band hasn’t released much over the last few years, I can’t get “Lightning Crashes” out my head.