Sin-A-Matic is a typical Hollywood club as far as the environment goes; packed meat market with extremely dim (and yet epilepsy-inducing) lighting. Its main redeeming feature is that DJs James Stone and James Brooks play some really outstanding trance for two hours before the midnight show. So I got there at 10 precisely when it opened and sat in a dark corner listening to the music. Surprisingly the dance floor didn't get occupied until 11 (what is it with dance floors and people who don't want to be out there first?), when I noticed these two gorgeous women grooving.
Anyway, I waited, and waited, and waited, and Stephanie and her friends didn't show, and meanwhile the place absolutely filled up. So I said oh well and left my spot near the front door and went to dance. Then Stephanie walked in the door and didn't notice me, but I tapped her on the shoulder and said "Hi!" and she introduced me to her friends and began walking off into the crowd...
...and I LOST HER IN THE CROWD. I couldn't find her! Crap.
At 1am Tchkung! from Seattle came on, and boy did they suck; so-called 'tribal percussion' which was mainly guys drumming patterns in 4/4 while a vocalist ranted about the ecosystem and the government and all the correct left-wing things. So I sat at the bar with my back to the band and had a Tom Collins which I gulped very quickly (mistake, I'm a lightweight drinker). As the band wound down I walked around looking for Stephanie and suddenly realized that the two women who were dancing first were in fact coworkers of mine who I did not recognize "in costume". I talked to them a while until the band got off the stage and the techno resumed. So I danced a bit until the club closed and then went home. Total time spent meeting Stephanie: about 2 minutes.
Later she said she'd been in the back room since she was equally annoyed by the band, but I didn't think to look in there. I'm going to take her back someday at 10pm.