Scene and Heard

Apparently ready for their GQ closeup, Stars goalie Marty Turco and his basketball playing pal, Michigan-born European league player Travis Conlan, were both wearing the requisite off-season stubble when they showed up for dinner Friday night at Central 214 in Hotel Palomar. That's Garrett and Sylvia McGrath in the middle of the sports star sandwich.

A disreputably reputable lounge lizard reports back from Thursday night at the new Joyce downtown:

"Joyce packed to the max last night .. .for what it's worth... Tons of the nearly pretty girls ... some were even pretty ... From what I can tell, John [Reardon, the owner] is getting the cream from Suite and Aura right now... Who's next??!!"

The Christopher Martin Gallery is inviting folks to "sip, shop and stroll" around Victory Park today from 5 to 9. A comp cocktail is available from the W's lobby lounge.

Also, Modern Luxury Dallas hosts a "Thursdays on the Terrace" party at 9:30 at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. DJ Face spins. RSVP here.

The new Joule hotel downtown held a well-coiffed dog-and-pony show Monday evening for some writers flown in from New York and local scribes, including the great and powerful moi. On tap: nibbles, wines and a kumquat cocktail that needed more work -- or else euthanasia. Also, the high-powered hospitality gurus involved with the Joule and its soon-to-open nightclub, including Adam Tihany, his rakish photographer son Bram and all-purpose lifestyle purveyor Todd Fiscus.

In brief remarks, Tihany senior praised the Joule as a "bespoke hotel where the owners care about every single detail." Mr. Fiscus provided enough detail ("rococo," '70s porn meets stalactites vibe) about the downstairs club, expected to open in late-September, to set Mr. Dallas to early pining. It'll be called PM, as in evening or "precious metals," which is related to the industrial/metallurgical theme of the Joule itself. About 1,500 square feet. Staff outfits by Abi Ferrin, shoes by Christian Louboutin, jewelry by Douglas Little. Fancy -- a bespoke staff. Bottle service, signature cocktails, the whole nine yards. Some more here from the Up All Nighter.

It'll be interesting to see how this older-demographic, really-hard-door club co-exists with the chucklehead factories all around it on Main Street.

The second weekend for the new downtown club Joyce starts tonight at 9:30. It's previewed here and here. IV holds a monthly wine appreciation party from 8 to 11, with chocolate fountain, strawberries and cheese. And Goga (video below) performs at 9 at Trece.

Oh yeah, the basics on Joyce (not on its site yet) ...
723 N. Pearl St. (near San Jacinto, across from the Westin)
Telephone - 214-922-9911
Fax - 214-922-9668
Web - www.ClubJoyce.com
Email - info@clubjoyce.com

And more direct from John Reardon:

"The nightclub side of Joyce (the downstairs) is about 3,300 square feet. In the beginning, we plan to be open Thu, Fri, and Sat. We also plan to showcase a new Dj on one Tuesday every Month and will have a bulesque show on one Wednesday a month. ... Our doors open at 9:30. There is no cover, but entry is by no means guaranteed. The space was designed around table service and anyone looking for an expedited entry or large groups would be better suited reserving a table. (Most nights there is a 2 bottle minimum with a standard bottle going for $350). Texting "JOYCE" to "38714" will also give updates on special events."

On Saturday, sampled the first weekend of the16 months-in-the-making Joyce Champagne Lounge and Nightclub last mentioned here.

Promising start-up after a couple of fallow months. (Of course, said the same thing about opening weekends of Aura, so grain-of-salt this.)

Upsides: Banging DJs, as in Candleroom-level phat, were spinning: Richard Blake and Justin Bell. Good sound diffusion, too. Appealing decor, if you're not too tired of the white-on-white deal, which Mr. Dallas isn't quite yet. Sleek, patched-in early adopter clientele.

Downsides: No actual "champagne lounge" yet. That comes in mid- to late-September when the second-floor terrace opens up, according to owner John Reardon. No flow around the bars and through the middle of the room; big nights are going to be hard to navigate.

N9NE and Nove, now under the ministrations of critical-care provider Jeff Yarbrough, have instituted a daily happy hour ($5 import, $4 domestic beers from 5 to 7) and are touting free self-parking with validation. That's a step in the right direction, but the $8 valet (allegedly $100 without validation) needs to be knocked down, too.

Victory Park and its attendant N9NE Group properties are trying to shake things up in these no Mavs, no Stars dog days of summer. Word arrives here that local hospitality industry guru Jeffrey Yarbrough has signed on to expand the eating options there.

Meanwhile, the W Hotel's Living Room lounge has a new Mondays-Thursdays happy hour that features its signature cocktails for $9 from 4:59 to 6:59 p.m. Gonna challenge them today on those time parameters and order something at exactly 6:59:30.

Uptown's Lotus Lounge hosts a party for Gold's Gym members tonight. Card-carrying Gold's folks get comp drinks from 8 to 11. So hoist a few before you head back in to wail on your pecs tomorrow.

One bit of intel left out of this snark about the Mephistophelean spider monkey Dave Navarro appearing at Ghostbar on Friday: According to several gossip sites, the former husband to Carmen Electra, has been squiring around Daisy de la Hoya, the potty-mouthed, aggression-prone runner-up on last year's Rock of Love.

Just picked up this piece of drollery from the April Radar magazine, about 100 things not to say during a job interview: Favorites include:

"If I smell like Cheez-Its, it's just because I love them so freakin' much."
"Would it be possible to be paid in cash? I'm kind of laying low right now."
"Think of me as the Hamburger Helper to your skillet of ground workload."
"Allow me to answer that with a tambourine solo."
"Is this a Christian workplace, or am I going to have my work cut out for me?"
"What has two thumbs and totally loves commodities trading? This guy!"
"Why is your typewriter connected to your TV set?"

Park Cities Prime, tucked away on a corner of Preston Road and Northwest Highway, offers half-price white wines today.

Football season doesn't crank up until early September, but for fans of the Dallas Cowboys, training camp is right around the corner. For gridiron junkies who'd like to jump-start the season and party down with a handful of Cowboys and other National Football League stars, ghostbar is having a special event tonight called The Kickoff. To make table reservations and/or RSVP, you can call 214-720-9909. So far, the list of confirmed luminaries includes Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman and wide receiver Patrick Crayton. The man behind the platter is DJ Dre.

Photo: Patrick Crayton in action against the Carolina Panthers.

A few desultory notes for a crackish weekend:
Tonight: The Shock of Pleasure (minus the girl, alas) plays at 9 at the Mansion Bar.
Saturday: The Haze lingerie show should ensure a leased Bimmer caravan of knuckle-draggers to Wish Ultralounge.
Sunday: Got to get up there some time, maybe this time .. the 12inchPimps will spin from 1 to 7 p.m. poolside at the Nylo Hotel in Plano. Closer in, the Libertine Bar features half-price food from 5 to midnight.

Matthew Giese, who figures prominently in this sort of thing, is bringing in "ghetto-tech" DJ Fashen to spin at Suite tonight.

Tonight's also good for half-price specialty drinks at the Mansion Bar, but make it snappy: The reprieve from $14 concoctions such as the Mai champagne cocktail only lasts from 6 to 7.

Quick's Up All Nighter provides this concise take on how to get into the hard-door clubs. Some of the take-aways: Dress up, put a crowbar to your wallet for bottle service, keep smiling and don't run down Dallas to the doorman.

A-Rod's New York tabloid tales are coming to Grand Prairie.

Wednesday will be "A-Rod & Madonna Night" when Grand Prairie's minor league baseball team, the Airhogs, take on the Shreveport Sports.

Fans who wear an Alex Rodriguez jersey (Texas Rangers or New York Yankees) or dress like Madonna (steel bra cones, Marilyn bleach-blonde, or any other era) will get into Quik Trip Park for a buck.

Couples who claim to "share an agent" will also be admitted for a dollar each.

Read more.

Itty-bitty IV Lounge previews its wine-by-the-glass program with a private party tonight at 8. Manager Keith LaBonte and sommelier D'lynn Proctor will be doling out samples of the 10 to 12 reds and whites that they're considering for IV's new wine night, which starts next Thursday, June 26. More info at 214-280-1777.

Ghostbar is supposed to get a late-night special guest tonight -- ?uestlove of the Roots, after their show at House of Blues. No cover; limited to 21 and older. More here.

House of Blues starts a Monday series of "Godspeed" parties tonight at 10 in the usually private Foundation Room. Up All Night has some more details. As she points out, Monday is a tough night to develop a crowd (beyond hair-care professionals, bartenders and the occasional errant nurse-anesthesist who's off the next day). HOB is nervy to try.