First day of Sundance- Thursday Jan. 18

Location: Harry O’s NightclubSnow falls gently outside as maybe hundreds of eager Akon (or simply party) fans crowd the metal guardrail. The hoard of attractive women and guys in blazers, scarves and knit hats beg for VIP passage into the exit-only door. Many manage to squeak by, bewildering security.
As I make my move to the front to check the guest list, I merge with a group with obvious cache; I’m with them it’s assumed; I stick out my wrist and a plastic green band appears. I’m in, no questions asked! The mob behind me waiting to groove inside has no clue what just happened.After 2o minutes of hunting for that list to get my friends in the door, the guys give up and hand me two more bands. We’re all in! It’s nearly 11 p.m. The beat thumps and go-go dancers dressed like Halley Barry from James Bond, with striped knee socks and fuzzy black boots, gyrate; mesmerizing the men who obviously haven’t seen much action in a while. I silently wish I could dance like that.It’ll be a green night for Harry O’s. Patron shots ($12) sold like they’re running out of them. Akon doesn’t come on until nearly 1 a.m. (last call time) and I’ve sworn to leave by 1:30. Sigh. In the meantime, I’ve met a guy who promises to get me into the Maroon 5 show at Harry O’s tonight and another guy who will get me into the Hard Rock Party across the street and a gal who will get me into the ASCAP Music Café at the Star Bar. Everyone’s connected.More people will arrive today. Yesterday was mellow in comparison. I could find parking, my friends waitlisting for the Opening Night Premiere of In Bruges got in without a problem despite signing up only 30 minutes prior. I skipped that movie because Chase Masterson invited me to see her new movie debuting at the Park City Music Film Festival. I’m such a sucker for personal invites. The movie “Yesterday Was A Lie” held an interesting concept about time and memory but was a bit obtuse (obscure?) for the general public. Chase, however, did a great acting job. No complaints there.Today, it’s all about the gifting lounges before the evening festivities. I’m assuming that I’ll see as much green as Harry O’s. After all, green is ‘in’. For starters, the Sundance VIP baskets were filled only by eco-friendly companies. Chaos hats- with whom I work with in the ski industry- threw in a thick alpaca beanie and, although quite itchy, will look tres cool on the domes of Peter Sarsgaard, Quentin Tarantino, Jimmy Fallon, Mos Def, and more. So there’s The Lift, The Village at the Yard (which used to be the Village At The Lift), The Gibson Guitar Lounge, The Boost Mobile Lounge/The Marquee, The House of Hype, The L-R-G Gifting Villa, and I’m sure I’ve missed a bunch! Tonight, I’m looking forward to the Breakout British group The Horrors’ documentary screening at The Marquee and the after party. The MySpace premiere party is at the House of Hype from 6-9pm before that. And, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that secret entry into Maroon 5. Whew. I’ll sleep when it’s over. I'll also ski when it's over. It's too frickin' cold right now anyway - 10 degrees!!!