Pagoda Bamboo Lounge

Went for the 2012 NYE 'Soul Revue'.  Tickets were $65 and the attire Casual Formal.
 Got there around 1030pm. The place was not that crowded and they were still selling tickets at the door.   We went to the bar, waited ten minutes for two glasses of champagne that were too warm to drink.  When we sent them back we were told that was all they had.  This did not bode well for the champagne toast at midnight that was included in the ticket price.  The guy next to me said he had to send back his first beer for the same reason.  We moved to drinking Stella's since that seemed easiest and coldest.  Only two bartenders and not that big of a bar crowd, but still quite a wait for beverages.
Heard the last three songs of the first band, Anya and the Get Down.  They were great and fit the bill.  Adrian Young presenting 'Venice Dawn' on the other hand was anything but soulful.  Adrian was dressed appropriately to produce some soulful music, but everything played was hard-rock to heavy metal.  The sound was deafening and poorly mixed and impossible to dance to.  Though several couples gave it a good try.  That added to the entertainment - watching couples try to get their groove on on the dance floor, only to end up walking away in defeat.  The dance floor was empty most of the time as folks hid behind the pillars for sound protection.  I couldn't understand a word Adrian was singing into the microphone and later a woman shouted to me - "I expected more soul and less Dark Side of the Moon."  She nailed it.  I kept thinking it sounded like something familiar, even if it wasn't appropriate for the evening.  The lead guitarist spent the whole night playing the guitar as if he was onstage with Ozzy Osbourne, pointing the guitar at the crowd and crawling around on his knees behind Adrian.  As midnight approached we made the decision to go out to the Fountain Bar for the countdown.  The dance floor there was in full party mode with folks dancing and laughing.  The band there did a great job of selecting a great song to carry everyone into the New Year with the balloon drop.  La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.....get up on the floor!!  (JLO) Still have the earworms from that!  When we went back into the Pagoda for the review of the events there we were told that the band didn't even do the count down and just stopped playing at midnight.  What a let down!  I have never been to a New Years event where the band didn't at least play into the new year.  I think that is bad karma or something.  It was funny to see the dance floor in the Pagoda fill up with people as the DJ came back.  First dancing to club music, followed by AC/DC's Back in Black.  What a trip!
Before the night was over the bar ran out of cold Stella's and other beers and were still offering barely chilled champagne.  Really?!  Who runs out of drinks on NYE?  Particularly at the Fairmont of all places.   The bar was already limited in the offerings - unless you drink vodka.  Running out of beer is unacceptable.  After the Fountain Bar wound down, we went over to the bar there for a drink.  As we were considering our options, another couple walked up that we had engaged earlier and they said, "They have cold champagne here!" We all laughed at that and got ourselves a glass.  Funny the things folks come together over.  Not funny to serve warm champagne on New Years.
Another disappointment was the lack of dress code enforcement.  I guess it was more important to sell tickets than to create atmosphere.  Nice jeans, nice tennis shoes and hoodies do not belong in the Casual Formal attire.  Save that for every other night of the year!  Surely folks have better clothes than that if they can afford a $65 ticket.  Folks in the Fountain Bar were dressed nicer than some of the folks in the Pagoda that night.
The food promised was great - I will give them that.  Plentiful, no waiting, fresh, hot with a good variety.  Would have been better with a couple of tall cocktail tables nearby to set your drink on while snacking.

Overall interesting evening, but not the blowout one might expect to end the year.  Maybe that was part of the plan since there were several of San Jose's finest making their presence known at every turn that night.  Nothing says don't have too much fun like seeing a cop every ten minutes.  Maybe next year hire some private security instead of badges.

Music on a Saturday night was not that great.  The crowd was cool.

Honey Chicken with Almonds and the Spring Rolls were our favorite.  Although I suppose this review is a bit overdue, as I believe they are no longer a restaurant.  :(