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The 411 on the strip club Beyonce visited
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Was Buzz a little surprised that of all the places Beyonce Knowles could have visited in metro Atlanta, she chose Phase 1? Uh, yup.
Phase 1 nightclub had its heyday in the late ’90s. It sits atop a hill on Memorial Drive near I-285 and has a very low-key facade from the street. The parking lot is unpaved and when you step inside, there’s the dance floor to the right, where DJs Marcus and Gee use a banging sound system to spin hip-hop, R&B and reggae Wednesday through Sunday.
Head to the left and there’s a room with two pool tables, a long bar and a projector showing hip-hop videos. In the back there’s a patio with seating and a kitchen serving up wings and fries.
The space is dated, especially the bathrooms, but co-owner Angie Bellew, aka Angie B, believes Knowles’ visit could help spur new interest in the venue.
“I don’t care if she stayed only five minutes. I’m glad she just dropped by and sat on our stool,” said Bellew, who also co-owns the much more popular gay spot Tower II in Atlanta.
Bellew said Beyoncé probably left the scene early Thursday night because she was expecting a drag show at the club and got male dancers instead. “It probably was a bit much for her, and plus I’m sure she was tired,” Bellew said.
Buzz’s suggestion for spurring new interest in the club? Upgrade the space a bit, check on a rising star named DJ Chaoss, and greenlight an old-school night for the grown and sexy.
Info: Phase 1 nightclub, 4933 Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain, 404-296-4895, www.phase1tower2.com.
PET SITTING, BIGTIME
While most folks may see an elephant or two at the circus or the zoo, Inman Middle School rising eighth-grader Lily Zintak got to ride, feed and clean up after one in Thailand for nearly a week, courtesy of Nickelodeon.
On a “Nick News” special set to air Sunday at 8:30 p.m., the 13-year-old Atlantan was picked with five other middle school kids to learn about elephants at a sanctuary. Lily even got to preview the show — which was taped in the spring — ahead of time.
“I look like a crazy person,” she told Buzz. “My hair’s all over the place!” Her elephant, Pang La Wan, “was really laid-back and mature. I loved her. We had a big connection.”
Lily chewed sugar cane with Pang La Wan (breaking two brackets on her braces in the process.) She sampled local cuisine such as ant larva and fried mealworms (“tasted like french fries,” she noted.)
And Lily and her buds had to pick up gobs of elephant dung, something they dealt with better than the boys.
“We [girls] started a poop fight,” she said. “We killed the boys!”
NIELSEN IN REHAB
Brigitte Nielsen, the tall blonde who starred in “Red Sonja,” “Rocky IV” and most recently “Flavor of Love,” has checked into rehab, her manager, Steven Tempone, told The Associated Press. He declined to say what the actress was being treated for or where she was staying. He also said he didn’t know when she checked in.
Nielsen, known for her heavy drinking on “Flavor” and on-screen romance with the hip-hop star she dubbed Foo-Fee, turned 44 last Sunday. She was married to Sylvester Stallone in the 1980s.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Patricia Elliott (“One Life to Live”) is 65. Actor Edward Herrmann (“Gilmore Girls”) is 64. Cartoonist Garry Trudeau (“Doonesbury”) is 59. Comedian-actor Robin Williams is 56. Comedian Jon Lovitz is 50. Actor Lance Guest (“Lou Grant”) is 47. Singer Emerson Hart of Tonic is 38. Country singer Paul Brandt is 35. Actor Josh Hartnett is 29. Reggae singer Damian Marley is 29. “American Idol” runner-up Blake Lewis is 26.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Sonia Murray and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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