Hilton Trinidad, Lady Young Road, Port-of-Spain (tel. 868/624-3211), stages a poolside fiesta show every Monday night, with a folkloric performance beginning at 8:30pm and continuing live until midnight. It features lots of live music, calypso, a steel band, limbo, East Indian dancing, African drumming, and mini carnival parades. It's the most spectacular on Trinidad. The cover (including a buffet dinner with grills) is $28.

You can catch us having a beer at Mas Camp Pub, corner of French St. and Avenue Ariapata in Woodbrook (tel. 868/627-4042). This place has a big stage where some of the best live bands in Trinidad frequently appear (or a DJ rules the night). There's also a reliable kitchen dishing up local specialties.

Local joints come and go with alarming frequency, but currently locals flock to the live music at The Base, Main St. (no phone), at Chaguaramas, a 20-minute drive or taxi ride west of Port-of-Spain. This nightclub takes its name from its former role as a World War II air base. Open Friday and Saturday night (no set hours). Also on this former airfield is The Base's competitor, Anchorage, Point Gourde Rd. (tel. 868/634-4334), a popular gathering spot for "sundowners." Later on groups head from here to Pier 1, Williams Bay (tel. 868/634-4426), for dancing. Pier 1 is also on this old air base.

Back in town, British-pub-style Pelican, 2-4 Coblentz Ave., St. Ann's (tel. 868/624-7486), is a hot drinking spot in town, especially on the weekend. It draws a very mixed crowd, including singles and businessmen (who wish they were single, at least for the night), plus a colony of Trinidadian gays.