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July 15, 2007
Hamptons social and anti-social

Well-heeled young people with cash to burn in their pockets like to party in the Hamptons. This weekend, there was no stopping them - even with the $3,000 price tag on the Prince concert at The Ross School.

And on Saturday, it seemed that celebrities felt the same.

In Savannah's, a Southern restaurant in Southampton, Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky were celebrating her cover of Hamptons magazine. Ostrosky was standing with Stern, her fiance, on the covered back patio. They mentioned that marriage was about a year away. He wore an unfortunate tank top but couldn't have been nicer, talking about saving a gannet, a bird, on the beach with Beth a few days earlier. And he even discussed the fact that they consummated their relationship at a friend's house in Shelter Island a few years back. "Beth had been holding out," said Stern.

At the Keszler Gallery, Kelly Ripa and hubby Mark Consuelos hosted an opening for their friend Russell Young. Young uses mug shots and celebrity photos taken by others and turns them into colorful art, grainy, like Warhol images. Young told a story about Consuelos going at it with a drunk guy on a shuttle bus during the Daytime Emmy Awards once. The man had been hitting on their wives. Young is married to Finola Hughes.

At The Ross School in East Hampton, Prince was slated to play as part of a concert series called "Hampton Social @ Ross." And, yes, the ticket price was $3,000. This reporter heard that 900 tickets had been sold but also heard that tickets were being given away. The venue did not appear completely packed. But there were just enough people to make it look like the big, special concert that it was.

The outdoor venue, meanwhile, was peppered with celebs: Kid Rock in a red T-shirt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kelly and Mark, and Christie Brinkley, her son and her brother, who looks a lot like her but with graying hair. They have the same bright blue eyes. Bon Jovi and his wife stood with them. Angelica Huston was in the house.

Dinner was served under one big tent. Think so-so Chinese, pop burgers - which were delicious - popcorn, hot dogs, and ice cream. And Dylan's candy bar employees made spun sugar.

Prince was dissapointing at first, but if you waited (Leo and Kid didn't), just before midnight, he played the big, big hits, including 'Purple Rain.' He was giving it up at the end. Even Kelsey Grammer and his wife, Camille, rushed the stage to see better at that point. The guitar riffs went on and on and were other-worldly perfection.

Later, there were dueling afterparties. Prince hired out Flirt in East Hampton. Meanwhile, Leo, Jay-Z in a beauty of a Bentley, Nas, and Kid Rock headed to Dune in Southampton.

At Flirt, Prince cleared the VIP room, but he allegedly sat in the car in the parking lot for an hour before he came inside. He kept the place nearly empty, except for two go-go dancers from the club, a couple of sexy regulars, and his team. He danced for an hour - the guy has the moves. He manned the DJ booth with two gals.

Prince is known for celeb parties in L.A. So either he invited the celebs and they didn't come, or he just didn't bother or wanted to be alone with a few good-looking women. There had been tons of people at the club, but he wouldn't let them into his private room.

Meanwhile, Dune was packed with people partying full-tilt. Every booth had a celeb and one could barely get by all the big security toughs protecting the stars who were partying hard in private booths against the wall.

Yup, this weekend, they all turned out in the Hamptons - the social and the anti-social.

- JEFFREY SLONIM
[Edited 7/15/07 23:23pm]