Marky Ramone, longtime drummer of The Ramones, was slated to play a set Wednesday night alongside DJ Skribble for a private party at Manor (343 W. Erie St.). "We rented the drum set for him," Manor co-owner Mike Bisbee told me, nodding toward the Yamaha kit resting near one of the lounge’s corner VIP booths, "but he wouldn’t play."

That’s because the twosome didn’t have much time to practice, what with Skribble’s wife having a C-section the day before – not that it kept the DJ from coming to town for the gig. Priorities! (According to his MySpace page, Marky insists on Pork Pie-brand drums for all of his U.S. shows. Maybe that was the real problem.)

Instead, Ramone grabbed the mic from Skribble and took to theturntables himself, spinning old Ramones tunes for a crowd of about200; let’s just say his DJ skills are debatable. Dave Navarro, of bandsJane’s Addiction and The Panic Channel, hosted the event, whichapparently meant hanging out in a corner booth all night, sansalcohol – he told the staff he didn’t drink – and posing for photos withfans.   

After 10 p.m., Manor opened up to the public, and that’s when thegirls started pouring in. After a brief departure, Navarro and ashaggy-haired Marky returned to reclaim their corner booth. I sat downwith Navarro, clad in his signature fedora and tattoo-revealing tanktop, to ask about his new Internet talk-show gig on Mania TV,but all I got was a thumbs-up. "It’s too loud in here to talk; we’lldiscuss it over the phone," he told me, keeping his arm around thelovely young lady seated next to him. You can see Navarro’s"avant-garde Internet talk show focusing on the arts and the humancondition," according to the website description – hey, he wouldn’t tellme anything – airing live tonight, Thursday, at 7 p.m. Chicago time.

In other celebrity sightings, actors Tim Robbins and John Cusack partied at Donnie Kruse’s gastropub BB’s (22 E. Hubbard)last Friday night, along with the Cubs’ Ryan Dempster. And last Sunday,Bear Brian Urlacher and Cubs Rich Hill and Matt Murton hung out atKruse’s other spot, Stanley’s Kitchen and Tap, during the bar’s popular Sunday night karaoke session.

And finally, happy birthday, Avenue M.The bar hosts its first-anniversary party tonight, Thursday. The partyis open to the public and kicks off at 7 p.m. – but 1,500 revelers havealready RSVP’ed, so expect a line. Or tune in Tuesday (Last GirlStanding is off Monday for Memorial Day) and read all about it here.