Where Will the 18+ Crowd in Hollywood Dance When The Ruby Closes This Week? Club Wannabe's Top 10 So-Bad-They're-Good '90s Playlist Offers an Answer

By Lina Lecaro Tue., Mar. 22 2011 at 8:00 AM

Prediction: fifteen years from now, at a random hotspot in Hollywood, Rebecca Black's "Friday" will be the song that gets everybody on the floor. Club kids will grind to Gaga and they'll cut it to Kanye, too, sure, but the tracks that'll incite screams and singlalongs and dancing in unison will be the most obnoxious of the decade prior.

Ke$ha has a killer comeback to look forward to.

Yes, today's wacky fluff is tomorrow's nostalgic hot stuff. It's the natural cycle of retro clubdom, it seems, and promoter/DJ Jason Lavitt is one of the kings of the scene. He had spikey-haired hipsters dancing to "Ice Ice Baby" before it was cool at Beat It at The Ruby, and has since moved on to the '90s with Club Wannabe (recently moved to Boardners). He says the biggest response from the floor comes from pop confections, the sillier the better. Last night at the club, we saw the phenom for ourselves.

Though it was wet, Wannabe had a more than decent turnout moving to these "classics," along with the usual diva pop (Mariah, Britney, and Christina, whose first hits are more than a decade old now).

With The Ruby shuttering this week, it seems 18 and over clubbers will be concentrated at the other Hollywood venues left in its wake: Boardners, where Wannabe takes place Sundays, is also where Lavitt is moving Saturday's Club Bang to Friday nights. It was also just announced that The Evil Club Empire (which does its '80s night, Blue Mondays, at Boardners) is moving both Perversion (was Thursdays but will now be Saturdays) and Clockwork Orange Fridays to the 21+ Dragonfly.

Look for Club Bang, which has changed its promotership (rock photog Piper Ferguson and Goldenvoice gal Shalyce Benfell are out, and DJ Bip Jeffington is in), to host a special Lady Gaga night featuring the drag band from Lavitt and Joseph Brooks' ('90s) glam bash, Club Makeup, in April.

Here, we present you with the Top 10 silly '90s-ditties-now-dance-club smashes, courtesy of Mr. Lavitt.

Whaddya think? Too soon (to be ironic)?

10. "BLUE (DA BA DEE)" -Eiffel 65

9. "THONG SONG" -Sisqo

8. "MAMBO NO. 5 (A Little Bit...)" -Lou Bega

7. "BETTER OFF ALONE" -Alice DJ

6. "MAN! I FEEL LIKE A WOMAN" -Shania Twain

5. "WHAT IS LOVE" -Haddaway

Tags:

Boardners, Club Bang!, Dragonfly, Jason Lavitt, Lina Lecaro, Macarena, Nineties, The Ruby, Wannabe

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bipjeffington

the Ruby will be missed! At least there are a few good venues left that can accompany the 18+ crowd, its important to get out and socialize in a club environment at that age!

Miss Linds

please play better 90's hits. How about 90's DANCE hits? Like Real McCoy? La Bouche? Ace Of Base? Come on. No one wants to dance to Mambo Number 5.

justaclassicgrl

Ummm...pretty much all the clubs at Boardners are 18+. Other than Blue Monday, they host Club Moscow on Wednesdays and Bar Sinister on Saturdays. Personally, if I were 18 and really wanted to go through all the traffic and terrible parking to get to Hollywood, I'd rather go to Blue Monday for my 80s fix than Clockwork Orange, though. At least Blue Monday plays a bit more of a mixture of 80s (from the obscure to the 80s pop). Every time I went to Clockwork over the years, they played the same tracks every single time I went. The only reason Clockwork was ok was because Fridays are easier to hit up the clubs than Monday nights. Guess now Beat It will be the place for them to go instead. Or maybe some could actually open their minds to other locations and styles of music than the stuff they play at the others. Bunker's an awesome place to dance. I always get a good workout there. I'm just sad Disko.Nekro got bumped from their once a month spot at the Dragonfly in all this...but maybe now at least I'll be able to try out Perversion. I just hope I'm not disappointed...

dj daemØn

"Hollywood" needs to get over itself. Los Angeles is bigger than that miserable mess of traffic and attitude. Buy a map, and learn to drive.

Lizaly2

There is an 18+ club called Necropolis in Santa Ana too.They also Have a full bar for those who ar 21+ Small venue but Fun.

Skittle_bonez

They even have vendors in the club. Tarot readings by Vandorian Sharpe, baked goods by CombiCakes, and even a jewelry vendor!

Das Bunker

I know that since we operate south of Melrose Ave. and there for fall outside the operating radar of the Nightranger - but Das Bunker, LA's largest and most internationally recognized Industrial dance club has been welcoming 18+ dancers for many years and will continue to do so for many years into the future. Not that we EXPECTED to be noticed by a column that seems to pride its self on only covering legacy promoters, but after 15 years of current and forward thinking dance music and an history of live shows that is rivaled by no other event in the country, we at least HOPED to have made a blip on Lina's radar.

Fear not, while the dinosaurs of the club reporting scene will continue to report on promoters, events, and venues decades past their prime we will soldier on doing exactly what we have been from our infancy in the LBC - reaching out to the 18+ crowd as well as the more mature audience that is brave enough to seek adventure outside the 90028 zip code with the countries most impressive DJ and live act roster.

Lina

DB- Thanks for commenting! I used to go to your club many moons ago, but admittedly it's been years. Still at (Jewel's) Catch One, I see. Bunker was/is great, but I think it's a more niche crowd (industrial) and it IS off the beaten path. This post is about +18 clubs in Hollywood, arguably where the current hub of LA nightlife takes place these days. If you want me to come check out your club & see what you've got going on, just ask :) DM me on Twitter @L_in_A w/ your schedule if you like...

c.b

it has always been, and will always be, acceptable to dance to "What Is Love" by Haddaway

PreferPrince

It's because people who were nerds as kids know all the silly stuff, so they grow up and act like it's cool. Every a$$hole knew "Ice Ice Baby," even when their parents wouldn't let them watch the Simpsons (because it was "too controversial" at the time). Today's hipsters are yesterdays total dorks. That's why they try so hard.