Spring is about sweeping out the old and focusing on the new. In club land, the start of the season marks (bittersweet) endings and new beginnings as well. This week, we say goodbye to a beloved teenybopper danceteria and hello to a fresh fete thrown by two of L.A.'s best-known DJ-driven party promoters. Plus, there are some old faves and new raves funking up locales you may not have been to yet. Spring into step with these picks.
Fri., March 25: This is it, folks: the final night at The Ruby. Hollywood Boulevard's long-running 18-and-over venue closes with the Evil Club Empire's Clockwork Orange, offering its usual three rooms of revelry: the retro room, featuring '80s vs. '90s new wave, techno and "cheese"; the electro junkies' room, pumping out electro bangers and Nu Rave; and the backroom, playing hip-hop, pop and house. (If you're reading this the Thursday before, check out ECE's last Perversion at the Ruby, too.) Both clubs move to the Dragonfly in April. 7070 Hollywood Blvd.,evilclubempire.com.
Electronic dance music purists are sure to land at Departure, the new joint venture between Adam Auburn (Balance) and Sam Gaglani (Homemade), which plans to bring some of the biggest EDM DJs in the biz back to Vanguard every Saturday. Sure to give Control over at Avalon a run for its money, Departure offers three headliners sharing the stage this Friday — Mr. V, Chuck Love and Fred Everything — with guests in coming weeks to include Diplo and Miguel Migs. 6021 Hollywood Blvd., homemadela.com.
Sat., March 26: Auburn's Balance, the decade-old dance party focusing almost exclusively on the deep and sexy side of house, boasts the jazzy pizzazz of DJ JASK. King King, 6555 Hollywood Blvd., Hlywd., balance-la.com/css/
A synthy/sexy (note: polysexy) scene will go down at Trash Disco, with a live performance by electro-pop artist Ze (touted as Malaysia's answer to Lady Gaga/M.I.A./Santogold). DJs include Cody Wayne (Par Avion), May Electra (Peligroso Pop) and others. Put on by Spanish-indie party promoters Metropoli. Roberto's Club, 686 N. Spring St., dwntwn.; RSVP for free admission at metropoliforever.blogspot.com.
Thurs., March 31: After a brief hiatus, The Rootdown made a triumphant return several months ago to Gabah. Not the space on Melrose (which was torn down), but the "new Gabah," which is actually the old Guatalinda, a Latin club best known by non-rancheros as housing A Club Called Rhonda's residency a few years ago. Now, the "G Club," as it's also called, sees takeovers from the Root crew (Music Man Miles, Loslito, Sloe Poke, Ervin Arana, DJ Jedi, Burt Blackarach and MC KG Superstar) every Thursday, and this week, it should be especially booty-bumpin' as The Adrian Younge Sound Orchestra (which scored the neo-blaxploitation parody Black Dynamite) gets down live. 4916 Hollywood Blvd., Hlywd., rootdownclub.com.
