Every end of July/beginning of August something magical happens: The nights are at their warmest and people just don't want to stay inside anymore. As evidenced by our plentiful party picks last week, the possibilities are endless and wildy diverse. Leos, one of the most attention-loving astrological signs, are having birthday parties seemingly every night and they are usually pretty ambitiously-themed affairs, too.

Saturday night, we attended two such soirees: The Annual Resurrection Ball at the El Rey theatre–thrown and DJ'd by some of the old school Goth superpowers of Los Angeles (Evil Club Empire, Jason Lavitt, DJ Amanda)–and a Prince-themed “Purple Party” (from two other fellows known in fiendish circles, Fang Club's Jack Dean and DJ Shok). Decadence, dance and dress-up abounded.

Credit: Lina Lecaro

Credit: Lina Lecaro

Resurrection is always a grand Summer gathering, with full regalia get-ups and–despite the gloomy sounds and atmosphere–a giddy undercurrent. Dark sounds of yore (Sisters of Mercy, Nina Hagen, Siouxsie and the Banshees) are fun to dance to, and the floor at the Deco El Rey is maybe our favorite place to observe and partake in the dramatic, almost demonic movement of this scene.

A lot of people from Resurrection made their way to the less fiendish, more funkish Prince Purple Party later, which went on after hours. Held in an underground warehouse events space called The Holding Company, the building, which is next to Medusa Lounge, has been hosting some cool events for Vice Mag. A “Labrynth of Jareth” afterparty last month drew a slew of dressed-up denizens to the space as well.

Entering through the alley is a nice touch. So is the dim-lit patio that greets you upon entry. The fuchsia-lit main room offered a spacious area for dancing to Prince (and yes, a whole night of music devoted to the purple one and his offshoot groups is possible; another club called HEAD at The Palms has been doing it for a couple years now–next one is Sept. 11).

DJ Shok (who was celebrating his birthday) tells us he's planning an ElectroSwing party at the space next. We predict we'll end up there again before summer's end. We hope to, anyway.

Nightranger photo challenge: Can you tell which picture above was from which event? Black and purple lace, velvet, corsets, ruffles, guyliner … Prince's '80's style was so Goth, wasn't it?

More pics in our Nightranger slideshow, coming soon.

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