LA BOUM THE HOT HUMP-NIGHT PARTY AT BARDOT

LA BOUM WITH A VIEW
Plus, Part Time Punks Fest and more
BY LINA LECARO
Published on November 25, 2008 at 6:28pm

LA WEEKLY COVERS ANA BIRTHDAY

If the success of Juno, Napoleon Dynamite and anything by Judd Apatow is a sign, the line between nerdy and studly is gone, dead, kaput, and it’s not a Jedi mind trick. Even in Hollywood at many of the hippest/flippest clubs in town, fuzzy, gawky types are gettin’ all the attention — and action. Take La Boum, the hot hump-night party at Bardot (the space above The Avalon formerly known as Spider Club, gorgeously redone to recall the building’s Deco splendor). Last Wednesday, the party’s promoter, Ana Calderon (Dim Mak), celebrated her birthday with an impromptu music show on the club’s semi-outdoor patio, featuring the likes of Simon Dawes, Rooney’s Taylor Locke, The White Arrows and, for the grand finale, the Moldy Peaches’ Adam Green and Har Mar Superstar. All were somewhat unruly-tressed, dowdily dressed-down types (one dude wore boxers and had bare feet; another had a flag towel on his head). Still, they had the usually blasé broods grinning and grooving nonstop, even Nightranger. Really, what’s not to like about musicians with real music chops delivering with awkward, gooberish sweetness? (It made Weezer famous, after all.) The gals who took the stage were more traditionally magnetic — vintage-frocked trio The Like and the enchanting doll-like C.C. Sheffield, but in all it was a highly amusing and mixed musical melting pot, not unlike the crowd itself. Behind us sat a healthy looking DJ AM and SBE’s Jennifer Rosero, while to our right, Peaches Geldof giggled and dragged on ciggies with a gaggle of similarly hippie-esque hotties. Newly single Benji Madden tried to keep a low pro with pal Steve Aoki in a corner booth, but he needn’t have worried. Proving our point above, the most wanted man seemed to be Superbad’s Jonah Hill, who was fielding female fans all night. La Boum, also co-promoted by Sheffield and former Viper Room booker Melissa Hernandez, is usually a DJ-only weekly party that’s refreshingly un-electro-driven. (Rock and retro dance faves rule the decks here, and past spinners have included Devendra Banhart and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.) You must know the week’s secret password (or, it seems, be a hip boho-hobo type or geek-chicster) to get in.