Country’s King at Foothill

The Foothill Club regulars were a tad nervous after the hip magazine LA Style named the country and Western bar one of its hidden nightlife treasures last year.

“We were worried that people from all over would start showing up, crowding the place and changing it,” growled Jenny Silvestri, a large woman with amazingly tall silver hair and a knack for doing the Texas two-step. “We really like the way things are, with all our friends. It’s comfortable, understand?”

Although LA Style’s mention didn’t bring in droves of Roxbury or Vertigo clubbers, Silvestri wasn’t exactly charmed when told The Times was also doing a review. “Here we go again,” she hissed, but relaxed when asked to take a turn on the large dance floor, just as a couple of locals stepped up to the microphone to help out with a Hank Williams song. Afterward, she asked for compassion: “Come on honey, just don’t make it sound too great, OK?”

Well, you can’t make the Foothill Club, located in Signal Hill near Long Beach, sound too great, because it isn’t the kind of joint that’s likely to appeal to everyone--one person’s dive is another’s delight.

With stained booths and lots of cigarette burns, especially on the long bar, what it isn’t is stylish--unless you’re an LA Style editor who thinks the opposite of grandeur is the signature of chic.

The best thing about the Foothill Club is a country cool that says dancing is what makes the world go round, especially when your friends can help make the music. It’s also a fine place for drinking, because it’s honest, lazy and not especially interested in who or what you are.

The house band for as long as anyone can remember has been Al Bruno and the Tennesseans, and they know what they’re doing. But the times I’ve been there, anyone with talent seems welcome on stage. It’s pretty common for some guy in a big cowboy hat to sing a few tunes, then be replaced by a gal with a huge hairdo, who later yields her spot to a woman with both a big hat and a huge hairdo. Most approach the limelight with confidence.

The crowd tends to be fairly old. The atmosphere can be a little like a hoedown on good nights, especially later on, when there’s a devil-may-care verve to the place.

It’s also almost never packed and just about dead on weekdays, so there’s always room for roaming and stepping.

The Foothill Club, 1922 Cherry Ave., Signal Hill (near Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach). Open nightly from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.