Underground Moment of Truth

If the young relatives from Wisconsin come to town and they must see quintessential Southern California night life, Truth is the place to go.

“It’s something sort of like Disneyland for club-goers,” says Truth promoter Steve of Moonshine, who has been organizing the occasional club for about a year and a half. “You’ve got a lot of choices.”

Like a downtown Los Angeles version of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, the site of Truth--the Park Plaza Hotel--is imposing and even a bit frightening.

Windowpanes on the 11-story beige building rattle with a ferocity that seemingly could be measured on the Richter scale.

Beams of light circle and randomly illuminate the darkness within.

Party-going visitors enter this 67-year-old Art Deco landmark via a red carpet flowing down a stairway that is decorated by three grand chandeliers and several life-size paintings.

One room features deejay Tomas of KXLU-FM fame laying down the sounds of hip-hop and funk, while in a room next door the band Rhythm Trak (the self-proclaimed “Sex Pistols of reggae”) produces brassy, funk-influenced Rasta sounds.

Up three flights of stairs is a doorway adorned by two robed Roman-style statues holding a tablet above the entrance that states, “The faults of our brothers we write upon the sand; their virtues on the tablets of love and mercy.”

Perfect decor for a club called Truth.

The majority of patrons opt for the ballroom where they press toward the stage as they jog in place punk-rock style to a never-ending mix of hyper beats.

The room has all the trappings of local underground clubs:

It is decorated with nine film loops that continuously bounce changing scenes on the walls and on three large balloons that share the high, wooden ceiling with three chandeliers.

One loop features the Truth logo spinning horizontally; another flashes a screaming face.

Meanwhile, a laser machine spreads beams that mix with the cigarette and artificial smoke and create a surface that looks like a green ocean overhead.

An emcee announces, “We got deejay Dom T. in the house and beautiful ladies up here,” as two young women in black ensembles that bare lots of skin go-go dance while goatee-sporting T, who hails from England, crouches over the turntables and cuts to a fresh 12-inch single:

I’m bigger, I’m bolder, I’m rougher, I’m tougher/In other words, sucker, there is no other, goes the techno song by Human Resource. Club-goers mouth the words in approval.

At the entrance to the ballroom Carrie Lessel, a 21-year-old college student visiting from Missouri, sits smoking.

Garbed in preppy K-Swiss tennis shoes, faded jeans and a seaworthy red-and-white striped top, she says, “This is the most real underground I’ve ever been to.”

A few minutes later, an approving 23-year-old local, Carlo Valvero, slaps his hand against a section of dark wood paneling outside the ballroom.

“Look at this wall right here,” he says. “I feel like I’m at an opera here. The atmosphere is kickin’.”

(Translation: good ).

The Spot: Truth, held on average every three weeks at the Park Plaza Hotel, 607 S. Park View St. The next event is April 25. Hours are 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Cover: Fluctuates between $15 and $20.

Age limit: 21

Drinks: $3 for beer. Mixed drinks start at $3.50. Bartender Neil Monaco, who works upstairs, specializes in Kamakazes and Margaritas (both $4).

Door Policy: Direction into the guest-list line or the general-public line preceding the cash transaction, ID check, frisking and ticket taking.