Planet Earth an Alternative Force

Planet Earth in Huntington Beach is a prime example of how the term “underground” to describe a nightclub has been diluted to a point that it only refers to a music format that juggles techno, house, ‘70s disco and hip hop.

Underground used to connote a place that attracted only hard-core nightclubbers who wanted to hear non-mainstream music. All the genres listed above have hit the airwaves with such force that they no longer belong to a select crowd, but to the masses.

Still, that brand of alternative music is the ticket for those who live to dance, which is why club disc jockeys continue to spin it. That’s the case every Wednesday night when Planet Earth deejay Dave Bement plays a bass-driven list of “underground” fare.

Bement brings the club even closer to ground level when he infuses the selection with pop royalty (Madonna and Prince) disco hits that, depending on mood and musical tastes, could keep you jumping or send you to a nearby table for a breather. The deejay also takes requests, enabling partiers to shape the music direction during their visit.

Planet Earth has inhabited the West Coast Club bar at the Waterfront Hilton at Huntington Beach for about a year now--as unlikely a place as any to have an alternative music club.

But Hilton employee Guy Scharff decided this lavish new hotel needed a place to draw in the locals. Like other dance clubs, Planet Earth currently suffers from the back-to-school blues--patronage, even for age 21 and over clubs, generally dwindles during September and October.

A light crowd hung out through much of one recent night, but the place did pick up around midnight, when a younger, funkier crowd moved in after the suits headed back to their rented rooms. A public go-go box (it’s a platform, really) sits to one side of the dance floor for those inebriated with the beat or emboldened by the all-night $2 drink specials.

Two bills buy well drinks or beer, a selection that includes three domestic brands on draft and bottles of domestic and imported.

The absence of a cover charge should prove another big draw to Planet Earth for the fall season. Just ignore the ugly fluorescent orange Styrofoam wall decor with black spray-paint swirls and enjoy an inexpensive, midweek night out with your pals.

* Planet Earth, every Wednesday at the Waterfront Hilton at Huntington Beach, 21100 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach. (714) 960-7873.