Disco Delight Hustles Up Business

It’s 1993, and Disco Rules.

What’s more, it sells. As the late-night TV ad from the bizarre Seventies Preservation Society says: “It’s baaaack.”

For this second coming, fashion slaves too young to recall the first installment are stocking their wardrobes with ‘90s versions of platforms, crochet halter tops and bell-bottoms. Radio stations and nightclubs are weaving old disco hits into their Top 40 formats.

And Orange County has just gotten its second club proudly devoted to the ‘70s revival--Disco Delight every Tuesday night at the Newport Roadhouse in Costa Mesa.

Disco Delight promoters Jeremy Hanson and Trevor Page have obviously had an eye on the exploding success of Disco 2000 at Club 5902 in Huntington Beach. For weeks now, anyone dying to shake their groove thang has had to wait as long as two hours to get into that Thursday night dig. But once in, regulars have discovered the place is too packed to properly fake the Hustle.

Hanson and Page say that they, like many of their friends, hate to stand in a line to have fun (they must not hit Disneyland often). That’s their reason for starting Disco Delight. They no doubt, however, are banking on equaling the success of the other disco club.

But with both of the one-night-a-week clubs happening on different evenings, there is certainly enough of the ‘70s stuff to go around--not to mention a much more fun aerobic alternative to those monotonous step classes.

Deejays Mikey Mike of L.A. and Rysk of O.C. keep the beat pumping till the 2 a.m. closing, spinning nonstop oldies but goodies that easily evoke visions of white poly Angel Flights and sparkling blue eye shadow in even the youngest of dancers here.

Patrons must be 21 or older--and IDs do get checked at the door. Some funk and hip-hop tunes make their way onto the playlist, just enough to remind the crowd what decade it really is.

Anyone familiar with the Newport Roadhouse (at Placentia Boulevard and 17th Street) probably couldn’t conceive that this run-down, barren, dingy dive could ever be more than a good place to see live blues and punk. After all, the Roadhouse is a place where one wears military-style boots not only to protect your toes from the moving slam pit but also to guard against the occasional broken glass carpeting the concrete floor.

But it’s the club’s inherent grunginess that appeals to the promoters who, in Hanson’s words, “detest all those nice and pretty dance clubs.” Still, pretty, flashing, colored lights are temporarily installed on Tuesdays to give the place some discotheque atmosphere. The lights, however, are removed by dawn, before the a.m. regulars set up camp at the bar.

Large, blank tarps are hung at the beginning of each evening; get there early enough and you can watch artist friends of the promot ers do their thing. It’s better than performance art.

To accommodate the dancin’ machines, much of the stage is removed, leaving only enough room for the disc jockeys and their equipment. Bar stools and tall tables are pushed to the game area, which includes three pool tables, pinball and a couple of video arcade machines.

But the dinginess of the decor doesn’t keep goers from decking out in very hip gear. This certainly isn’t the 90210 crowd, so leave your white pumps at home.

Also, this early-week, venture-out nightclubbing comes cheap: $5 cover and $1 well drinks and domestic drafts (such prime hops as Bud, Miller Lite and Old Milwaukee).

But don’t expect the party to get going until late. Remember: Disco groupies love the night life.

DISCO DELIGHT

At the Newport Roadhouse, 1700 Placentia Blvd., Costa Mesa.

(714) 650-1840

Tuesdays from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

$5 cover.

Age 21 and up.