No Need to Dig Deep for Local Underground Clubs
Any savvy club-goer has to chuckle at what promoters label an “underground” club in this county. Take, for instance, Deeper Love in Irvine.
Sure there are some young scenesters who frequent the one-night-a-week club, staged on Sundays at Kokomo’s. But, as with other “undergrounds” in the county, the place is dominated by a mainstream clientele.
And rather than being staged in warehouses, as undergrounds were meant to be, in O.C. they invariably land in places like Kokomo’s--too new and not nearly kitschy enough to convey that underground feel.
Still, Deeper Love, started three months ago by promoters Pauli Hein, 23, and Jay Breza, 24, has been attracting an average of 300 to 400 night-crawlers a week, and 800 on a good holiday eve. Summer should bring an influx of off-season students.
Perhaps, part of the new “underground” is knowing that the same handful of promoters put on clubs under different names, using the same deejays. Deeper Love bears a striking resemblance to Unity at Kokomo’s on Thursday nights and Unity 2 at the Red Onion in Orange on Wednesdays. That’s because Hein and Breza run an outfit called PJ Productions, which, along with another promoter, runs those clubs as well.
A good two hours after the doors open at 8 p.m., Deeper Love sees its first signs of life. From then on the stream of mostly 18- to 24-year-olds is constant. Like a bright badge of youth, a yellow stamp glows from the backs of both hands of those under the legal drinking age. Don’t even think of washing it off: those 21 and over get stripes of red ink. Cigarettes abound, so bring your mini-oxygen tank.
Upstairs, a game room doubles as a hide-out for many guys who cloak their reluctance to dance and mingle by pouring quarters into the pinball machines, video games and pool tables. Why else would anyone pay $5 or $7 to do what they could otherwise do at a pool hall or convenience store without paying a cover?
As for the sounds, Deeper Love is the place to be. The speakers pound out tunes loud enough to buzz your innards, but that’s the purpose. In the main room, deejays Dove, Steve Weiser, Maestro and Mellin Funk alternate at the turntable, rotating underground and commercial techno, trance, tribal and house of the deep, happy and progressive varieties. Few if any places in the county put out this much tribal, trance and house on their playlists, so if you’re looking for something new, check it out.
If your ears prefer something more familiar, head out to the patio where retro ‘70s and ‘80s music gets delivered by Tommy T. There the crowd stays fairly light compared to inside, but patrons enjoy the elbow room while they groove on the cobblestone dance floor. The lighting and a tarp with the letters “L,” “S” and “D” cut out are there for atmosphere purposes, but the space still reminds you of a party at mom and pop’s house.
Indeed, to cover much of Kokomo’s unsightly, peppy Polynesian-meets-calabunga (it’s hardly of the cool, campy variety), black plastic tarps and mural banners painted with rave culture imagery go up for the night.
What’s left showing of the South Pacific motif seems to subconsciously influence customers to order pina coladas, margaritas and anything else slushy and pastel ($3.50). At a buck apiece, the drafts should be a better bargain, but they’re served in something slightly bigger than a Dixie cup; bottles of domestic brew are $3.25. Other specials are $2.50 Long Island ice teas and, until 10 p.m., $1 wells (they go up to $3.50 after 10 p.m.). At $1.50, bottled water sells best; sodas are $1.75.
The kitchen stays open until midnight, frying up American fare such as onion rings, potato skins, burgers and tacos for $3 to $4.
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Footnote: PJ Productions is aggressively promoting its Curious George underground, scheduled for June 19 at an undisclosed location. And DM Productions’ Planet Polyester has been moved from its former Garden Grove location to Kokomo’s on Tuesday nights.
* DEEPER LOVE
* At Kokomo’s, 17927 MacArthur Blvd., Irvine.
* (714) 753-3328.
* Sundays only, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
* Cover: $7 for ages 18 to 20, $5 for those 21 and over.