CLUB REVIEW : Despite Drab Decor, Pan Springs to Life

Perhaps because Silver Lake rates as a low-key locale on the hipster club spectrum, Pan--a new Thursday night club at Dreamz--is a comfortably inviting scene.

With its truck-stop interior and drab decor, Pan is a great example of how a venue can spring to life with a bit of ingenuity and some good music.

With its eclectic music selection and a backdrop of five video monitors looping continuous images of the Unarians--sect members who wear outer space costumes and wait to be beamed up by a higher life form--Pan makes life on Earth seem pretty cool.

Although last week the club featured an inspired live show by the psychedelic blues-funk trio Mecolodiacs, you can generally count on the wide-ranging music taste of deejay Reverend Mauricio Figuls. From the funky ‘70s sounds of War’s “Spill the Wine” and Rufus’ “Tell Me Something Good” to Tom Jones’ version of “Ring of Fire” and the Tikis’ “Surfadelic,” Figuls creates a unique strain of dance fever.

Pan seems to draw an effortlessly mixed group of people, from neighborhood Latinos to club-goers from South-Central and Hollywood. After a few more selections from Marvin Gaye, David Bowie and the Ohio Players, you’re reminded that there really is something for everyone here.

* Pan at Dreamz on Thursdays, 1717 N. Silver Lake Blvd . , (213) 481-2229. Cover varies from $3 to $5. * JEWEL OF A POOL HALL

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