Nothing but Fun in Mind at Rebar

Wednesdays are KROQ nights at Rebar, a Woodland Hills dance club that attracts a large crowd with nothing but fun on the agenda. By 10:30 p.m., there’s a half-hour wait to get in the door--so get there early. The club, open from 9 p.m. to 1:45 a.m., has a $5 cover.

THE SCENE: The club packs a lot into a little, so dancers should expect to bump shoulders once in a while on the tiny dance floor. Bottles of domestic beer are sold in a corner at a slightly lower price than at the one large bar. Tables and bar stools crowd the rest of the space, providing room for any conversation that can be heard over the roar of the music. Several video monitors hang from the ceiling, but they only show about one music video an hour. Club-goers judge weekly themed contests, including dance, tattoo and sexy underwear.

THE CROWD: The 21- to 32-year-olds have an almost-anything-goes dress code. Styles range from jeans and shorts to leather and flowered baby-doll dresses. Everybody seems to know everybody else, but newcomers fit right in. Attitude is in low concentration and, unlike at most clubs, the men as well as the women are comfortable dancing solo.

THE MUSIC: KROQ DJ Richard Blade keeps the crowd dancing each Wednesday to alternative music with techno and industrial rock mixed in. Artists range from Depeche Mode and Berlin to Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and Nine Inch Nails.

THE GOOD: “Sometimes we come here not caring what we look like or how we’re dressed,” said Heather Edmondson, 24, a CSUN student. “We look like we’re just here to have fun. At other clubs, if you weren’t like totally hot, the chicks would look at you like, ‘What is she doing here?’ ”

“I like it a lot. It’s not like a meat market, it’s not sleazy,” said Donald Gutterman, 23, a regular for two years. “The people are not here to scam, they just like to dance. It’s a comfortable place.”

THE BAD: “The only thing it needs is more industrial music. And better-looking men,” said Barbara Wood, 26, a CSUN student. “I mean, I know all the guys here, we’re all family.”

THE WORD: “Hey, babe, you got killer hair, is it all natural?” one Casanova said.

CAPITALIST ALERT: One recurring theme--the San Fernando Valley is sorely lacking in alternative-music clubs, and, as one woman said, “the rest of the Valley is square.” Said Nicole Guerrero, 25: “If someone wants to make a lot of money, they’d duplicate this place. We bring 12 to 30 people here at a time.”

Rebar (part of Reuben’s Summerhouse), 11870 Victory Blvd., Woodland Hills. (818) 883-0641.