CLUB REVIEW : 50 Bucks Offers Music and an Art Show

Some clubs want to be underground, but it takes more than an unlisted phone number to qualify. Downtown’s 50 Bucks, a performance space/art gallery connected to a Latino pool hall, is the genuine article. Not only does it carry on the underground tradition of good music, questionable location and bathrooms bordering on the scary, but the performances are also unannounced.

No matter. Club-goers show up en masse each time Rolo, the artist who runs 50 Bucks, puts on a show.

Thematically, 50 Bucks lies somewhere between “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Brazil.” Silver-wrapped air ducts wind across the room’s ceiling, while colorful underground poster art hangs on the walls and decorates the stage area.

Although Rolo doesn’t exactly advertise events, he designs a limited run of hand-printed flyers for each. Those who caught a recent $2 show at 50 Bucks were treated to L.A. alternative bands Bob Sled, TVTV$ and Red Five--who signed with Interscope Records last week.

The adjacent pool hall, Licha’s Santa Fe Grill, provides the bonus of bringing together different cultures. While pool hall regulars stop by the gallery to hear some of L.A.’s top young bands, Licha’s jukebox offers a who’s who of Latino music to scenesters taking a break from the gallery’s happenings. The cultural show and tell isn’t going unrecognized by 50 Bucks. While upcoming punk shows include Youth Brigade, Wool and Lutefisk, a night of Latino ska bands is also in the works. Figuring out when is up to you.

* 50 Bucks at Licha’s Santa Fe Grill, 2059 E. 7th St . 18 and over, $2 cover. 50 Bucks hot line (may or may not include exact dates): (310) CUT-FOOT.