CLUB REVIEW : Club May Have No Name but It’s Getting a Reputation

After just a few weeks, the resuscitated Club With No Name is making, well, a name for itself. Promoter Dayle Gloria’s Sunday night series at the Gaslight (the original and still popular name for the Cosmos club) was a staple of the alternative set, but her decision to move the scene to the nearby Dragonfly came just in time.

As with any scene in L.A., the momentum begins to fade sooner or later, and the change of venue has given Sunday nights a necessary boost of adrenaline. Although Gloria’s selection of young, energetic bands has something to do with the success, Dragonfly’s sound system is a step above the Gaslight’s, and the Santa Monica Boulevard club--as well as its stage--is considerably roomier.

Gloria, who was part of the promotion team behind the popular Scream club at the Park Plaza Hotel, hadn’t used the Club With No Name moniker since she abandoned it three years ago at the Probe.

No Name’s current incarnation at Dragonfly includes deejay Mike Vague spinning an alternative music mix in the dance area, while about five bands a night perform in the front room. So far, such big names as Henry Rollins, Stone Temple Pilots and Soul Asylum have been among the patrons checking out such up-and-coming bands as 1,000 Mona Lisas and Gwen Mars.