CLUB REVIEW : Club Shelter: The Roxbury’s Worthy Sister in Pasadena

Shannen Doherty’s one widely witnessed entrance may have occurred on opening night more than two years ago, but that’s not to say Pasadena’s Club Shelter doesn’t offer some of the highlights of the Roxbury, its sister club.

Although you’re still more likely to rub elbows with television stars and their bodyguards in Hollywood than in the suburbs, the easy access, quicker entrance time and spacious dance floor at Club Shelter has its appeal. The bit of attitude one receives at the door can be chalked up to Old Town’s attempt to keep up with the Westside’s hipness facade. After all, preferential treatment at upscale clubs has become something desired even by the patrons, who wouldn’t be caught dead at a club that seemed desperate for members.

Even more lushly decorated than the Roxbury--which has the same owners--Club Shelter is filled with plush furniture and warm colors, and there’s an ample lounge to rest one’s tired bones after a night of dancing, which is the bi-level, 499-capacity club’s main focus. A swirl of R&B;, hip-hop, disco, alternative and reggae reflects an open musical mind and a wide mix of deejays, from Thursday’s old-school advocate Tony Romero to Bobby B and Smash, who design Friday’s “Club Soda” night of disco-enhanced bliss.

Club Shelter didn’t set out to rewrite any dance-club annals here. It just offers Pasadenans a viable alternative to driving to Hollywood when they wanna get down at night.

* Club Shelter, 40 S. Pasadena Ave., Pasadena. Thursday through Sunday, 21 and over. Cover varies. (818) 577-4040.