CLUB REVIEW : Fancy-Free Milieu Helps Form a More Perfect Union

Can’t get into Bar Marmont, the swellegant, exclusive new watering hole from the folks who brought us Jones, Good Luck, Swingers and Small’s? Don’t worry. Directly across Sunset Boulevard lies West Hollywood’s new and improved Union, and its owners have taken the opposite tack: No guest list. No cover. No lines. No hassle. But make no mistake--this doesn’t translate as “no fun.”

Beginning three months ago, the owners of the two-level club on the Strip made some philosophical and physical changes. The goal was to create a free, comfortable, neighborhood hang. Union now includes a spacious patio featuring pool tables, dartboards and ample seating.

The interior, once defined by a smattering of tables and a poorly located stage, now offers numerous cozy booths, two stages and two bars. In Addams Family fashion, a bookshelf rotates to reveal a hidden screening room where independent films are shown weekly.

The level of live music talent is surprising for a free club. The Union books everything from jazz trios to acid-jazz deejays nightly, and every Monday at midnight you can seen the coolest cat working in Hollywood. A performance artist who goes by the name of Toledo and his jazz quartet perform sexy, raunchy lounge tunes, backed by erotic dancers in ‘40s-style undergarments. So consider your options the next time you’re waiting in a terminally slow line into a club where no entertainment awaits.

* Union, 8210 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 21 and over, no cover. (213) 654-1001.

Club Buzz: For an untraditional holiday outing, tonight the House of Blues is hosting a “Gender Bender Holiday Party,” which promises performances by numerous drag divas, a kissing booth and a “big hair” contest. . . . Hip-hop heads might want to check out the following two clubs: West Hollywood’s Casablanca/Club 8240 (formerly Carlos & Charlie’s) hosts live and deejayed hip-hop at its “Hot Fudge Sunday” dance party on Sundays, and the Garage in Silver Lake has been picking up some soulful steam with Ubiquity, a Tuesday night dance club featuring four deejays spinning underground hip-hop, London-town acid jazz and dancehall reggae.

* House of Blues (213) 650-1451. The Garage (213) 683-3447. Casablanca/Club 8240 (213) 656-0100.