More Than Name Has Changed at Lingerie

Wow. The ruin of Club Lingerie is something you have to see for yourself. That’s the only way to grasp the fate that’s befallen the late, great music club. The once-thriving hotbed of L.A.’s underground music scene has become a Korean discotheque of surreal proportions.

Gone is its vintage mahogany bar. Gone is any inkling of its rockin’ past, which included pivotal performances by the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Candlebox. Gone is any sense of what makes a Hollywood club great: the music, the people, the sense of community.

In its place? Dreadful music, a dreadful layout and an environment that’s about as warm and familiar to newcomers as a trip to Mars. Perhaps much gets lost in translation. If you don’t speak Korean, you will have a difficult time grasping club rules. But for starters, it’s unofficially called the Sunset Club (although Club Lingerie signage and matchbooks are still everywhere) and a soda’s gonna cost you around $10.

You’re not allowed to sit on one of the zillion faux-cowhide couches unless you order an appetizer. The problem is that there is no place else to sit. So what’s left? The dance floor--if you enjoy dancing to awful remixes of Tag Team and Vanilla Ice hits.

A lot of money appears to have gone into the revamping: The sound system and dance floor are first-rate, and the lighting looks equally expensive. But what it illuminates is the worst of all possible disco worlds, one not terribly different from what you might find at, say, a Disneyland discotheque. It’s not the happiest place on Earth.

* Club Lingerie/Sunset Club, 6507 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. 21 and over, no cover. (213) 466-8557.

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Club Buzz: Glaxa, a performance space and cafe in Silver Lake, has just about doubled its capacity by taking a lease on an adjacent antiquated bank. This means more theater, more music and more fun at the eclectic club, which currently offers concerts by local Latino rock acts and cabaret-style musical revues. The second Sunday of every month features a variety of performers dedicated to “anti-pop” music. A recent show included ex-Germs drummer Don Bolles, who operated three short-wave radios with the volume turned up somewhere around a gut-wrenching 11.

* Glaxa, (213) 663-5295.