‘70s Fans Get a Charge From the Rhino Room

“Gimme that funk, that sweet, that funk, that funky stuff . . . “

Can we print lyrics like that in a family newspaper? If not, the masses who stampede the Rhino Room on Saturdays might skip this page.

The ‘70s still rule at the Saturday Nite Fever strobe-lit disco party, for which Gen-Xers start forming a long, long-lasting line at 8:30 p.m. It ebbs only when the wait forces a retreat to Gecko’s next door.

Anyone who knew Denim & Diamonds, the room’s prior incarnation, will get a kick out of the transformation. No more cowhide and stuffed moose, no more bull-roping videos. No, D&D;’s hickdom has been usurped by a trendy, subdued self-consciousness evoked by post-mod lighting fixtures, barren, dark blue-green walls and bouncers in collarless shirts.

Once the owners here finally realized the country craze had crested, they didn’t stall, either. It only took a month to re-dress the place. Ah, capitalistic Darwinism at its finest.

The new venue hosts a range of formats. Local alternative rock bands, such as One Hit Wonder, play Thursdays. Other nights feature live and recorded mainstream rock and Top 40.

But Saturday’s crowd may be closest, at heart, to the previous horsy set. The trappings are different, but aren’t country pop and disco both about bygone innocence and happy faces?

If that’s the way, uh huh, uh huh, you like it, this place can be a blast. The deejay spins vintage vinyl from the Bee Gees, Commodores, Chic and Kurtis Blow as white smoke pours from the ceiling. Around 11 p.m., the Rhino’s cigarette-smoking happy faces let out adulatory screams for the Disco Inferno band, a trio attired in tight polyester bell-bottoms and spangly shirts that expose chest hair and gold chains.

But don’t freak if Mom chucked her white vinyl go-go boots or never taught you how to hustle. These Newport Beachy disco newbies are ‘90s in dress and dance vocab.

Baby boomers may come early for a little hustle, but by 9 p.m., they’re crowded out by freestyle dancers, baseball caps turned backward, waiving beers in the air and whooping for more Village People.

As for refreshment, domestic beers and mixed drinks start at $3.25; imported beer goes for $3.75. Wine by the glass runs $3.50 to $6. Appetizers include stuffed mushrooms, chicken tenders, nachos and buffalo wings, at $6.95 each.

* At the Rhino Room, 7979 Center Ave., Huntington Beach.

* (714) 892-3316.

* Saturdays, 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

* $5.