Shack Attack

Most of our new generation of clubs are on the cutting edge. The Shack is retro. Call it Urban Cowboy meets Al Bundy.

Visually, the basic theme in this huge and diversified space is country. And on Friday and Saturday evenings, when the club is elbow to elbow with men in denim and women in leather, the stage is occupied by groups such as the Sam Morrison Band, a rockin’ country ensemble.

But it’s Thursday, and tonight the stage is occupied by the pompadoured Neil Morrow and His Red Hot ‘N’ Blues, playing Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis songs (while the burly Morrison--here on a busman’s holiday--leans against a railing well away from the stage, hiding under a broad-brimmed black hat, the better to check out the competition).

Morrow is wearing a black T-shirt. He wins over the audience quickly; only a few pool players, tucked into a corner far from the stage, remain oblivious to the music.

The pool tables aren’t the only potential distractions. If you took away the stage and the enormous dance floor directly in front of it, the place would look like a sports bar with its big-screen TVs, video machines and electronic dartboards.

Neon signs push Red Dog, Sam Adams and Steinlager. Come early--before 9:30 p.m., when food service stops--and you can get some reasonably good fish tacos, steaks and hot sandwiches from a large menu.

The best tables are about 25 feet from the stage, slightly elevated on a terrace-type structure. Before 9:30, they are used as restaurant tables; afterward, they afford a prime view of the stage.

Another interesting aspect to the Shack is the Screaming Crab. As you enter, there is a lounge area with comfy sofas where two enterprising brothers from Newport Beach have set up shop.

Think of the Screaming Crab as a sport clothing boutique where one can stock up on T-shirts, hats, beanies, boxers, 47-inch skateboards and other indispensable Generation Y fare. All products are emblazoned with a bizarrely hip logo depicting a sort of alien crab, plus a rather cumbersome four-line credo about life.

Morrow is playing “Jailhouse Rock” at the moment, temporarily taking everyone who is listening far away from the age of boards and beanies.

For those wishing to be terminally hip in the late ‘90s, there’s an array of trendy Cubano Loco cigars behind the bar, for $5 to $6.25.

BE THERE

The Shack, 1160 N. Kraemer Blvd., Anaheim. (714) 630-0121. 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Mon.-Fri., 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Sat. No cover weeknights; cover varies on weekends.