L.A. Shimmying to ‘60s Mod Culture

The ‘60s never die. They’re just passed along from generation to generation.

While those who originally enjoyed this era are approaching a different kind of 60s, a younger version of the mod squad is shaking, shimmying and doing the pony at a number of L.A. clubs, including Cafe Bleu, Shout! and Night Train.

The second Sunday of each month, a stretch of Wilshire Boulevard outside L.A.’s El Rey Theatre transforms into a scene reminiscent of London’s Carnaby Street circa 1967, when designer Mary Quant reigned supreme. Decked out in Harlequin-print tights, knee-high boots and panty-skimming miniskirts, scores of Twiggy wannabes and their Fred Perry-wearing boyfriends stand in line to gain access to Shout!, a ‘60s-style club that brings mod and KRTH-FM classics to the dance floor.

“I could listen to ‘A Town Called Malice’ by the Jam till I’m 80 and never get sick of it,” says Shalyce Benfell, 33, a promoter who moved to Los Angeles from San Francisco three years ago to open Cafe Bleu, the L.A. club that jump-started the scene when it began fusing modern-day Brit-pop with soul oldies. “You don’t get tired of this music.”

The popularity of mod culture has ebbed and flowed over the last two decades, its peaks and valleys following the music industry. It experienced one of many revivals in the ‘80s, when bands like the Smiths and Echo & the Bunnymen were popular. Now, with ‘60s-influenced English acts like Oasis, Blur and Pulp having crossover success stateside, it has again spawned an underground scene that is still on an upswing.

Jason Lavitt and Joseph Brooks opened Shout! in March. Promoters of Sinamatic and Coven 13, Lavitt says goths from those clubs are even migrating to the scene. Why?

“It’s fun,” he says. “From ’65 to ‘75, music was perfect.”

In L.A., mod culture isn’t just for locals. Kids from San Diego and San Francisco regularly travel from city to city to go club-hopping.

The L.A. scene has become so well-known, in fact, that, Benfell says, she often gets calls from DJs in England asking if they can spin records at her club.

Talent scouts for Mike Meyers’ “Austin Powers” sequel recently recruited extras from Shout!, including Riley Mohr, a hair stylist, deejay and go-go dancer. Two months ago, Mohr founded Night Train, a once-a-month club where she spins Northern Soul and ‘60s garage rock--all on vinyl.

Dressed in a shimmery fringe dress with matching silver boots, Mohr is a mod purist. But many of the scene’s club-goers are “decade blenders,” she says, pairing vintage ‘60s with clothing from other eras.

Music has always informed style, and that is especially so with the mod scene. Recognizing that you are what you drive in L.A., Shout! and Solid (which debuts Saturday at Fais Do-Do) offer discounts to “scooterists,” encouraging urging patrons to ride their Vespas and Lambrettas to the clubs.

Cafe Bleu takes place Thursdays at Tempest Supper Club; Shout!, second Sunday of each month at El Rey Theatre; Club Solid debuts Saturday at Fais Do-Do; Night Train, every third Saturday at Gabah.