Hot Path to Bigfoot

Hot damn! If I were still single on the L.A. scene, I’d step on over to the Bigfoot Lodge. The new Atwater Village watering hole is the hot spot for the solo set--and, like any good thing, you better get while the getting’s good. We’re talking hottie-esque chicas and handsome hombres, all mingling to a way cool soundtrack.

Following in the footsteps of such singles-savvy predecessors as Small’s K.O., Bar Deluxe and Three Clubs--each a mating mecca in its respective heyday--the Bigfoot Lodge hired the right deejays for the job. On Fridays and Saturdays, guests are treated to, well . . . there’s only one adjective to describe it: bitchin’ rock ‘n’ roll. It’s the kind of music that makes everyone feel young and frisky. We’re talking the Sex Pistols, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, Generation X and Ozzy Osbourne. Music that starts pumping adrenaline into you as you pass through the Lodge’s curtains and doesn’t stop until you reluctantly leave (or get the boot at 2 a.m.). The fact that the music and the interior are so completely incongruous only heightens the sensation.

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Its owner, Bob Green--an artist who also owns the coffeehouse-gallery Cacao on the Westside--came up with the Bigfoot Lodge concept three years ago, initially as a joke. He found a crumbling old bar called Mr. Mike’s in the sleepy Atwater Village area and gave it a motif Paul Bunyan would fancy: log cabin walls, a life-size Smokey the Bear (which he made) and a jumbo Sasquatch National Forest sign.

Green, who is well connected to L.A.’s underground art scene, enlisted local artists to pitch in too, and the result is one-of-a-kind kitsch. Imagine hanging out at the Country Bear Jamboree while Motley Crue sings “Shout at the Devil.” Whoa doggy . . . it spells fun.

Sure, the place is full of scenesters--but so many kinds of scenesters: rockabilly babes, edgy artists, local musicians and actors, all in the twenty- to thirtysomething range. It’s not a meat market, though, so those who ain’t got game would be better off hitting the usual suspects, i.e., Hollywood’s numerous dance floors.

Although the weekends are made for rockin’, the Bigfoot Lodge mixes in mellower stuff on off nights, from jazz on Wednesdays to French pop on Sundays. But no matter what night it is, ever since Green opened the Lodge’s doors in June, the bar’s been off the hook with business.

Its success signals a few things. First, despite the current strength of Hollywood’s live music clubs, the Eastside is still alive and kicking. Second, people from L.A. will drive anywhere to make the scene, even if it means circling the block looking for parking in Atwater Village at midnight.

Although it’s primarily a bar (with a fancy drink menu available on weeknights), it doubles as an art house and features monthly art auctions. The next one is set for Dec. 12, and the theme is Cabin Fever--an appropriate topic for a wee log lodge that’s raising temperatures all over town.

BE THERE

The Bigfoot Lodge, 3172 Los Feliz Blvd., L.A.; (323) 662-9227. 21 and older. No cover.