Cat Club Snags Weekly Barndance

So Hustler doesn’t take checks, which stinks if you’re sniffing around the Sunset Strip retail store sans cold hard dinero. But not if you know Slim Jim Phantom. The Cat Club owner opened his doors a wee bit early, letting us laze around while we waited for a cash delivery. (The Cat Club’s a stone’s throw from the Hustler store.)

Slim Jim gave me the skinny on a few new happenings. Ronnie Mack’s Barndance just made its debut at the Cat Club, and it makes perfect sense. Cool cats dig Hollywood, preferring not to drive to the Culver Saloon (its last locale) on a Tuesday night to get their weekly fix of alternative country music.

In addition, Slim Jim’s own jam session, happening every Thursday at the weensy club, is off-the-hook. From Axl Rose to Lee Rocker, the guest stars in this all-star jam really are stars. . . . Speaking of rock stars, good thing I wasn’t at Cherry on Friday night, because David Lee Roth was! Hot damn. Diamond Dave, I probably woulda dropped to my knees. Sure, he’s gotten goofy in recent years, but I’ll be singing “Running With the Devil” till the cows come home. . . . Speaking of homecomings, Scream scene queen Dayle Gloria received some stolen merchandise in the form of an old Scream banner. It was stolen in ’85 by a member of Motorcycle Boy’s family and returned at her Fourth of July Scream picnic last week. Like a true Independence Day flag, it hung proudly on Monday night.

Scream, at the Playroom, was packed with old and new members of the church of rock ‘n’ roll, who turned out to see stellar performances by the Quireboys, Bubble, Yo-Yo, American Heartbreakers and of course, Lady Miss Ashleigh. The Hollywood go-go dancer (Scream, Bang and Make-Up) is the hottest creature I’ve seen in about a decade--and I’ve seen a lotta hotties.

She’s got so much sass, when she struts her stuff, I swear you can see glittery fairy dust in her wake. Iggy and Twiggy are among her devotees. . . . And lastly, Vibrator--we hardly knew ye. The sexy Thursday night scene at 7969 is no mas--with mega-promoters Bryan Rabin, Joseph Brooks and Coyote Shivers spread too thin to give it their all. Easy come, easy go-go.