Louis XIV Doesn’t Miss a Beat

Mondays are nothing to look forward to for most of us. They bring our weekends to an abrupt halt and remind us of responsibilities to be met, bills to be paid and work to be done in the week ahead.

But for regulars at Monday’s Social, Mondays are a time to celebrate with good people, great food and impeccably selected beats. Held inside cozy French restaurant Louis XIV, the 4-year-old club has been attracting a hip, ethnically diverse mix of twentysomethings in Urban Outfitters-style threads and Euro-chic get-ups, who aren’t about to let their fun stop with the weekend.

On a recent night we hung out in the warm, candlelighted upper level of the restaurant where, across from our table, deft DJs looked down on diners while spinning a nonstop assortment of funked-out melodies and otherworldly beats that gradually built momentum as the evening progressed.

DJs Alien Tom, Brad from Moontribe and promoter/spin-meister Freddy Be kept the rhythms persistent--yet still held back enough for big groups (there were three separate birthday parties going on) to mingle, gossip and flirt without being overpowered by the music. After all, it’s not called “social” for nothing.

Be, along with partner Mick Cole (together they’re known as the Bud Brothers), created the club back in May 1996 as a showcase for more downbeat experimental sounds. The Buds met when they worked at Hollywood Records on the Disney lot.

“It was Mick who actually got me into deejaying,” says Be, who began to spin at underground raves and desert gatherings. Be was occasionally working the turntables at Louis XIV when he asked owner Jean Louis Bartoli about taking over the deadest night of the week. Four years later the party’s still pumpin.’

What’s amazing is that they manage to pack the place every week without any advertising or fliers. On a Monday.

“It’s a word-of-mouth thing,” explains Be, who learned how to create a buzz from his work with Studio K7 Records and philanthropic projects. “People have a good time here, and they tell their friends.” And so on and so on.

It also doesn’t hurt that the Bud Brothers always seem to have their nimble fingers on the pulse of what’s next in the electronic music world. Over the years their events have featured such crossover biggies as Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, the Chemical Brothers and Groove Armada--well before their music was on every video game and car commercial. They’ve brought in wax wizards, who are themselves stars in the electro scene, such as sound scientist David Holmes, local house king Doc Martin and Indian beat master Cheb I Sabbah. Turntable manipulator Mixmaster Morris, who played at the very first Monday’s Social, will be showing off his skills again Monday.

Cole, who also deejays and books talent for Atmosphere, the Viper Room’s electronic night, says the scene is getting more respect now than a couple of years ago. Raves and mega-clubs are obvious factors in the success of techno, trance, house and drum ‘n’ bass, but it’s intimate, sophisticated events like Monday’s Social that spread the hypnotic, unifying power of dance music on a regular basis.

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Most of the Monday crowd comes to Louis XIV for the music, but many come for the food too. The 12-year-old restaurant serves an eclectic mix of organic fare that’s as flavorful as the tunes, even if it might be pricey for some clubster’s budgets. After a tasty dinner of goat cheese salad and prime rib, accompanied by some extremely percussive sounds, we were stuffed but energized as the room seemed to get louder and livelier along with the music. We made our way into the jammed and bustling Hi-Fidelity Lounge upstairs, where lounging was the last thing on anyone’s mind.

The fusion of motion and relaxation is really what this beginning-of-the-week soiree is all about. You can sip cocktails and nibble the cuisine, or you can sweat it up in the lounge. Ideally, you’d do both. Like the DJ’s funky freestyle format, the atmosphere here is anything goes, and its relaxed charm and friendly vibe make it the perfect way to kick back or kick off the week.

BE THERE

Monday’s Social at Louis XIV, 606 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood, (213) 368-8284. 21 and older. $5 cover. Free with dinner reservation. (323) 934-5102.