Luxe of the draw

These days, it’s just not enough for a nightclub to hire a DJ, play a few records and sell some drinks. Oh, no. That’s far too one-dimensional for the sophisticated sensibilities of L.A.’s cutting-edge club-crawlers. Our attention spans demand more. We need a hook, a draw. Enter Luxe, L.A.’s latest “hybrid nightclub.”

Just a few steps beyond the ubiquitous burlesque rage sweeping the city, Luxe is a twisted love child of Studio 54 and cabaret, offering three glorious hours of eclectic DJ sounds that culminate with a 1 a.m. cabaret show hosted by the club’s creator, Andrew Ableson.

Ableson emcees an old-school variety show of sorts that changes weekly. Recent shows have included “Mr. Funnybones,” a tuxedo-clad gent tap-dancing to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” with a pinata on his head, and “The Mike Show,” featuring a sexy, druggie-looking lounge singer who belts out incongruous pop medleys. One of his most popular creations is the “Madonna Summer,” a medley of Madonna and Donna Summer songs.

Ableson is the son of Frankie Vaughn, Britain’s answer to Tony Bennett, and he pays tribute to his famous dad with a nightly straight-to-the-heart croon at the beginning of each set -- without irony. “Irony is the last refuge of the untalented,” he says. “When you can’t do it, you make fun of it. I want what I do to be beautiful and sincere.”

Whether the cabaret set is entirely without irony is in the eye of the beholder, but all of the performers certainly take their particular brand of showmanship to the hilt. Whether it’s the “Tapping Fossettes,” a six-member team of tap-dancers who accompany Abelson’s rendition of “Wilkommen” from “Cabaret,” or Jordan Moore, who, looking the picture of Norma Desmond in a turban and muumuu, gives the audience a video tour of Hollywood homes from the ‘20s and ‘30s with a Rudy Vallee soundtrack behind her, this performance art has its roots in the old fashioned variety show -- with some modern twists. For instance, as it appears to be all the rage to take your clothes off and set yourself on fire, Luxe will soon feature the fire-eating burlesque dancer “Mistress Malicious.”

The vaudevillian lineup changes each week, as do the spinning wheels of DJs Javier Natureboy, Bradley Tuck, Otter and DJ Oranj, who play from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Each DJ plays his own specialized type of music, from tripped-out cocktail lounge to disco to punk.

Here, the one thing you can count on is that nothing is ever the same. The club’s venue is the newly refurbished M-Bar, in what was Filet Mignon, a Romanian steakhouse at 1253 Vine St. (at Fountain Avenue). The intimate and louche-ly appointed space has retained most of the original decor from its steakhouse days: red flock wallpaper, red booths, red lacquer trim and ceiling and plenty of mirrors and beveled glass chandeliers reminiscent of something from Russia circa 1979.

And although it does feel cutting-edge cool and draws more than a few beautiful people, the 2-month-old nightspot has no sense of elitism and refuses to enforce an exclusionary door policy. Ableson thinks velvet ropes aren’t necessary: “People will weed themselves out.”

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*Luxe

Where: at M-Bar, 1253 Vine St., (323) 856-0036

When: Saturdays from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Cost: no cover charge