A three-ring circus

Wiry fellas in baggy jeans and baseball caps contort their bodies and take to the floor for some b-boy backspin action, while just to their right, a couple of rocker-looking types in faux mohawks and studded belts hold hands and jump incessantly through bright green laser beams.

To their left, streaky-haired Asian girls gyrate and create their own circles of light with pink glow-sticks, while in front of the group a cluster of computer-nerd types looks worshipfully to the stage, where the night’s DJ (flown in from Europe) attacks his turntables with abandon, mirroring the vigor of the dancing denizens below him.

It’s Saturday night at an electronic super club in L.A. But which one? The scene is Gods- kitchen at the Henry Fonda Theatre, but it might just as easily be Avaland (right around the corner at Avalon Hollywood) or Circus down on Santa Monica Boulevard.

And here’s where it gets a little confusing -- and incestuous. There was a time (just a few years after the rave scene went aboveground around 2000) that mega-clubbin’ had only one game in town. The venue was Circus and the club was Giant, promoted by Dave Dean with some booking help from San Francisco’s Spundae. When Dean had a falling out with Circus, Spundae took his place at the venue. Dean went on to throw events at Avalon (the space that used to be the Palace). Spundae eventually merged with U.K. promoters Godskitchen -- and then moved from Circus to the Henry Fonda Theatre.

Got that? OK, now forget about the last part. In a recent development, it was just announced that Spundae and Godskitchen are splitting. Spundae, which will retain its name in San Francisco and Los Angeles, released a statement last week about the “parting of ways” and stated its intention to return soon to old stamping grounds Circus.

Come 2005, all three clubs -- each of which had a connection with the others at one time or another -- will go head-to-head in a heated, beat-packed battle for Saturday night supremacy.

L.A. nightlife is more vital than ever but is it healthy enough for Spundae, Avaland and Godskitchen all to thrive? If not, which one will prevail?

“Three super-clubs will not survive on Saturday nights in L.A.,” says Brooks Pettus, chief executive of Godskitchen North America. “The market is far narrower than it was in 2000 when there was one super club. Now there are less clubbers and more big club nights. Something will give.”

Pettus had originally created Spundae Worldwide in 2001 with Peter Beckers and Guiv Naimi, the San Francisco founders of Spundae, to license the club’s name for use in event production and promotion. This year Spundae Worldwide was acquired by Godskitchen -- with Pettus becoming a partner and Beckers and Naimi becoming contract players -- and the company ran clubs under both names in almost 20 markets.

Pettus’ partners in Godskitchen include Neil Thomas and Neil Moffit (seen on the Spike TV reality show “The Club”). That group decided not to renew the contracts of Beckers and Naimi, who will now return the Spundae name to Circus.

“Leaving Circus was entirely Godskitchen N.A.’s decision to make,” Naimi explains. “Now Spundae Productions feels that Circus is still one of the best venues in L.A. We always felt that it’s our home in L.A. and we are looking forward to some great shows again there.”

For 30 years now Circus has hosted some of the liveliest gay, straight, rock and electro events in the city, but a glance at Internet message boards -- even Spundae’s own -- and club blogs indicate that some in the electronic music community don’t think Circus can still compete with newer clubs such as Avalon. Indeed, Thomas conceded that keeping up with Avalon was a factor in Godskitchen’s move to the Fonda in the first place. Circus owner Gene La Pietra declined to comment.

Thomas and Pettus say that their Fonda night is just one slice of the pie in Los Angeles for Godskitchen. The group already puts on 50,000-capacity festivals called Global Gatherings in the U.K., and they aim to do the same here next year. Getting DJs such as Armen Van Buren, Christopher Lawrence and Tall Paul -- not to mention a loyal weekly crowd -- is a feat under these competitive circumstances, but pulling off a big-scale event is different. L.A. will get a taste of Godskitchen’s larger offerings this New Year’s Eve when world-class wax wonder Tiesto entertains at the Palladium.

Of course, they have some stiff competition. Dave Dean (whose promotions at Avalon have enjoyed a strong year) will present Giant Village, his grand New Year’s Eve party downtown, featuring a stellar lineup of turntablists, including Paul Oakenfold, the Crystal Method, Mark Farina, John Digweed and even an acclaimed rock act, the Killers.

His history with Circus and Spundae suggest he could provide some insight into the current split, but Dean says he prefers to look forward. He doesn’t think the situation will affect his numbers at Avalon because, “We’ve built a night that exists with a pretty good residual base of people. It’s not always entirely about having the biggest headlining DJ every week as much as a really good sampling of a lot of different genres of electronic music.”

Still, with three clubs vying for the same beat masters, things can get sticky. Certain DJs have been forced to align themselves with certain clubs exclusively. However, Dean, who recently secured a monthly residency from progressive fave Sasha (best known as John Digweed’s DJ partner), says things are changing.

“I think the big DJs are going to play where they feel the best events are,” he says. “If you have a good product, the DJs are going to play and the people are going to come.”

Pettus sees the situation less optimistically. “With three big dogs at the bowl, either someone decides to look for a better meal elsewhere or you have to get a whole lot bigger bowl, which in the current environment just isn’t going to happen. Someone’s going to starve and our track record tells me it won’t be Gods- kitchen.”

Lina Lecaro can be reached at weekend@latimes.com

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Saturday night fever

Three Hollywood clubs figure to battle for Saturday night dance supremacy in 2005.

Godskitchen at the Fonda Theatre: 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 464-0808

Avaland at Avalon Hollywood: 1735 N. Vine St., Hollywood. (323) 462-8900

Spundae at Circus: 6655 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 462-1291