Making a big commitment

FORGET the myth that it’s cool for a club to move to different spots each week and be so exclusive only the ultra-hipsters know the where and when.

Dave Dean, the director of Giant who cut his chops on the English dance scene and has been a promoter for two decades, watched his weekly Saturday promotion hop from venue to venue for over a year, trying out several spots. And he believes people couldn’t be happier that Giant finally has a permanent home at Avalon in Hollywood.

“People were looking forward to us settling into one venue. It allows you to provide much more quality,” Dean says.

For starters, Giant worked with the creators of Avalon -- which opened last autumn after the Palace got a face-lift and a new name -- on the sound system.

Dean estimates that there’s 100,000 watts of amplification in the venue. And for the denizens of Giant, who dance with the speakers as if they were lovers, shaking their groove thangs while the bass vibrates through them, it’s all about the wattage.

Marcy Buckeley, a regular at Giant since it moved to Avalon, says she felt the Earth move when DJ Paul Oakenfold opened the club.

“When I came here to see Oakenfold the first night it opened it was unbelievable. You could feel it vibrating in your feet,” she says.

The club opened with much fanfare, but Dean acknowledges it’s taken some time for patrons to get used to the new locale. “It takes a while when a club opens, then a few DJs come through and spread the word,” Dean says, crediting Oakenfold with helping talk up Giant internationally to other DJs.

If Giant’s rise was a slow build, like in all great DJ sets, the crowd-pleasing hook was worth the wait. Right now, the club is hitting its groove, enjoying a run of world-class DJs, several of whom are continually ranked in the top 10 of the DJ magazine polls. In the coming weeks that includes Deep Dish, Holland’s Tiesto, Miguel Migs with Layo and Bushwacka, Chicago house star Derrick Carter, Britain’s Steve Lawler and progressive/trance guru Sasha.

For the club’s enthusiasts, it’s ultimately the people behind the decks who have them returning to Hollywood and Vine. “I’ve become like a regular because they get really good names,” Buckeley says. While there are other factors that keep her coming back, she says, “Mostly it’s because they get people like Paul Oakenfold and Josh Wink.”

The club offers perks for non-dancers as well. The loaded bars, set up on both sides of the downstairs area for instant access from the lobby, are stocked with all of the trendiest drinks.

And while Giant doesn’t get the typical celebrity-hunting crowd associated with some L.A. hot spots, there’s no shortage of eye candy throughout the club, though most of the twentysomething patrons are welded to the dance floor for hours at a time.

For decor, it’s all about the upstairs Spider Club -- normally a VIP room during Avalon live shows.

It’s opened up as a smoking patio and dining area during the late-night Giant hours. And above that is the decadent Moroccan room, which is highlighted by beds in the center of the room for people to make conversation and rest their weary feet.

In addition, the music varies from room to room.

Clubgoer Robert Friedson says those options help separate Giant from other clubs he’s been to. “You can do an hour in a room and then if you’re not feeling it, check out something else,” he says. “There’s always something going on.”

Visual perks abound in the main room, with go-go dancers onstage and a feast of lights and video projections.

As DJ Wink weaved a skillful array of progressive synthesizer tracks and expansive trance hooks on a recent weekend, the venue’s old Hollywood Art Deco ceilings and walls were illuminated by a dizzying blend of lasers and strobes. Around Wink, large video screens projected flashed images of some of the top-name DJs that have visited Giant of late.

Although peak hours for fan migration are around midnight, fans are usually coming in until the DJs have played the last note, at 5 a.m. Sunday.

Dean likes to reward those who’ve made Giant their regular Saturday night haunt. As such, he sells only half the tickets for an event before the day of show, so fans can still walk up Saturday night and get in, whether Oakenfold or a local DJ is spinning.

One of Giant’s most unusual traits is that it feels like a small club while holding more than 1,500 people.

Buckeley says she’s never felt crowded on the dance floor, and she can always find a familiar face.

“I definitely see a regular sort of vibe because I can count on, when I come here Saturday nights, seeing the people that I expect to see,” Buckeley says. “I think it’s great for the dance community to have a place to come together and celebrate the scene.”

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Steve Baltin can be reached at weekend@latimes.com.

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Giant at Avalon

Where: 1735 Vine St., Hollywood

When: Saturdays, 9:30 p.m.-5 a.m.

Price: $10-$25

Info: (323) 464-7373 or www.giantclub.com