A chance to hang with the big boys

You had DJs. You had dancers. You had rock bands and hipsters and videographers and dinosaurs.

The annals of nightclub history are packed with people lining up to dance next to scantily clad go-go dancers. But dinosaurs?

You bet your wooly mammoth.

At the Natural History Museum’s First Fridays promotion in January, a merry sense of experimentation prevailed. With performers and revelers occupying the spaces in front of the museum’s permanent exhibitions, past met present in a whimsical juxtaposition with an advanced degree in weird science. What’s next, T. Rex performing in front of Tyrannosaurus rex?

Don’t give the museum any ideas.

The promotion is intended to lure visitors who may not be initially attracted to the institution’s already colorful exhibitions, said the museum’s vice president of public programs, Vanda Vitali.

“Some people see better with their eyes,” Vitali said. “But some people see better with their ears.”

The First Fridays series, which began in September, features varying performing arts themes, from comedy to serious-minded choreography. The next program, Friday night’s “Art & Sol” -- coordinated with Self Help Graphics & Art, the East Los Angeles art organization -- brings in Latin art and music in anticipation of the museum’s exhibition “Celebrations,” which opens Feb. 20.

The Jan. 7 party marked the closing of the multimedia exhibition “L.A.: Light/Motion/Dreams.” A crew of video artists such as Takeshi Murata, a group of DJs with names like Nobody and Frosty, and the hip-hop band the Breakestra were among those invited to provide another vision of the exhibition.

Their festive alternative was called “L.A. Remixed.” Museum officials put the head count at 1,600 -- the same number who checked out electronica star Fatboy Slim when he performed a special engagement at the museum in December.

While the partiers, mostly in their 20s and 30s, undoubtedly were intrigued by the possibilities of drinking cocktails under the watchful eyes of a grizzly bear, the party gave the museum a new way of providing a cultural forum, said attendee Jim Rosenthal, a 47-year-old film editor from Hollywood.

“It’s still a museum space,” he said. “But it’s a much more free-form way to experience it. I’m noticing the space around the museum more.”

There was a lot to see. Video of the pink, fleshy face of Kevin Starr, California’s state librarian emeritus, was mixed with vibrant scenes of Los Angeles. Those images were projected on the wall behind live performer David J as he made avant-garde sound collages with his 17-year-old son, Joseph. “This could have cleared the room,” joked David J, the former bassist for goth rock pioneers Bauhaus. “I was pleased people stayed.”

If music purists knew what David J was doing, maybe they’d protest. Maybe. He deconstructed one of Los Angeles’ top feel-good songs, the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” into gritty recordings of traffic on the Harbor Freeway and audio from the exhibit’s installations.

Across the hall, in the North American Mammals wing of the museum, both the performers and the crowd were enjoying themselves.

DJ Hoseh, born Jose Salguero, played wild electronica and 1970s fusion jazz.

Languis, which began as an experimental electronic group, unveiled its new lineup as a quartet, performing dense guitar rock with lush soundscapes of fuzz and feedback, reminiscent of Sigur Ros and My Bloody Valentine.

“In retrospect, I’d almost pay to play here,” said Languis’ Stephen Swesey after the set. “You’ve got a great venue, all your friends here, and then you have dinosaurs, buffaloes and elephants.”

And you have wildly diverse music fare.

The night ended with a performance by Los Angeles eight-piece the Breakestra. Bassist Miles Tackett added to the sense of experimentalism by bowing a jazz cello over the band’s jambalaya of hip-hop, soul and rock.

Break dancers tried out gymnastic moves as the band performed a reggae version of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and the funky soul of their originals, such their latest single, “You Don’t Need a Dance.”

And the musk ox bearing witness to this revelry?

Didn’t bat an eyelid. Not once.

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Andrew Asch can be reached at weekend@latimes.com.

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First Fridays

What: A night of performance and art intended to attract and engage museum-goers.

Program: Musical performances by DomingoSiete, Lysa Flores and Very Be Careful; performance of “Dia de los Muertos” by Teatro Tatalejos; spoken word by Marisol L. Torres of Teatro CHUSMA, poetry group In Lak Ech and Cyndi Briano; storytelling with Leo Limon, Barbara Carrasco and Harry Gamboa Jr.

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., L.A.

Price: $15; $12 for members and students

Info: (213) 763-DINO or www.nhm.org