Punks are out, hipsters are in
Tucked into the corner of a strip mall in Costa Mesa’s steadily emerging 19 West District, Detroit Bar’s unassuming location might have first-time visitors scratching their heads and double-checking their Mapquest printout. (It’s just on the other side of Alejandro’s 24-hour drive-through Mexican restaurant, bookended by a coin laundry and a botanica that sells lotions to help ward away evil spirits.) Inside, however, the club is neither a dive nor stereotypically “O.C.”
Instead, if you’re there on a Friday night, this former punk club is thumping with the “Bristol Sessions,” DJ Danny Love’s long-running and still surprisingly fresh mix of soulful house music.
Indeed, the Detroit Bar is an anomaly for the O.C., a multidimensional hot spot that features karaoke, stand-up comedy, bands-in-residence and top-name DJ talent. Past musical guests include the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Breeders, Modest Mouse, Cold War Kids and Stereolab, which played the bar’s opening in 2001. The recently added dance night, “Busywork” (every Wednesday), is dance-rock and electro for the coastal crowd.
“We’re trying to do quality programming each night of the week,” says Dan Bradley, who co-owns the bar with his Memphis Group partner Diego Velasco. “It’s a venue for people who appreciate what we consider to be quality, maybe groundbreaking, music.”
Originally a diner in the 1950s, the spot became Club Mesa in the early 1990s. It was Costa Mesa’s epicenter for punk-rock music and culture, not to mention all the fury, sweat and liability that went with it.
In 2001, Bradley and his group -- which also owns the delectable Memphis Café and the Tin Lizzie Saloon, both in Costa Mesa -- purchased the bar, ripped out the foul-smelling carpets, buffed up the hidden terrazzo floors underneath and hung up extra-large paintings of album covers by David Bowie, Roxy Music and Kraftwerk.
Now, the mid-century décor and the earthy color scheme promote mod lounge vibes that are more attributable to hipster style than to any one genre of music.
“We unfortunately went down as the owners that killed punk rock,” Bradley laughs.
Maybe so, but given their stiffly poured, modestly priced cocktails and shots, the venue is keeping things pretty hard-core behind the bar. They’ve nixed their specialty menu, but a drink they call a “Shamu” (Tuaca and lemonade -- ask for it) will kick-start the night just the same.
The orange-colored, diner-style bar gives great visibility to the stage and dance floor, while three modest VIP areas sectioned off by heavy curtains give some respite from the club’s booming sound system. Those who require a bit more insulation can hit the back room for a few games of pool and a fin’s worth of jukebox tunes.
Don’t expect an old juke filled with vinyl, though: this is an Internet-ready Touch Tunes box, featuring everything from live Underworld to Guns N’ Roses’ “Use Your Illusion II.” Times have changed at the Detroit Bar, as is evidenced by the crowd you can watch through big windows separating the billiards room from the main dance floor.
This is O.C. territory for sure, but you’ll find more printed T-shirts and “urban woodsman” beards than waxed, overinflated chests and hair product. It’s abundantly clear from both the patronage and the programming that Detroit Bar is dedicated to bringing that counterculture aesthetic back to Costa Mesa’s west side, albeit with a more sophisticated touch than its predecessor.
“It reminds me of the bars in San Francisco,” says local resident Alex Hansel. “The atmosphere, the music, the people. It’s a whole different vibe from the typical Orange County scene.”
A few laps with Shamu followed by Danny Love’s uplifting 12-inch selections will put you in a different vibe too, and those who thrive on a steady diet of house music will find closing time comes too fast. Suddenly you’re out on the street at 2 a.m. and famished, but you’re in luck: Even though the bar doesn’t serve food anymore, last callers aren’t short of options when they hit the pavement. Alejandro’s serves up a bountiful carne asada taco for under $3, or you can snag a croissant breakfast sandwich from the 24-hour doughnut shop next door.
OK, not everything has changed since the punk days.
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Detroit Bar
Where: 843 W. 19 St., Costa Mesa
When: after 8 p.m. daily
Info: (949) 642-0600, detroitbar.com