THE ENABLER

If one wanted to start a Goth club in Los Angeles, there are obvious places to do it: Hollywood Boulevard, the suburban badlands of the Valley, an apocalyptic factory downtown east of the river. Certainly not in a random Koreatown loft space on Wilshire named after a pressed ham-turkey-and-cheese sandwich. But the scattershot yet sumptuous nightclub Monte Cristo is nonetheless pursuing the elusive hip-hop/lesbian/vampire crossover crowd. Weirdly, it seems to be working.

On a recent Saturday night stroll through K-Town, the Enabler was struck by a Bauhaus track pulsing from a dim industrial space across the street from Southwestern Law School. Following our nose for crushed velvet and corpse paint (What? The Enabler had a few awkward teen years), we slunk into a crimson Edwardian pleasure palace of wrought ironworks, quivering candlelight and ghoulish dancing. Though capes and top hats abounded, one wraith with a teddy bear backpack won points for brave irony.

The Enabler asked the Cristo’s oddly preppy doorman if this was a regular occurrence. Yes, he said, and be sure to come back for the hip-hop- and lesbian-themed nights. We await the day these crowds mingle on the Cristo’s sepulchral dance floor. It would make about as much sense as the rest of the place.

3100 Wilshire Blvd., (213) 252-9343

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-- theguide@latimes.com