Avaland keeps the beat going strong
MOST Angelenos simply regard the Avalon, the 1,500-person capacity club at the former Palace Theater, as “that club” across the street from the Capitol Records building.
But for a certain demographic, the Avalon is far from an anonymous building on Vine Street that hosts rock bands on weeknights. Savvy clubgoers see the venue, and its long-running Saturday-night party, Avaland, as the ultimate spot for the proverbial “big night out” that’s in line with some of the best clubs in Europe.
Thanks to an influx of recent electro enthusiasts (blame it on buzzing French duo Justice), Avaland is having its best year since it started up in July 2004, with more than 1,000 house music fans from as far away as San Diego and Palm Springs regularly packing the club every weekend.
Influential British dance magazine Mixmag recently called it the “main nerve” of America’s resurgent dance scene.
Even when Avaland lost its headliner, Dutch DJ Sander Kleinenberg, at the 12th hour last Saturday night (due to “issues related to his U.S. visa renewal”), clubbers still ponied up the $25-plus to pack its dance party.
“We want to be forward thinking,” says Garrett Chau, booker of Avaland.
“Our idea is that L.A. is becoming the next Berlin,” the former UTA agent says. “The [dance music] market is growing.”
Despite formidable competition from nearby club Vanguard, Avalon holds its own in booking top-tier talent. “Club crowds cycle out when they get married or grow older,” Chau says. “If you don’t refresh your crowd [via booking popular new DJs], you are not competing.”
This Saturday, Avaland will certainly compete with Vanguard, hosting hot-right-now German electro house purveyors Booka Shade for its four-year anniversary celebration.
And Friday, the Avalon is reaching out to a different crowd, mostly Silver Lake hipsters, with a show featuring Ed Banger Records founder DJ Busy P and Brooklyn’s Drop the Lime.
Dim Mak, DJ Steve Aoki’s record label, is co-hosting the event.
“We wanted to team up with venues that really understand our mission [of providing cool music with minimal exclusivity],” says Ana Calderon, Dim Mak’s marketing director. “The Avalon/Avaland crew get it.”
Co-owner Steve Adelman says he and John Lyons came to Hollywood in 2002 looking for “interesting buildings that could do special events, concerts and big dance nights.”
The formula worked well for them in Boston and New York, where Avalon nightclubs flourished in the 1990s. But it is L.A. where it looks like the Avaland brand is truly poised to take off.
The 40,000-square-foot space features a main dance floor, a semi-exclusive side lounge called Honey, a balcony and an outdoor terrace DJ area.
The venue will also get a fresh shot of hype when Adelman unveils his new project, called Bardot, to replace the Spider Club above the Avalon’s main dance club later this fall.
“We’re creating a real throwback lounge,” he says. “It’s going to be very classy like the [famed] Stork Club was in New York.”
Even without its Stork Club-inspired lounge, however, it seems the Avalon has already arrived.
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AVALAND’S FOUR-YEAR ANNIVERSARY WITH BOOKA SHADE
WHERE: The Avalon, 1735 N. Vine St., Hollywood
WHEN: Sat., 10 p.m.
PRICE: $15-$20 presale; $25 and up at door
INFO: (323) 462-8900
ON THE WEB: For more photos, go to latimes.com /avalon
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