CLUB REVIEW : Lighthouse Cafe Searches in the Dark for an Identity

If the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach were a person, it would be suffering an identity crisis.

With the tag line “Why Ask Why? We’re Always Fun!” prominently displayed on its calendar listings, it’s no surprise that little discretion appears to be involved in booking the 50-year-old-plus venue. On any given day, the Lighthouse is a blues, jazz and rock club, a sports bar, a karaoke spot or a reggae dance hall. You can even take swing dance lessons if you stroll in on the appropriate evening.

But to anybody who remembers the club from its early jazz days, the current incarnation is near-tragic. An underground jazz haven that attracted such artists as Miles Davis, Chet Baker and Charles Mingus and that spawned its own record series, the brick-lined venue was reportedly one of the hippest spots in town--so dark you couldn’t even see your shoes. Now it’s lit by neon beer signs, chrome and the always-on TV sets.

The only historic reminders are a Sunday morning jazz breakfast and some askew black-and-white photos of jazz artists that line the wall.

Its choice beachfront location and comfortable atmosphere make the transition particularly disappointing. By trying to be all things to all people, it guarantees a good time to the unselective folks who pack the place nightly. But seasoned night owls might want to make a beeline to the 40-year-old Mermaid, a plush, seaworthy venue directly across the street that does exactly one thing extremely well: It never changes.

* The Lighthouse, 30 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, 21 and over, no cover, (310) 372-6911.