Night Life: Keeping it cool at Three Clubs

Three Clubs, the rocker bar tucked inside a nondescript building on Vine near Santa Monica, opened in 1991. In regular human time, that makes it 20 years old; in bar years, it’s somewhere around Keith Richards’ age. If the club had a face, it’d look like his — with deep laugh lines carved around that crinkly smoker’s mouth.

It started as a lounge-style slinger of classic martinis, once featured in “Swingers,” but when that scene ran its course, Three Clubs evolved into a swank rocker den with just a lick of seediness. In the last few years, however, the mainstay of grizzled-cool Hollywood had grown a bit stale and its programming — veering from karaoke nights to metal bands to comedy — had become a confusing mishmash.

High time then that Three Clubs got a light nip and tuck but not a full face-lift, lest that scare away its local clientele looking for stiff drinks and few frills.

“We know who we are,” co-owner Marc Smith said. “Our crowd is weary of the Strip, but they want something nice, a good cocktail in a warm, intimate room. And they still want to feel cool.”

The dark front room, with its black sparkly ceiling, waxy mahogany bar and steady diet of Stones, Beatles and David Bowie on the jukebox, is staying the same. But in the last couple of months, the side room has been spruced up with stage lighting, a refurbished bar area for serving a new program of zesty drinks dreamed up by mixologist Joel Black, and a better sound system. Even the smoking patio has gotten a little love in the form of a mural, the first of what will be a rotating roster of wall drawings from various illustrators.

The quest for new relevancy is why Smith brought in experienced night-life programmer Sean Patrick, who made a splash a few years ago with his Temporary Spaces experiment, basically a pop-up bar that took over clubs in transition, such as Grasshopper, a dive at Normandie and Fountain, and the drinking spot now known as Harvard and Stone.

Smith and fellow owner Matthew Webb wanted Patrick’s street cred, but they were also attracted to his gimlet eye for style that would stick. At 43, Patrick’s been around the block. The DJ and booker, who’s been coming to Three Clubs since the early ‘90s, has proved he knows a good formula but is not about to fall for the latest trend.

Patrick, who’s worked at the now bygone 40 Deuce and the Tropicana Bar at the Roosevelt, both places where guest lists and VIPs dominate the scene, says Three Clubs’ lack of pretension is a nice change of pace. “I’ve done the listy, velvet rope thing. It’s fun, but I’ve been looking for something more friendly,” he says.

With that in mind, Patrick’s brought in a raft of friends and former colleagues to steer the various nights at Three Clubs. On Tuesday nights, Huggy and Sasha, who Patrick knows from their popular night at Harvard and Stone, book musical acts such as the scruffy blues of the Great Americans, and the orchestral pop splendor of Kind Hearts & Coronets. “Fridayz” is hosted by Bryce Bond and Niki Takesh, who also work with Le Descarga and Hemingway’s and bring in DJs such as Twiggy Ramirez from Marilyn Manson and even Echo Park folkie Becky Stark, a range that shows Three Clubs’ long-standing appeal to both Eastside hipsters and Hollywood habitués.

And on Saturday, Patrick himself takes over the turntables, working with hosts Lady Tigra and Bobby Carlton to create a night that speaks to the bar’s old-school rocker vibe while pulling in a young crowd.

As much as Three Clubs wants to shake up the formula, it knows better than to fix what isn’t broke — which is why Lily VonSchtupp’s Monday Night Tease, a sold-out burlesque show that’s been at the bar since 2006, remains on the roster.

VonSchtupp appreciates the changes at Three Clubs, particularly the lighting upgrade that’s given her more theatrical options and Black’s drink program, anchored by such chest-warming fare as the Spicy One with basil, lime, jalapeño, agave and whiskey.

“My crowd is really responding to the new cocktails,” she said. “I charge a $15 cover, so these aren’t people looking for $3 PBRs.”

She’s glad, however, that the owners haven’t tweaked the space too much. “It’s my home,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about being popular enough, well-dressed enough to come in. It’s a neighborhood bar that at the same time is so much more than that.”

Smith agrees and doesn’t want to lose sight of the bar’s strong legacy. “This isn’t an SBE property,” he said, referring to the night-life giant’s penchant for glossy soup-to-nuts club makeovers. “We’re making a few light pushes, but it’s heritage that people come here for.”

margaret.wappler@latimes.com

Three Clubs

Where: 1123 Vine St., L.A.

When: 6 p.m.-2 a.m. daily

Price: No cover most nights

Info: (323) 462-6441