Sounds of the ‘70s at La Cave

Everyone was draping their houses in celebratory red, white and blue for the bicentennial. The Pill was a topic at Sunday dinner. Anti-war rallies were so popular they were passé; instead, people headed to the disco.

The cynical author Tom Wolfe called the 1970s the “Me Decade,” but for pubescent girls, it was all about the teen idols. They were the faces on the cover of Tiger Beat magazine: Leif Garrett, Barry Williams, the hunks that were the Bay City Rollers.

Thirty years later, their charm hasn’t worn off.

“We still get fans that are overexcited,” said former Roller Ian Mitchell. “They had our posters on their walls, and they are finally meeting us for the first time. The funny thing is their husbands are there with them.”

Hoping to offer a healthy dose of nostalgia, La Cave owner Mike Palitz brings Garrett and Mitchell, who are in the midst of the Original Idols Live! tour, to his Costa Mesa nightclub. The show is — guess when? — Saturday night.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s 30 years after the song is written, it still gives you that good feeling,” Palitz said. “They were fun then, and they are fun now.”

On the tour with Williams, Danny Bonaduce and other ‘70s superstars, 45-year-old Garrett is playing old favorites like “I Was Made For Dancin’ ” for the first time in three decades. In that time, his music has progressed from bubblegum pop to Led Zeppelin-style rock ‘n’ roll, but he is having a good time revisiting his heyday.

“We are a little older now, and we don’t have as much hair, but we can still pretend like we are teenagers again and have some fun,” Garrett said. “The ‘70s were a time when things were a little more carefree. The war had just ended, and it was all about dancing at the disco.”

It took some encouragement from former Monkee Davy Jones to get Mitchell, now living in Orange County, out of the screenwriting industry and back into music.

“I think Leif and I are the last of our breed,” Mitchell said. “We can take people back to a place where they would like to be.”

That place is perfectly typified by the cheery lyrics of the band’s biggest hit, “Saturday Night”: Dancin’ to the rhythm in our heart and soul/On Saturday Night, Saturday night ... Gonna rock it up, roll it up, do it all, have a ball/ Saturday Night, Saturday Night.

Today’s teen heartthrobs — and they are scarce — are singing about bringing “SexyBack.” But in all fairness, Justin Timberlake wasn’t even born when Mitchell was belting out “I Only Wanna Be With You,” clad in tartan suspenders.

So if you once thought of yourself as Mrs. Leif Garrett or if you’ve still got “Dedication” tucked away with your old albums, Saturday is your chance to feel groovy once again.

Besides, as if that’s not enough, Greg Brady might show up.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Leif Garrett and Ian Mitchell’s Bay City Rollers

WHEN: 10:30 p.m. Saturday, doors open at 10:15 p.m.

WHERE: La Cave, 1695 Irvine Ave., Costa Mesa

COST: Free

INFO: Go to www.lacaverestaurant.com or call (949) 646-7944.