On most nights at King King, a low-key Hollywood crowd comes to hear the noteworthy bands that play and chase after the bar on wheels that rolls around the venue. But every other Thursday, all eyes are on "L'effleur des Sens," a French-inspired acrobatic cabaret show. Think Cirque du Soleil, without all those creepy clowns.
Sure, this underground, underwater-themed club for the 90210 crowd tends to get packed with older dudes and their trophy girlfriends, but the excellent grub, expensive (but potent) drinks, and frisky weekly burlesque show, "Black Out"—essentially a Victoria's Secret ad come to life—are enough to make Aqua feel young, hip and utterly Beverly Hills.
Take the stairs down to this traditional Spanish-themed restaurant, which once housed one of Hollywood's first sound stages, on every first and third Thursday of the month for El Cid's appropriately named "The Super Sexy Show." It's retro-glam cabaret courtesy of leggy ladies the Hollywood Pin-up Girls. Que rico!
A dark, crowded lounge for mingling singles, Three Clubs features an elevated dance floor for bumping and grinding, and swanky booths for drinking and chillaxing. Burlesque dancers not enough for you? Three Clubs' "The Tease at 3's" offers crooners, jugglers and even prestidigitation along with its purdy dancers. Oh, and there's no cover.
This Hollywood dive/strip club supposedly employed Courtney Love before she met Kurt. Some say the whacked-out rock-and-roll vibe is gone, leaving the place just plain sad, but we still have a special place in our stripper-lovin' hearts for Jumbo's and its barely-there-bikini-ed, um, "babes."
Every inch of this trendy, sexy club oozes the kind of style you'd see at a super-high-end resort tucked away for only the rich and famous to find. "Vixen Den," Basement Lounge's weekly lesbian night, features a super-sexy burlesque show with a super-unsexy label: "Contemporary Burlesque Show." Lame name, but this show is still the hotness.
One of the first blues joints in L.A., this legendary spot enjoyed a long run as one of the most formidable music venues in town. Once a month, the Mint's sultry, jazzy burlesque show, "Harlem's Night: A Cabaret Story," sizzles up the stage, featuring a '40s-era Harlem backdrop and characters named Love, Hate, Want and Need.
Dark lighting, checkered floor, red-booth-lined wall: That's how Santa Monica does the blues. Sexy sax playin', lingerie-clad ladies, more dry ice than Spinal Tap: That's how Harvelle's does "The Toledo Show," its smooth-as-ice burlesque 'n' jazz combo.
On Saturday nights, come see some seriously sexy mamacitas dance, shimmy and strut their stuff right on the bar. Recent renovations to the space have included a new load-bearing pole that's front, center and sure to come in handy for the dancers.
