Bears in Space
Thrown By: DJs Chris Bowen and Victor Rodriguez. Hosted by a rotation of LA’s most iconic beauties, including Phyliss Navidad and Chlöe Sevigny (aka Drew Droege).
Why It Kills: In the last year, this 3-year old party has shed its old, disco-centric club skin for free, outdoor beer busts that feature dirt-cheap drinks in the sun. But that doesn’t mean it’s all Budweiser and burgers; debauchery lives on in the form of a raucous dance floor and the occasional hair-raising performance—like one from a bondage-clad RudeNess, one of RuPaul’s Drag Racers. Once nighttime falls, party people pitch in to physically carry the DJ decks (sunk into a six-foot table) from the parking lot area to inside Akbar’s hallowed walls to re-start the party under clubbier conditions—it’s the most fun-spirited and DIY aspect of the night. Suddenly, DJs may don space suits and bear heads and play among a dense of fog.
The Music: Resident DJs play cosmic disco and house-heavy sets while guests like Mike Trombley & Scott Zacharias (Detroit), and Bus Station John (San Francisco) drop in to serve up disco-derived flavors of their own. Nearly everything from 60s soul and 70s rock to 80s synth and 90s hip hop might be thrown in the mix during daylight hours; but when the party moves indoors, it’s bumping house tracks that keep the crowds rocking after dark.
The Scene: Going by name alone, one might expect to see a bevy of bears in their natural habitat. Sadly for some, one might be wrong. The name actually comes from a play on the famous NYC radio show, Beats in Space. While the crowd is mostly gay, the party’s daytime time frame gathers an extremely diverse crowd (Silver Lake denizens, senior citizens, Downtowners, the average Joanne who wandered in off the street). One good rule of thumb to consider when getting dressed: It’s generally pretty hot out there, so when it comes to clothes, less is more.
Megan Long