I went to check out the...

I went to check out the Rouge. Admission was $20, but was free with the LA Weekly coupon. Drinks were $5. Parking in the street was plentiful, and they have valet parking as well. Laps were $20 for topless and $40 for nude. They had lots of specials 2-for-1, 3-for-1, 4-for-2 (and even 4-for-1 with the purchase of an overpriced T-shirt). The problem of course is that the length of the songs in the specials was an outright ripoff. You basically get a regular song of other clubs when you put together all the songs in a special here. The high frequency of the specials became annoying, and the stage was empty for most of them.

The club is quite different from its two predecessors Bob's and Oz. The party atmosphere (or rowdy atmosphere, depending on your point of view) has been replaced with an upscale atmosphere, for better or for worse. There were about 15 girls and 25 guys at the peak on a weekend night. Nice ambiance and friendly staff. Loud music.

I didn't expect much from a club run by the Spearmint Rhino since the chain is known for its dark stages and short songs. Sure enough, the stage at the Rouge was too dark and the songs way too short. It was ridiculous. The continuous "wanna dance" and to a lesser extent "wanna drink" made me uncomfortable. It wasn't pressure, just having to keep turning down pretty girls was not fun.