Los Angeles Bars

When live bands aren't playing here, erotic dancers writhe behind shadow-boxes on the performance stage. Two DJ stations, six plasma screens and 100 speakers insure that the joint will be jumping. If that's not enough, there's "Sinferno" nights, with sexy vaudeville acts, and "Karaoke from Hell," your opportunity to sing with a live band.

665 N Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood.

Top performers, from Natalie Cole and Eric Clapton to Liz Phair and Dave Matthews - have all played at House of Blues, where the live-music schedule boasts big names as well as local talent. The Sunday Gospel Brunch (10am & 1pm) may set your toes a-tapping, but this place really gets to rocking late at night.

8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood.

Wouldn't you know, an old-age home in the happening part of Sunset Strip gets converted into a smart, brash-looking hotel, the The Standard, for the young, hip, and "connected." Its bar is all that, and popular with those in The Biz.

8300 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA

Soccer fans say Underground, a British pub named after English football legend George Best, is the top sports bar in the South Bay. If imported beers chased down by greasy food, plus darts, pool, live music (Thursdays and some Fridays), and 17 TVs sound like your style, this is the place.

1332 Hermosa Ave., Los Angeles, CA

This small club is a remnant of the 1960s, when its stage played host to John Lennon and James Taylor. Today it's mostly local bands that play the Roxy. With a seating capacity of 250, it's an intimate venue in which to catch up-and-coming musicians.

9009 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood.

Actor Johnny Depp co-owns this West Hollywood favorite on Sunset Strip. Eddie Vedder, Johnny Cash, Mick Jagger and Dwight Yoakam have all put in appearances here, many unannounced. The action takes place upstairs, but you can watch the performances on video monitors in the downstairs bar if you can't get tickets to the show.

8852 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood.

This sophisticated velvet-rope club in the Sunset Marquis Hotel draws an A-list of celebrities who mingle after midnight with music legends. The sexy, dimly lit room, with its wall-length banquettes, provides a comfy place to mellow out. If your favorite singer shows up, just be cool and pretend not to notice.

1200 Alto Loma Rd., in the Sunset Marquis Hotel West Hollywood.

Late-night Hollywood sizzles in this bar with its long sake list and a sushi, dim sum and then-some menu. Across the foyer, the dance club features two bars, and DJs who spin Top 40, hip-hop, trance and house music. And it's all designed to have good feng shui, although the crowd on the dance floor doesn't seem to care.

1743 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood.

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