Like a large black box looming over Santa Monica Boulevard, 7969 opens its dark doors to weekly dance themes ranging from kicking '80s to S&M. As you enter a dark corridor you're taken into a large open bar area overlooking an expansive dance floor and stage. The club attracts a mix of gay and straight, as well as transgender for those extra special drag events. The club boasts a special back room that hosts an array of shows in addition to the extravagant stage displays featured in the main room. Almost any night of the week offers an avant-garde show of sexual, spirited and high-quality dance club that can include anything from a male or female strip show to a Vegas caliber drag revue. An intensely fun and sometimes erotic dance environment in mainstream West Hollywood offers something for everyone in what is considered the area's most diverse weekly smorgasbords of nightlife.

Despite--or maybe because of--the debauchery, this joint is a cut above the average dance bunker, with a dramatic red interior, velvet curtains and fuzzy wallpaper. The drinks are unpredictable, perhaps because it's really all about the dancing anyway, which takes place mostly in the main room. A smaller adjacent room sports a more mellow mood, a pool table and another bar.

Monday nights host "Illusions," a 'TG-oriented' night catering to Transgendered Girls and their admirers. Here you can dance with drag queens, guys who love guys, gals who love gals and young heteros who love everyone and everything. Lots of 'working girls,' but worth a visit to really feel 'the scene.' Monday is a little bit more easygoing. Great place to wear those thigh highs and not feel out of place. Doors open at 10pm, cover is $10.

Have $5 set aside for the parking valet: On-street parking is next to impossible. French Market is right next door for food before or after.