‘Death Disco’ shows signs of life in L.A.

In the world of electronic dance music, DJs are rock stars, jet-setting around to high-paying gigs and adoring crowds. At Alan McGee’s “Death Disco,” rock stars are DJs -- or at least that’s how things usually work at this international soiree, held weekly in London and monthly in New York. It debuted locally Saturday at Little Pedro’s, a historic downtown cantina turned hipster-spot-in-waiting.

Longtime alt-rock mover and shaker McGee, whose old label Creation Records was the home of Oasis, among others, had L.A. scenesters flocking to the Knitting Factory in 2001 for his eclectic traveling club “Radio 4,” a scene similar to “Death Disco,” which in other cities has featured such celebrity DJs as Courtney Love and the Hives.

Hosting on this first of two consecutive nights were veteran DJ BP Fallon, who spun for U2’s “Zoo Tour” (among many other accomplishments), and model-actress-DJ Jaime Coon, along with local DJ Alexis Rivera. But it wasn’t old-school digging through crates and throwing down vinyl; rather, a lone laptop did much of the work.

Still, the selection was consistently good and widely varied. The music slowly won over the hips and minds of the mostly youthful crowd, and by midnight things were movin’ and groovin’.

As 2 a.m. approached, however, one couldn’t help wondering where the rock stars were. Fallon offered something of an explanation while the throng danced. With a grin, he shouted, “We’re just getting started!”