TORONTO - Let's face it: The term "club," in the context of Toronto's nightlife, is a misnomer.
You don't have to be a member to attend the Rivoli or Ted's Wrecking Yard. Rarely do you have to pay an entrance fee to chill in the Cameron House frontroom or float between the bar and the dancefloor at Lava.
The Mod Club, however, is a clubhouse in the true sense of the term.
No, there's no cover charge for Lava's weekly, Wednesday night instalments of classic tunes, fab gear, groovy films and all-round high style -- all based religiously on the mod culture that emerged from Britain in the '60s.
While everyone 19-and-over is welcome, the Mod Club's regulars are members of an elite group, and they like it that way.
"This night is for mod purists," says Mark Holmes, the club's co-founder and, in Mod-speak, it's resident Ace Face.
"At the end of the night we have a little parting comment: 'Be sure to tell your friends, but just the right ones.' "
Of course, Holmes' reputation as leader of '80s Canadian pop stars Platinum Blonde stands to draw more than just your average, parka-wearin', scooter-ridin', Quadrophenia fan out to the club.
Holmes, who says his love of mod dates back to his youth in Britain in the '70s, kick-started the Mod Club last fall with pal DJ Bobbi Guy as a way for the faithful to get together and celebrate their music and fashion.
While other club nights in the past four years have loosely embraced the mod ideal -- the El Mocambo's Saturday Blow Up nights, Rancho Relaxo's '60s R&B-fueled Soul Clan Fridays -- the duo went out of their way to create a scene steeped in the culture.
"It wasn't hard," Holmes says. "Mod has always been pretty select and happening. It's had so many comebacks, it's become perennial. It's the ultimate fashion because it transcends trends: The fashion is not dictated to by current trends or even the weather. Mods always look wicked and contemporary. I don't think Clarke's desert boots have changed one stitch since the '60s."
The club's musical specialties include late '50s modernist jazz, '60s French jazz and pop, early British R&B and rock acts like The Who and Them, and Northern Soul classics by both American and British artists whose music was a prime mod inspiration.
Some audience favourites? The Kinks' Waterloo Sunset for pop. Curtis Mayfield's Move On Up for soul.
Holmes says his crowd know their stuff, and that, "unlike some of the city's snobbier DJs," he and Guy are open to requests if they fit the bill.
In the process, he's met curious on-lookers, pop culture fanatics, and old mods out for a bit of reminiscing. He says he's also witnessed actual conversions.
"There was one guy we saw for the first time a few weeks ago. He didn't look at all like a mod, but he had a blast. Next time he had one of the best looking suits I've seen in ages! The perfect mod look. It becomes a labour of love."
Future Mod Club plans include a newsletter, scooter rallies for the summer months and, most interestingly, a Mod Shop where both devotees and casuals can pick up the finest Fred Perry and Ben Sherman threads without having to travel to the U.K. or pay overly inflated prices.
Meanwhile, Holmes is also touring with a revamped, decidedly non-glam version of Platinum Blonde. A new album is expected next year.
"It's very odd," he says. "Across Canada, we've attracted people who were in grade school at the time of Platinum Blonde. The reaction to the new stuff has been extremely positive."
