The show at Harvard & Stone (5221 Hollywood Blvd.) in Thai Town has no stage. Or, rather, the bar itself is the stage. Just as at La Descarga, their nearby pre-Fidel Havana haven, twin brothers Mark and Johnny Houston have built a nightspot anchored in another era with an astutely produced site-specific live performance as its centerpiece. This time it’s World War II on the homefront, where Rosie the Riveter meets USO pinup. At 10:30, 11:30 and 12:30 on Friday and Saturday evenings, several dancers clad in risqué factory uniforms—and occasionally an aerialist, who makes use of a lyra hoop—emerge from the packed crowd of Eastside hipsters and industry types (members of the cast of Glee drop by on the regular) and integrate their 10-minute-long dance routines into the architecture and infrastructure—from catwalks to staircases—of the ’40s boiler room-inspired space itself. “If someone is wearing a hat they’ll take it off and play with it,” says Mark. “If they find themselves by a stool, they’ll incorporate it into the act. It’s all improvised and loose.” Often a live band accompanies these high-energy gambols; otherwise, the gartered women shimmy to everything from Elvis and James Brown to the Black Keys while patrons quaff their handcrafted Manhattans. “With the outfits and the movements, what we’re going for is this blend of masculinity and femininity,” Mark says. “It’s a vulnerability with a grittiness.”

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