Within the Houston nightlife experiment, few variables seem to be as underappreciated as the go-go girl. Hers is a thankless job, really, even more so than that of busboy. Go-go girls are basically PG-13 strippers who don’t make tips.

Most times, veteran dancers like the ones you’ll periodically find at Club Roxy (5351 W. Alabama) — who look/dance/act like they just got off work from a double shift at Score’s Cabaret (9850 Westpark) — are downright bummers. We certainly don’t condone ogling anybody, but are you seriously irritated with guys looking at you in a less-than-respectable manner, Girl Who Gets Paid to Dance in a Bikini Top?

Fortunately, the one gyrating today at new dance club and would-be Midtown haute spot Link Lounge (2901 Fannin) is as carefree and emotionally unscarred as they come.

“It’s my first night,” smiles 23-year-old Jessica Rodriguez, a student during the day, “but so far it’s a lot of fun.”

After near two years of writing this column, here’s why we finally mention these dancers: Midtown’s glitz has pretty much become the underappreciated go-go girl of Houston’s late-night scene.

By early 2008, it was clear that the Washington Corridor had fully wrestled the coveted “It” tag away from Midtown. For anyone who had ever been denied entry to Bond Lounge (2700 Milam) or The Red Door (2416 Brazos), it was a wonderfully ironic turn of events.

For a while, there was a clear and odious feeling of despondency in the still-standing swanky spots: Midtown had effectively become a graveyard of cool for shiny nightlife scenesters. You were better off telling people you were going to be spending your Saturday nights molesting children than hanging out there. Zeppelin Lounge’s free fall from relevancy was a particularly representative example.

But Link Lounge, officially two months old — soft opening in June, grand opening in August — has set its eyes on reclaiming the area’s nightlife glory.

“I was pretty impressed with the place,” says Santiago B., a patron in attendance tonight for the first time who asked that his last name not be used.

“My friend convinced me to come out here. It’s good,” he adds with a laugh.

Link is pretty much cut copy of what it was that made Midtown enjoyable in the first place. It’s a fairly large venue, made up mostly of a dance floor and white walls. Some VIP areas are pushed off to the side, each of the two floors has a bar, DJs pump in a tremendous volume of Top 40 hits, and that’s about it.

Yet somehow, with little more than neon lights and a projection screen as decorations (Link’s ownership says amenities like TVs and a red carpet are on the way), the club is almost gaudy.

But it’s fun-gaudy, not pompous-gaudy — minimalist-gaudy, if that makes any sense — which currently makes Link Lounge a good nightclub.

Tonight, a reported 600-plus people are rubbing shoulders inside, with a steady stream of people waiting to pay the $10 cover to get in. A typical Saturday night, apparently.

But where Link, or any other past or present Midtown hot spot, might have leveraged its gaudiness into some annoying Washington-like level of exclusivity, the lounge seems genuinely appreciative of its crowd. Although, we feel obliged to point out, $20 valet parking is never cool.

“We want to bring back nightlife in Midtown,” says Link’s PR/marketing rep Sofia Meza. “We’re offering what no other place in Midtown is right now: a great place with great service.”

Link Lounge very well may be the rebirth of glitz in Midtown, especially since people may be seriously underestimating how much Walter’s on Washington’s impending move to a new location will affect the Washington Corridor’s long-term coolness.

But even if it isn’t, our go-go girl comparison works out even better. Score one for proper analogies.

LAST CALL

We hadn’t heard of them until about four weeks ago, but we have been jamming the crap out of prog-rockers The Live Lights. They’re a very hip, very electro indie band that manages to sound way more substantial than you’d expect. You should absolutely see them September 24 at Warehouse Live with UK up-and-comer Esser (who’s featured in the current issue of Spin, so you know he’s cool). More important than that, though, you should check out our interview with the band the day before their show on the Houston Press‘s Rocks Off music blog. The Live Lights’ EP is available now at www.myspace.com/thelivelights.

This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2009.