Anytime is the perfect time to explore California’s unique musical history. 当然, the Golden State is home to a variety of eclectic music landmarks—like a haunted brothel-turned-rock-club and a honky-tonk that launched its own genre. 在20世纪下半叶, they all greatly affected the evolution of rock and pop music.
These venues offer more than just 声音质量 and marquee names: Something about each of them has led to longevity in the music industry. “I think what makes a great venue is hard to quantify,” says Tom Windish, the owner of L.A. 音乐会预订公司The Windish Agency. “But people talk about the magic dust—there’s just something magical about certain places.从北到南排列, here are seven venues where your ticket still gets you an evening with musical bragging rights.
旧金山
Few venues can be credited with launching a music movement the way 菲尔莫尔 did in the 1960s and ’70s, 一些最具创新性的音乐出现在这里, 感谢感恩而死乐队这样的乐队, 杰弗逊飞机, 还有吉米·亨德里克斯. “菲尔莫尔 is the birthplace of the modern pop music concert industry as we know it,Michael J说。. 克莱默，《 岩石共和国. “It's the place where an older kind of entertainment industry gave way to light shows, 迷幻药, 还有嬉皮士的摇滚乐.”
在嬉皮时代之前, 这座建于1912年的建筑在30年代之前一直是一个舞厅, 40年代的溜冰场, and a venue for performers like James Brown and Ike and Tina Turner in the ’60s.
The venue hasn’t thrived just by banking on its psychedelic rock past, either; it has showcased everyone from Radiohead to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (who have appeared on stage 27 times), 并继续预订有需求的艺术家. 在今天的展会上, you can still grab a free concert poster and an apple on the way out, 真正的菲尔莫传统.
旧金山
是城里最古老的音乐俱乐部, the 美国音乐厅 has a long (and scandalous) past, which preceded its current position as a popular indie-rock venue. Built the year after the 1906 earthquake demolished much of the city, the concert hall was originally a symbol of new growth—and was frequented by gamblers, 妓女, 以及大萧条前的奸诈政客. 几年后，它作为一家时髦的舞蹈俱乐部重新出现, 然后转到爵士俱乐部, 餐厅, 最终在1972年成为了一个音乐场所. The 600-capacity hall has a distinctive opera-house aesthetic—marble columns, 高高的天花板, detailed murals—and its stage has featured classic artists such as Duke Ellington, 以及cult最喜欢的Arcade Fire. 增加了它的神秘感, rumors have long swirled that the building is haunted by ghosts (dozens of them, 根据这个大厅丰富多彩的过去的一种说法.
奥克兰
经过40年的闭关锁国, it took a $91 million restoration project to make 奥克兰’s Fox Theatre what it is today: one of the most unique live venues in the area. 华丽的装饰艺术建筑, 哪家在20世纪20年代开业, 像一座中东神庙, with gold statues and intricate mosaics surrounding the stage. 狐狸最初是作为电影院使用的, showcasing “talkies” and even live performances by such as legendary triple threats as Frank Sinatra and Ginger Rogers. The movie house closed in 1966 (partially due to the advent of television), 直到2009年，狐狸, 在一个2.0版本，起死回生. 白天，它是奥克兰艺术学校, 晚上作为音乐场所, 主持像邦妮·莱特这样的演员, 约翰·米斯蒂神父, 和万斯·乔伊.
贝克斯菲尔德
There’s one remaining honky-tonk bar that seeks to preserve one of California’s homegrown genres, 贝克斯菲尔德的声音.1931年开业, Trout’s helped foster the musical style that hit big in the 1950s—a grittier, more rockin’ version of the 国家 music made famous in Nashville. 在贝克斯菲尔德的小酒馆里, locals would dance to the strong beat and electric guitar of artists such as Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. 最终, the genre didn’t find the same mainstream popularity as its Nashville counterpart, 但它影响了未来的音乐家, and continues to hold a special place in California’s music history. 顺便去特劳特酒吧看看俱乐部的历史纪念品, 骑机械牛, 或者和当地人一起跳排舞.
西好莱坞
游吟诗人在洛杉矶占有特殊的地位.A. 音乐史:尼尔·杨在这里举行了他的第一次个人演出. 埃尔顿·约翰(Elton John)在美国取得了成功.S. 首次登台演出. A band formerly known as Mookie Blaylock announced their new name: Pearl Jam. History buffs will appreciate the venue’s storied mix of folk and rock ’n’ roll; music fans will love the unprecedented access that the 400-capacity venue allows. “The stage almost feels like it’s in the audience,” Windish says. “And when you’re in the balcony, you feel like you’re on top of the band.在那里参加并预定了几十场演出, 他把这归功于出色的视线, 声音质量, and excellent booking for making 民谣歌手 what it was and continues to be—a great place to hear up-and-coming bands and singer-songwriters.
赫莫萨海滩
在五六十年代的每个星期天, The Lighthouse featured a house band that would invite guest players, 包括迈尔斯·戴维斯和切特·贝克, 上台来. 不出所料，这家码头边的俱乐部成了爵士乐的热门场所. “You think of all the big name players and this was just the place to go—we were the first landing spot for East Coast jazz musicians,灯塔总经理史蒂文·格雷尔说.
Although other kinds of music have crept onto the calendar nowadays—there is salsa, 国家, 40个夜晚, and even the occasional DJ—The Lighthouse continues its legacy during weekend jazz brunches and a Wednesday performance every week. Gloria Cadena (now 90 years old) has booked jazz acts here for the past 30 years, 向她已故的丈夫奥齐致敬, 谁曾经是著名的爵士唱片制作人. “There’s so much history here, and I want to keep it alive,” she says.
圣地亚哥
Rock fans haven’t flocked to 的城堡 for more than 25 years because of its beautiful architecture or lavish seating options; they attend a show at the divey club for the rowdy, 近距离体验. 邋遢的感觉是它魅力的一部分, and it suits the genre of music it continues to support—edgy, 新兴的岩石. “I love the intimacy—it’s teeny,” Windish says, “and it still has the era vibe that I grew up into.“在他们职业生涯的早期, both Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins played at the original Casbah—a 75-person venue—before it moved to a new 200-person space in 1994. 舞台上曾出现过MGMT等艺术家, 可爱的死亡出租车, 威瑟合唱团, 冷战时期的孩子, 还有更多.
