Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [162]
McCabe’s Guitar Shop (Map; 310-828-4403; 3101 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica) Sure, this mecca of musicianship sells guitars and other instruments, but you want to come for concerts in the postage-stamp-sized back room where the likes of Jackson Browne, Liz Phair and Phranc perform live and unplugged. Tomorrow’s talents show up for open-mike nights on the last Sunday of the month.
Cafe Boogaloo (Map; 310-318-2324; www.cafeboogaloo.com; 1238 Hermosa Ave, Hermosa Beach; Tue-Sun) This relaxed joint offers up a mixed musical bag that might include zydeco one night, blues the next, followed by American Roots. A welcome escape from the usual Hermosa Beach frat-pack madness, Boogaloo also serves wicked cocktails, two dozen microbrews and a Cajun menu.
Other swinging hotspots:
Red White + Bluezz (Map; 626-792-4441; www.redwhitebluezz.com; 70 S Raymond Ave, Pasadena; ) Wine bar and restaurants bring in the best area talents on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
BB King’s Blues Club (Map; 818-622-5464; Universal City Walk, Universal City; ) Local and touring acts come to tourist-saturated Universal City Walk.
JAZZ
LA hosts a couple of California’s top jazz parties: the Long Beach Jazz Festival in August and the Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival in October. From April to November, there’s free jazz on Fridays at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Clued-in jazz fiends also sign up for monthly jazz salons held in private homes. Check out Jazz at the ‘A’ Frame (www.aframejazz.com) and Concerts at the Atelier (www.davidandersenpianos.com). For upcoming events, check out www.lajazz.com.
Baked Potato (Map; 818-980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com; 3787 Cahuenga Blvd; cover $10-25 plus 2 drinks; 7pm-2am) Near Universal Studios a dancing spud beckons you to come inside this diminutive jazz and blues hall where the schedule mixes no-namers with big-timers, including Mike Landon and Kevin Eubanks from the Tonight Show. Drinks are stiff but baked potatoes (priced from $6.50 to $15) are optional.
Jazz Bakery (Map; 310-271-9039; www.jazzbakery.org; 3233 Helms Ave, Culver City; cover $15-30; ) Ruth Price’s nonprofit jazz joint in the Helms Bakery regularly pulls in such headliners as Mark Murphy and Steve Lacy alongside top local talent. The audience is serious and respectful, so don’t even think about whispering, eating or leaving your cell phone on. Two shows nightly at 8pm and 9:30pm. Students under 21 can grab tickets that are unsold at show time for half-price.
World Stage (Map; 323-293-2451; www.theworldstage.org; 4344 Degnan Blvd, Leimert Park Village, South Central; varies) Cool cats of all ages come out to this no-nonsense space founded by the late jazz drummer Billy Higgins. There’s no food or drink, just good music from some of the best emerging talents in the jazz scene. The Thursday jam session has people grooving until 2am.
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FREE SOUNDS OF SUMMER
Summer is a great time to visit LA, not in the least because of the free concert series that are offered all over town. Most take place weekly. Check the websites listed here or the listings magazines Click here for details.
Some of the biggest crowds come out for the Twilight Dance Series (www.twilightdance.org; Thu), whose eclectic, multicultural lineup turns the Santa Monica Pier into a dance and party zone. In 2007, the stellar program included Los Lobos and Patti Smith.
In keeping with its overall renaissance, Downtown has become a hotspot for concerts. Pershing Square (www.laparks.org/pershingsquare/concerts.htm) gets into old-school swinging on Wednesday nights, while Thursday concerts – curated by Spaceland – have an alternative, hip-hop or world-beat bent. Cubicle slaves mix with power shoppers for the Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime concerts. In the Financial District, Grand Performances (www.grandperformances.org) brings international