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Los Angeles Suggestions for Alexei Elfenbein

Music Venues

=====

The Handbag Factory

1336 South Grand Ave. (Downtown)

This is a great place to go for inspiration and to meet interesting people and possibly a place to play.
diy music and art space in downtown LA / remains of an old handbag factory

https://www.facebook.com/thehandbagfactory
http://thehandbagfactory.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/handbagfactory

=====

Pehr Space

325 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Creative, non-profit community space showcasing art exhibitions, plus local touring musicians.

https://www.facebook.com/pehrspace
https://twitter.com/pehrspace?lang=en
https://www.google.com/calendar/[email protected]

=====

Satellite

1717 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Hip neighborhood mainstay for local & established indie bands. I think Monday nights are still free and one of the best nights to go. Secret shows sometimes happen like Beck dropping by for a set or The Pixies trying out their set for their tour or a star's side project band, (I saw Juliette Lewis' band there randomly.) It used to be called Spaceland.

http://www.thesatellitela.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SpacelandLA
https://twitter.com/thesatellitela

=====

The Virgil

4519 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029

(Previously The Little Temple, Previously The Garage) It's been around and around and it's still a cool place to go. They have good comedy nights and good shos. Decent place to play and pretty close to your house too I think although I don't really know where that is because I have never been there. Some free nights.

http://www.thevirgil.com/

=====

Hotel Cafe

1623 1/2 N Cahuenga Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028

I haven't been there but I hear people talking about there being shows there.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hotel-caf%C3%A9-los-angeles-2?osq=Small+Music+Venues
http://www.hotelcafe.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thehotelcafe
https://twitter.com/thehotelcafe

=====

Origami Vinyl

1816 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

This is a record store but they have free shows every night. It's in Echo Park near the Echo. Vinyl record store specializing in new, used & local music, plus performances from live artists.

http://origamiorigami.com/
https://www.facebook.com/OrigamiVinyl
https://twitter.com/origamivinyl

=====

The Echo & The Echoplex

1822 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026

Located in the heart of Echo Park aka hipster central. 2 Venues in one, upstair is for medium sized shows (Last show I saw there was Lorelle and the Obsolete https://vimeo.com/29900711) Downstairs for bigger shows and cool nights like Part Time Punks. They also have some free shows here.

http://www.theecho.com/
https://www.facebook.com/EchoLA
https://twitter.com/theechola

=====

The Smell

247 S Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90012

You must go here at least once. It's called the Smell because it is in a smelly alley in Downtown L.A. Awesome underground place to see bands and to say you've played.

http://www.thesmell.org/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Smell/142946471699

=====

El Cid Restaurant

4212 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90029

Very L.A./ Hollywood in an interesting way. In 1963,the building was transformed into a replica of a 16th Century tavern where El Cid began its 50 year tradition as a supper club and bar featuring live Flamenco entertainment.
There are also have rock shows here. Great place to play.
More interesting history: In 1915 D.W. Griffith filmed scenes from the controversial film, The Birth Of A Nation, in the cornfields behind where El Cid now stands. In 1925 The building is constructed and first occupied by Jail Cafe – a popular cafe / speakeasy designed like a prison – complete with watchtower, V.I.P. jail cells and guard uniformed waiters.

http://www.elcidla.com/

=====

Silverlake Lounge

2906 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

It was a Mexican Drag bar on most nights. I am not sure if the hipsters have completely taken it over yet or not.

http://thesilverlakelounge.com/about-2/ https://twitter.com/silverlakelnge

=====

Cafe Club Fais Do-Do

5257 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016

An odd club in a hard to get to section of L.A. Worth checking out. Very L.A. underground.
Go see some burlesque there.

http://www.faisdodo.com/ https://www.facebook.com/cafeFaisdodo https://twitter.com/cafefaisdodo

=====

The Smog Cutter

864 N Virgil Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 660-4626
http://www.yelp.com/biz/smog-cutter-los-angeles

Run by a lady named Sunshine who hosts karoake there. Very divey and dark.

=====

The Power House

1714 N Highland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 463-9438
http://www.yelp.com/biz/power-house-los-angeles-2

A remnant of skeevy Hollyweird. Velvet paintings and creepy alley.

=====

Club TeeGee

3210 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 669-9631
http://www.yelp.com/biz/club-tee-gee-los-angeles

Not to be confused with the TikiTi, this bar looks like it's a Chinese restaurant but is an Italian bar. Cash only. Not fancified like a lot of the other bars in the area.

=====

Los Globos

3040 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

I haven't been here yet but it has a lot of shows. Could be cool, could be lame, idk.
Near the Silverlake Lounge

http://www.clublosglobos.com/calendar/

=====

Mr T’s Bowl

5621 1/2 N Figueroa St Los Angeles, CA 90042

A strange, special place you should definitely go to to feel the real underground L.A. vibe.

http://mrtsbowl.tripod.com/ (OMG, I haven't seen a website this terrible in ages. :) WOW.)

=====

The Troubadour

9081 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069 Opened in 1957

You should go to one show here. It's a decent venue to see shows. Mostly mid-sized touring acts.

http://www.troubadour.com/
https://twitter.com/thetroubadour
https://www.facebook.com/theTroub

=====

The El Rey Theatre

5515 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036

Bigger acts. Cool place to see a show if there is someone good playing.

http://www.theelrey.com/
https://www.facebook.com/elrey
https://twitter.com/elreytheatre

=====

The Greek Theater

2700 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Built in 1929, this historic, 5,900-seat amphitheater in a wooded park showcases a variety of acts under the stars. There are cheap last minute seats that go for sale. Horrible place to see a show if you aren't up close unless it's a symphony but it looks like this season doesn't really have any. :( You can go there during the day and look at the venue for free.

http://www.greektheatrela.com/


Places to go to once to say you went there

...but no one really cares any more. It's where all the shows used to be in the 60's and 70's and maybe even the 80's. Now it's all about Echo Park and Downtown. The West side is too expensive for actual musicians and your friends can't afford to see you play or find parking. People actually "pay to play" at these place. Don't do it but if you can find a cheap show it's interesting as a touristy thing to do, after all there were some major heavy-weights who played those rooms.

=====

Rainbow Bar & Grill

9015 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90069

http://www.rainbowbarandgrill.com/

=====

The Whiskey-a-go-go

8901 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069

You can see from the photos how douchey it is. ;)

http://www.whiskyagogo.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thewhiskyagogo
https://twitter.com/TheWhiskyAGoGo


A couple Film things you should really do…

=====

Cinespia

Hollywood Forever Cemetery 6000 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038

This is a must do! Watch a movie in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Get tickets early. Try to bike there, parking is a bitch.

http://cinespia.org/
https://www.facebook.com/cinespia
https://twitter.com/cinespia

=====

CineFamily

611 N Fairfax Ave Los Angeles, CA 90036

You are in L.A. - Go to this awesome silent movie Theater.

http://www.cinefamily.org/


Interesting Bars

=====

Varnish

118 E 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014

A "speak easy type bar. The drinks are expensive but you only need one. They are well crafted with quality ingredients and they even hand-carve the ice to fit your glass. It is tucked inside an old storage room at the back of Cole's Restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles (one of two places that claims to have invented the French Dip sandwhich.) You walk straight through the restuarant and go through the un-marked black door and enter into a small dark room with an upight piano and .

http://213nightlife.com/thevarnish
https://twitter.com/thevarnishbar

=====

The TikiTi

4427 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

92 Tropical Drinks to choose from. Again, the drinks are expensive but you only need one.

http://www.tiki-ti.com/pages/home.html


A few other awesome things to check out

=====

The Secret Stairs of Los Angeles

Another must-do while you are here. Check out some of these hikes,

http://www.secretstairs-la.com/welcome.html
http://historicechopark.org/id30.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/baxter-stairways-los-angeles
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bigparade/

=====

CicLAvia

Sunday, May 31, 2015 9am-4pm CicLAvia – Pasadena

Streets get shut down for bicycles and pedestrians. Quite a scene. The largest car-free open streets event in America.

http://www.ciclavia.org/

=====

Midnight Ridazz

A very L.A. bike ride. THis ride started a long time ago with a few friends of mine andhas reached at times 100 riders. It's pretty fun strolling around the city with a hundred other bicyclists. A very Los Angeles thing to do.

http://midnightridazz.com/events.php

=====

Moonlight Roller Rink

5110 San Fernando Rd. Glendale, CA 91204

On Tuesday night, Dominic the owner plays live organ music.

"...the neon-lit skate rink in Glendale has been in countless music videos, films and television shows. ... low ceiling, multi-colored lights at the edges, hanging disco ball, extra-glossy floor. There's even an old-school snack bar for all of your corn dog and fountain soda needs. " ~ LA Weekly

http://www.moonlightrollerway.com/ https://www.facebook.com/moonlightrollerwayskatingcenter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-wKZDSHjzI

=====

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