Haley at the Troubadour - June 21st, 2018

[Miguel]

Found an LA Weekly article from 2015 listing LA's 50 best music venues. The Troubadour was listed at #2.

2. The Troubadour

Doug Weston’s World Famous Troubadour — one of the few surviving classic Los Angeles music clubs — remains an unbeatable place to enjoy high-quality performances. Discriminating booking policy, great sight lines, first-rate sound, and it’s always easy to grab a quick drink at the front bar. And oh, the history: site of L.A. debuts by everyone from Billy Joe Shaver to Elton John to Guns N' Roses' classic lineup, with an atmosphere enhanced by the lingering infamy of John Lennon getting tossed for wearing a tampon as a hat, heckling, and stiffing his waitress (legend has it he snarled “Don’t you know who I am?” and the waitress replied, “Yeah. Some asshole with a Kotex on his head”). Perhaps the Troub is most notable for what it doesn’t have — staff with that appallingly arrogant, entitled attitude that seems to have infected about 90 percent of the competition.

A couple of jazz oriented clubs:

46. The Baked Potato



Founded in 1970 by pianist Don Randi of famed studio hired guns “The Wrecking Crew,” Studio City's Baked Potato is L.A.'s oldest jazz club, sitting along the 101 across from Universal Studios. Its name comes from the menu, which features baked potatoes and nothing but — over 20 kinds, topped with various meats and vegetables. In its early days, the club's 100-capacity wood-paneled room was a hangout for jazz fanatic Clint Eastwood. This is a place by musicians, for musicians, and the sound here is the best of any area jazz venue (though sensitive ears should have earplugs handy). Andy Summers (The Police), Slash, Steve Lukather (Toto) and Joe Bonamassa are just a few of famous musicians who've played here many times. Musical stars in both the jazz and rock worlds can often be found hanging near Don's son Justin Randi at the bar, or out back at the nightly set break. 3787 Cahuenga Blvd, Studio City, www.thebakedpotato.com

^ 24 potato options on the menu

33. Bluewhale

After years of frustration at how most clubs in Los Angeles viewed jazz and treated musicians, Korean-born vocalist Joon Lee decided to open his own, vowing to to run it from an artist’s perspective. Lee’s commitment to the quality of the music above all else (framed in a elegant, modern space) has granted Bluewhale, in its sixth year of existence, most-favored status among jazz musicians and patrons alike. There is now an endless stream of jazz A-listers from New York and beyond parading through the club’s custom-glass entrance, yet Bluewhale remains the most affordable option to see the very best jazz has to offer, with low ticket prices and no food or drink minimum, making the music accessible to a younger, hipper crowd. It’s too bad the club is tucked away in a nondescript Little Tokyo shopping mall; here’s hoping they can move to a new site sooner than later. 123 Astronaut E.S. Onizuka St., Little Tokyo, bluewhalemusic.com.

http://www.laweekly.com/music/las-50-bes...es-5664190