We’re all familiar with the world famous venues: Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Wembley Stadium in London, etc.
If you’ve been to concerts at those kinds of places, you know how exhilarating it is to be surrounded by thousands and thousands of fellow fans. However, if you’re anything like the staff at UCR, you’ve also spent a great deal of time hanging out at the much smaller, much quieter, much more off-the-beaten-path local establishments where up and coming artists cut their teeth and perhaps the bartender knows your name.
These are the local venues that support an ecosystem of artists, no matter how traditionally “successful,” and are arguably as integral to the community as the post office down the street. Often times, these are the places your favorite rock act played way back in the day, well before they made the big time.
In appreciation of local venues and the people who run them, four of UCR’s writers wrote about their favorite places in cities across America.
I lived a lot of different places before I came to Cleveland in my early teens, but it was here where I first started really going to concerts. The Cleveland Agora quickly captured my heart as a music fiend. Founded by Henry “Hank” LoConti, the classic location, known initially as Agora Beta, played host to nearly every future classic rock legend in the ’70s (a ’77 gig by AC/DC is one choice example), plus memorable pairings — Iggy Pop and David Bowie during the former’s tour for The Idiot. Todd Rundgren, always a Cleveland favorite, recorded parts of his legendary Back to the Bars double live album there. Bruce Springsteen, meanwhile, turned in an unforgettable show with the E Street Band during the Darkness on the Edge of Town tour that was eventually released officially.
That location burned down in the early ’80s and the club relocated to its current location at 5000 Euclid Avenue. This is where I saw pivotal concerts in the ’90s, including a free show in ’93 from Queen’s Brian May, touring the United States for the first time as a solo artist, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic. A special “small hall gig” from Akron native Chrissie Hynde’s Pretenders in 1994 was formative. The same can be said for an incendiary set that same year from Joe Cocker following his appearance at Woodstock ’94. Crowded House with a new artist named Sheryl Crow and the list goes on. Even as it’s been renovated over the years, it retains the “rock club” vibe and the current ownership continues to book an eclectic mix of artists crossing many genres. Every city needs a place like the Cleveland Agora.
Allison Rapp: I live in New York City, which means Madison Square Garden is a local venue, but it’s definitely not my favorite. I’m personally a big fan of the places still standing in the West Village from the folk singer days, of which there are not that many left, bu my favorite is the Bitter End. Does the set up make any sense with the bar on one end of a very long, narrow room that makes it so you have to walk in front of everyone, including the band, to get a drink? No. Is the bathroom so small your nose practically touches the wall when you’re standing in it? Yes. And I’ve seen the artist green room, it doubles as a mop closet. But you can really feel the history of the place in it — the stage itself looks pretty much exactly like it did when people like Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Patti Smith and Stevie Wonder appeared on it back in the day. There’s photographic proof of it decorating the walls, including a photo of a very young-looking Lady Gaga playing the venue before her career really took off. In a city where change is near constant and even historical places are at risk of getting swept away, it’s a great place to see a show and remember what a haven the neighborhood has always been for people with a dream in New York City.
READ MORE: Haunted Rock Venues: The Stories of 21 Creepy Clubs and Arenas
Nick DeRiso: The Saenger Theatre in New Orleans was once the crown jewel of a nationwide chain of movie palaces run by Julian and Abe Saenger in the silent-picture era. Most of them have long since closed – and the Saenger nearly did, too. Renewed interest in the space, originally modelled after an Italian courtyard from the Baroque era by the noted local architect Emil Weil, led to a designation on the National Registry of Historic Places and a glow-up in 1980. Johnny Carson hosted its grand reopening as a performing arts space. One of its most memorable shows found Styx recording Caught in the Act under the domed ceiling’s constellation of stars. More recently, Paul Simon opened his comeback tour at the Saenger.
Matthew Wilkening: I’m going to let my younger selves answer, they were more fun than me:
New York City: Bowery Ballroom (among the highlights: Queens of the Stone Age with Dave Grohl on drums, White Stripes) was probably the champ overall, but one of my most New York City moments ever was seeing Joe Jackson walk in the front door and stroll straight to the piano to start his show at the Bottom Line.
Boulder / Denver: The Fox Theater is an absolute treasure, and used to host amazing three-night stands for George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars. It’s also where I saw John Fogerty play CCR songs for the first time, with an infectious joy that I can still feel in my heart.
Red Rocks is the most beautiful venue in the world (sorry, Gorge, but it’s true) and everybody should go see a show there at least once in their life. There are way too many shows I could mention — Flaming Lips opening for Ween, Primus battling a crazy wind storm, Chris Isaak turning the rock formations into a dance floor with his disco ball suit.
I’m sure the former Mammoth Events Center is much nicer and cleaner now that it’s the Fillmore Auditorium, but the Pantera, Clutch and Butthole Surfer shows I saw at Mammoth were worth wading through the disgusting lakes of “that’s not water, is it?” in the men’s room.
At the latter, I learned the real nature of power as the women in the crowd figured out Johnny Depp was filling in on guitar and swiftly took over his side of the stage, completely and effortlessly blocking off the big moshing meathead boys.
San Francisco: All hail the Fillmore, of course. But the Great American Music Hall gets the nod, for glorious Melvins and Sleater-Kinney shows and for being where I first encountered the brilliant Zepparella.
I’ll skip a few cities to get to my favorite…
San Diego: The Casbah is the venue I miss living near the most. It’s just the perfect shape and size and I can’t remember anybody ever sounding bad there. It could just be luck but I also don’t remember anybody in the crowd ever being a jerk there – maybe because it’s so close to the soothing Pacific Ocean?
You know how Fenway Park has weird dimensions and the Green Monster? The Casbah is directly, and I mean directly, across the street from the landing strip for the local airport. So maybe twice a night the music competes or gets drowned out by the sound of a landing jet airliner. You’d think that would be a minus but somehow it added to the charm. I kept waiting for somebody to launch into “Back in the U.S.S.R.” If I had a band I’d book a show there just to do that.
