Historic Club in Santa Monica Boulevard, in the south of Club heaven on Sunset Strip, Making sure that Rock music is Not Dead.
A historic live music venue located on Santa Monica Boulevard, just south of the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. I visited the Troubadour in 2002 and again in 2019. In this article, I document the changes I observed over those 17 years, along with the venue’s unique atmosphere.
During the glam metal boom of the 1980s, the Troubadour, together with Whisky a Go Go and the Roxy on the Sunset Strip, was one of the clubs where countless rock bands dreamed of performing. The venue is about the same size as Whisky a Go Go and the Roxy, with a spacious stage that offers excellent views. Passing through the entrance, there is a bar on the left, while a plaque reading “Hall of Fame” hangs above the doorway. The Troubadour is known for hosting many legendary musicians, and the walls are covered with photographs commemorating their performances.
Stage on the backside is like 15m width, 5m depth, 60-70cm height and it is very easy to appreciate. There are also seats on the 2nd floor. Ceiling is high. Wooden building is good atmosphere to feel the long history. Capacity on the 1st floor in front of the stage is more than 100 people. Bar area at the back side of the audience space.
The performer was “Buffalo Daughter” in Japan, when visited this Club at the first time. When arriving at the Club, there were long line in front of the Club. Some people pretending some animation character with costume, some wearing a hat with poppy hat. Some people are like those people, not available on the street. I feel something bad, however, its performance by “Buffalo Daughter” was great.
I went up to the 2nd floor with seating area, and sat at the latter part of it. Its space feels like the gallery for freak show and I like that place. There are wooden bench. There was a PA area at the left-hand side of its seating area at the 2nd floor.
During the performance by “Buffalo Daughter”, engineer in the PA having the move very hard for switching “on” and “off” quickly and repeatedly. Its scene has seized my eyes.
By the way, when I visited in 2019, I felt that the second-floor seats were a little different compared to 2002. The wooden bench seats was the same, but there is a table behind the front bench and it feels like more space.
On the right side of the stage on the second floor, it looks like there are audience seats for special guests only. Also, I felt that the space on the PA on the left-hand side became wider.
Compared to ”Whiskey a Go-Go” and ”the Roxy” on the “Sunset Strip”, this “Troubadour” is the Rock Club where you can experience history in terms of the club structure and atmosphere.
That should be related to the fact that “Troubadour” opened in 1957 that is the oldest in the area including the club in “Sunset Strip”, and playing music genre is relatively wide; famous pop and folk musicians in addition to Rock music are performed.
The area is famous for Gay Bars. It takes around 5 minutes by walking from Troubadour. Like the Sunset Strip, the crowded restaurant/bars seem to be different each time of visit, indicating the difficulty of maintaining popularity. There is no parking lot nearby, so park a car a little away from the “Troubadour” and enjoy the special area while walking beside the bar area.
By the way, “Troubadour” is a little far from the Rock clubs on the “Sunset Strip”. Therefore, it is hard to crawl between Clubs on “Sunset Strip” and “Troubadour”. Heading south on “North Doheny Drive”, near ex-“Gazzarri’s” and ex-“Key Club”, at the west end of the Sunset Strip, it reaches to the “Troubadour”, however, it is hard to walking down on the dark residential area.
The fact that “Troubadour” locates a little far from the “Sunset Strip” may be a factor that “Troubadour” has slightly different atmosphere than the clubs on the “Sunset Strip”.
Visited in 2002 and 2019.
Basic Information
■ Name of Place：Troubadour
■ Address : 9081 N Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA USA
■ Performed Musician :
Motley Crue, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Eagles, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, LA Guns, Billy Joel, Poison, Warrant, WASP
■ Homepage : https://www.troubadour.com/
