The Sunset Strip has been languishing in a post-’80s hair band slump for many, many years now. Once glorified (and still historic) clubs like the Roxy, Whiskey A Go Go and the Viper Room struggle these days to compete with hipper music scenes as well as the Sunset Strip’s tacky image. But, the Roxy is mounting a comeback. It has begun twittering, and doing all it can, to regain a modern semblance of its glam metal glory days.
When I was at college outside of Los Angeles, the rock clubs on the Strip seemed so cool. I had this image of them as swinging, celebrity-laden rock joints hosting the coolest acts night after night. I thought they were the places everyone went to on Friday and Saturday to let loose. My friends and I came into the city once to see Local H at the Whiskey while we were still in school, and it was a total scene. One I’d never experienced before. I was enamored; it was my first taste of LA. When I actually moved to LA in 2007, I went back to the clubs on the Strip a few more times. I saw Phantom Planet at the Roxy and some no-name rock act at the Viper Room. But, it’s been two years since I’ve been back. It just wasn’t the same.
In my opinion, it’s the Strip that holds these clubs back. I don’t know firsthand what it was like back in it’s heyday, but it’s a windy tourist trap these days where it’s a pain to find parking and, once a show’s over, there’s nowhere afterward to go. Unless you want to drive the mile to the Saddle Ranch and watch skanky girls ride the mechanical bull while drunk guys in bandannas cheer them on. Only after you’ve had your car wedged into a corner by the valets that is.
But the Roxy is good at bringing in big name contemporary rock and pop acts that draw decent crowds. So, if any of the clubs can pull themselves out of the stale image of the Strip, and into the modern age, it would be the Roxy. Heck, if the New York Times is reporting on the club’s attempt to rise from the ashes, there must be at least some hope.
