Alright so I just finished the tour.
(The West Coast Tour)
That's right 10 concerts over the course of 4 weeks, I have been in and out of every kind of underground establishment you can imagine: low key backroom, mainstage in a low key bar, traveling to the county over to find a low key art space, a low key night at a larger theater, a low key working class bar; and through it all I couldnt help but wonder: which scene is the best NYC or LA?
Now I know the obvious answer: NYC, LA sucks!
And you would be right, except for one thing: the LA Scene does not suck at all. It actually is full of vibrant and low key venues in unusual places that rivals the diversity and expansiveness of the NY scene.
Seeing concerts in six cities spanning three counties : LA, Costa Mesa, Ojai, Glendale, Santa Monica, Little Tokyo, and Long Beach + 2 more shows in and around Seattle combined with my 3 or 4 previous trips to explore the West Coast underground scene since the pandemic ended, I am ready to pontificate.
First things first: the food
Alright so its not like you cant get decent street food outside of NYC venues. Plenty of taco and halal trucks in the city, but I just dont think they quite compare to the street mexican food available on the corner of every California street. Whether out in farm country, or exiting the cemetery for a long three block walk to Gold Diggers, they are also there, exactly where you need them.
15-luv, LA
(wasnt Zendaya great in Challengers?)
Ok, now lets discuss location, location, location.
Like NYC venues are located everywhere, but also in proximity. For example you can draw a rough circle around Downtown Los Angeles, that goes up to to Zebulon and then goes out to Santa Monica and then put the Hollywood Bowl in there (for laughs) and that will capture the central core of the LA progressive scene, including the larger Regent Theater. This would be similar to the Williamsburg/Fort Green/Bushwick Triangle in Brooklyn where I spend around 50% of my time.
Still, you have to be willing to go outside of these bounds to really explore all there is. Finding that random venue out in Ojai (a 2 hr+ drive outside of the city) was proof enough that the music scene was not confined to just LA. Short jaunts to Costa Mesa and Alex's Bar in Long Beach further confirmed this truth, and while public transportation has improved, you are still looking at a drive to get to most of these places.
15-30, LA
Ok, but what about selection?
Again you will find no shortage in either city. Having to skip just as many promosing concerts as I attended during the tour, i realized both scenes are impossibly big where the only way to lose is to not go to see a concert at all. Provider you were ready to jump on the 405 or the C train (depending on coast) as soon as your determined where the hot concert for the night was, you ended up all right. Now contrast with Seattle, where you were lucky for there to be 2 shows to choose from over the whole weekend. With the only benefit being the smaller Seattle scene meant you could probably see a band like Broken Social Scene in an appropriate sized (and low-key) venue.
30-40, LA
Ok, now what about the crowd?
Apparently there is another song Nobody Walks in LA by the duo Ashford & Simpson which is almost as popular as the classic song of almost the same name. But they should make a song called "Nobody is Single in LA" cause I gotta say the amount of singles (ok single women) at these things was approaching the theoretical lower limit.
Even playing a battle of the sexes game of pool that ended with you emasculated thanks to your partner's (Kevin) lack of focus left little opportunity for chit chat. There was a person by herself at the show in Ojai, but then she struck up a conversation with someone sitting next to her only for him to be the producer of Jamie Drake's latest record. How could I explain to her that my output of album style playlists dwarfs this producer's measly career? Not even Seattle, the city of salmony-love, could I find another smolt to blurble at. Just had to enjoy my local band and roll my fish eyes at the DJ set in silence.
40-40, or as they say in Challengers: "Deuce"
Finally, the X-Factor
Alright, so playing by Flemingsburg, Kentucky community rec tennis league U-12 divison rules , advantage at deuce wins it, so this one is for all the marbles.
How do we define the x-factor? Is it a way you feel? An entertaining reality-challenge show hosted by Joe Rogan? Or is it just that ineffable quality that allows one to arbitrarily say this scene is the best, and all other scenes chasing it?
Well for starters, I can tell you NYC and LA are clearly neck and neck, both continue to reign as the global capitals of music and are home to hundreds of the best artists out today who are regularly haunting the local venues. If music is your goal, either city will be the tops.
So how to decide ultimately? Watch the end of Challengers and find out.
Peace.
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