Why Does Weho Have All the Music Venues?

Last night I was standing by the iconic Beverly Hills sign on the corner of Santa Monica and Doheny. Or rather, I was actually standing on the east side of Doheny, so technically I was in Weho. I was waiting in line to get into The Troubadour, the legendary venue for singer/songwriters and rockers alike. Being both a transplant and a music fan, attending concerts there is always a very special feeling for me. This is where Guns N' Roses were discovered, where Elton John made a bigger impression than he had done in his native England, and where the Eagles would go play after gobbling down Italian-American cuisine—which to me is cheese with cheese on it—at Dan Tana’s right next door.

Wednesday night, though, was a royal event far more important to me than Kate and William getting hitched a few weeks back. Prince had decided to play two surprise shows at the 500-capacity venue, which by his standards would be considered a very intimate show. It was beyond awesome. I caught the 11 p.m. show with a friend of mine; a stunning, tall, Scandinavian model who’s totally out of my league—but she made me look like I was someone important. Which I’m not, but it’s fun to pretend sometimes.

Prince started the set by playing as a rocking power trio, just him on vocals and guitar, a drummer and a bass player, who actually happens to be Danish, like myself. A little bit of national pride there. But before, as we were standing in line, discussing Prince-fandom, Danish female bass players and my friend's inferiority-complex inducing high heels, it struck me:

Why are there no music venues in Beverly Hills?

Outside the small jazz combos that play in places like or at the , or the singer/songwriter nights they used to put on at The Four Seasons (which isn’t even Beverly Hills, technically), you would be hard pressed to find a good venue to listen to any kind of original music in 9021x. Yes, there are some singular events, like traditional Jewish music nights, but a regular venue where you could just pop down to and discover some new artists—it’s just not here.

And it’s kind of weird when you think about the amount of cultural activity the city has to offer in all other categories, be it film, visual art or literature. It’s even a bigger paradox that most talent agencies’ headquarters are in Beverly Hills. There’s a ton of celebrity musicians with houses in Beverly Hills. Live Nation used to be in Beverly Hills. Sony Music is in Beverly Hills. MySpace used to be in Beverly Hills. But not a single, original, all-music venue. They’re all in Weho instead.

Wouldn’t it be cool if Prince didn’t have to cross the Doheny border to make a surprise appearance the next time? What if or did what The Roosevelt has done in Hollywood and started a popular jazz-funk club? Or something even edgier?

I would go. Definitely.