A Legendary Night In Hollywood

I have been craving a night out with a live band for quite some time now.  The smoky, hazy fog, the music pounding through my feet into my chest, and I can’t lie…a good beer, were beckoning me.  I figured, what better way to check out the music scene in LA, than to hit up the place where legendary icons got their start.   My friends suggested we start at the Rainbow Bar and Grill.  They laughed when I asked if they knew it was a gay bar.  All I was thinking of was the Rainbow Room bars I see in all the movies. The Rainbow Bar and Grill is part of the Sunset Strip on Sunset Blvd, and it’s a restaurant bar with a clear legendary rock and roll history.  The walls are lined with old photos of celebrity patrons, it’s dark inside with dim lighting, old leather booths and really great food.

I do highly recommend the fried zucchini sticks, and apparently this is one of those places that has a secret menu, but I only learned about it after the fact.  Perhaps the best part was, knowing that we would be continuing next door to The Roxy, our waitress offered to keep our left overs in the fridge so we could come back for them at the end of the night, when we would most certainly want to eat again.

As soon as we walked into The Roxy, all of my cravings were satisfied.   There was already a band on the stage and it was just the right amount of loud.  The atmosphere, and yes, the draft beer truly had me rockin’.   I imagined myself blasting through the times when Bruce Springsteen, Guns N’ Roses, and Pearl Jam all played here in their early pre-stardom days.  We spent some time back by the bar taking it all in, and then moved right in with the standing crowd in front of the band.  I love it when you’re so close you can see the sweat on the performers.  It somehow makes it all that much more real.  It’s always interesting to people watch too.  Everyone enjoys their music differently I guess.  Some people were head bobbers, others were swayers and some just stood there staring.  As for me, I probably looked like I was in la-la land, being so happy to be immersed in the music scene, having a very Hollywood night out without the kids.