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Largo, also called Café Largo, Largo, darling!, or Club Largo, is a
nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gen ...
and
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, known for its musical and comedic performers and for the Friday night residency of singer-songwriter
Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...
.


History

Cafe Largo was founded by
Jean-Pierre Boccara Jean-Pierre Boccara is a French-Italian-American nightclub and restaurant entrepreneur and artist known for founding several seminal clubs in Los Angeles, California. Lhasa Club, Lhasaland, Café Largo, and Luna Park were known for bookings across m ...
, a nightclub entrepreneur, in 1989. Cafe Largo featured music (including performances by Peter Himmelman, Colin Hay, Victoria Williams,
Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered th ...
,
Syd Straw Syd Straw (born 1958) is an American rock singer and songwriter. The daughter of actor Jack Straw ('' The Pajama Game''), she began her career singing backup for Pat Benatar, then took her distinct voice to the indie/alternative scene and joine ...
, The Love Jones,
Julie Christensen Julie Christensen (born January 21, 1956) is an American singer and songwriter. Noted for its versatility, Christensen's music has been praised by critics. As a solo artist, Christensen has released five albums, and in January 2016 released the ...
, Hugo Largo, Grant Lee Buffalo), cabaret (including performances by Philip Littell, Stephanie Vlahos, Lypsinka, Barry Yourgrau), vaudeville (Les Stevens), comedy ( Nora Dunn,
Beth Lapides Beth Lapides (; ) is a writer, comedian, producer and host, best known for creating Un-Cabaret. Un-Cabaret Lapides is the creator, host and producer of Un-Cabaret, a live show that has become widely acknowledged as the first alt-comedy show an ...
), and spoken word (Tommy Cody, Eve Brandstein, Michael Lally). The ''
LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose par ...
'' named Cafe Largo "LA's Best Supper Club" in 1990. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' ran a substantive review "A Place for Poetry in Land of Pictures" on July 12, 1989. The 1989 ''Reader'' review was titled "Cafe Largo mixes food and music – memorably". More positive reviews were published in ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'', ''
LA Style L.A. Style was a Dutch electronic dance music group, consisting of founder, producer and radio DJ Wessel van Diepen (who later also created Nakatomi and the successful Vengaboys), composer Denzil Slemming (a.k.a. Michiel Van Der Kuy of Laser ...
'', ''
LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', ''
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
'', ''Buzz'', ''Exposure'', ''
Movieline ''Movieline'' was a website, formerly a Los Angeles-based film and entertainment magazine, launched in 1985 as a local magazine, which went national in 1989. Known for its cult status and popularity among film critics,Saba, Michael''Movieline'' ...
'', ''
The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...
'', '' Details'', ''Village View'', ''
Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...
'', ''
Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...
'', ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'', and ''
US Magazine ''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc ...
''. In March 1992, Boccara sold the club to Mark Flanagan and his wife Aimee Cain (international model and of ''Star Search'' fame). Flanagan shortened the name to Largo, and his name to simply "Flanagan." Fergus O'Flynn and Joanne McKenna, along with Flanagan, were equal shareholders. Boccara went on to open LunaPark on Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood and operated it from Halloween 1993 to Halloween 2000. Flanagan began operating Largo in April 1992. (In the 1960s, the Largo, owned by Chuck Landis, was a strip club on Sunset Blvd.) In 1996, Flanagan re-established Largo as an intimate cabaret with live music, mainly in the piano bar tradition. Largo's original location on Fairfax Avenue had 100 seats, with a maximum full capacity of 130, and regularly sold out, with frequent sightings of celebrity musicians and actors in the audience. The club had a strict no talking or cellphone use policy during performances, but surprisingly allowed audience members to live-blog on their laptops. Flanagan persuaded
Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...
to take a regular Friday-night residence at Largo. Brion's contacts brought other singer-songwriters to perform at the club, including
Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...
, Michael Penn, the inimitable Steve Brandano,
Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards an ...
(who included a song expressing her love for the club, "Largo," on her fourth album), and
Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...
. Over the years, the list of semi-regular performers at the club has included Neil Finn, E of the Eels, Robyn Hitchcock,
John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are ofte ...
,
Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was ...
,
Grant-Lee Phillips Grant-Lee Phillips (born Bryan G. Phillips; September 1, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He led the group Grant Lee Buffalo in the 1990s, afterwards launching a solo career. He features as the town troubadour ...
,
Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. A two ...
,
Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...
,
Gary Dell'Abate Gary Patrick Angelo Dell'Abate (born March 14, 1961), also known by the nickname Baba Booey, is an American radio producer who has been the executive producer of ''The Howard Stern Show'' since 1984. His autobiography, '' They Call Me Baba Booey'' ...
,
Jakob Dylan Jakob Luke Dylan (born December 9, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter. He rose to fame as the lead singer and primary songwriter for the rock band the Wallflowers. Born in New York City to musician Bob Dylan and model Sara Lownds, Dylan be ...
, Teddy Thompson, t.A.T.u.,
Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Qua ...
, and Colin Hay.


Performances

The typical Largo show involves a mix of music and
stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...
. Mann and Penn developed a road show called '' Acoustic Vaudeville'' on the Largo format, which they have taken to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
.
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and ...
co-creator Larry David is seen performing stand-up comedy at Largo in his 1999 HBO special '' Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm''. Brion names the genre celebrated by Largo as "unpopular
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...
", and underlines the emphasis on lyrics with "We're all song sluts here." Many of the individuals who frequented Largo have had the infamous history of their labels refusing to release their albums. Though generally tied together by this common
aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...
, performers come from many traditions, including
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...
, rock, and
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...
. Brad Mehldau released a jazz album produced by
Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...
entitled '' Largo''. Toad the Wet Sprocket singer/songwriter Glen Phillips performs regularly and has recorded a live album ''Live at Largo'' at the club.
Andy Prieboy Andy Prieboy (born April 17, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and author. He was lead singer of the band Wall of Voodoo from 1983 to 1988. He went on to record solo albums, musicals and wrote a novel. Life and career Prieboy was born ...
developed his musical ''
White Trash Wins Lotto White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. Whit ...
'' at the club.
Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Un ...
rehearsed her famous duet with
Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
at Largo in 2001. The band
Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. It was founded by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who were members of The Actors' Gang theater company at the time. The duo's name is derived from "ten ...
largely got their start at Largo, which in turn launched the career of actor/comedian
Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), '' Shallow Hal'' (2001), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ' ...
. Dan Finnerty started
The Dan Band The Dan Band is a comedy band created by actor/comedian Dan Finnerty. The band is known for its covers of originally female-performed pop songs, with added obscenities and swearing, made famous by Finnerty's appearance in the films '' Old School ...
at Largo, doing monthly shows there before his stints in '' Old School'' and ''
Starsky & Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a ''Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by th ...
''. The band Wild Colonials largely got their start at Largo with a successful Tuesday night residency that lasted nine months during 1992 and 1993. In 1993, at the height of the Los Angeles spoken word scene of that decade, Largo hosted several events featuring L.A. writers
Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. R (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist. Born and raised in the State of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he also lived in Argenti ...
,
Scott Wannberg Scott Wannberg (February 20, 1953 – August 19, 2011) was an American poet. His work was considered one of the anchors in the Los Angeles poetry scene. As a poet he wrote in freeform and was influenced by beat poetry. He worked as a clerk at Vrom ...
,
Ellyn Maybe Ellyn is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff (born 1959), Representative in the House of Representatives of the U.S. state of Florida * Ellyn Stern, professional actress, voice actress, and director in Calif ...
, S.A. Griffin, Tequila Mockingbird, and Linda Ravenswood. A five-track CD of Elliott Smith playing solo at Largo was released in October 2007, accompanying photographer Autumn de Wilde's book, ''
Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...
''. In 2012, comedian Tig Notaro performed a set after just being diagnosed with cancer. She did not intend to release the audio at first, but later, the album ''
Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...
'' was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement in comedy." The award was awarded yearly from 1959 to 1993 and then from 2004 to prese ...
at the
56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid comp ...
. Sarah Silverman taped her 2013 HBO stand-up special, '' We Are Miracles'' at the Largo, before an audience of 39. In 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and the associated
lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...
, US comedian
Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with '' Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' ( ...
relocated ''Conan'', his TBS
late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...
, to the Largo, following several months broadcasting from his home.


Relocation

On June 2, 2008, Flanagan closed the club and moved to the Coronet Theatre on
La Cienega Boulevard La Cienega Boulevard is a major north–south arterial road that runs between El Segundo Boulevard in Hawthorne, California on the south and the Sunset Strip/ Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood to the north. It was named for Rancho Las Cienega ...
, renaming it Largo at the Coronet.
Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...
continues his monthly residency, performing on Friday, usually near the end of each month. He has also begun to incorporate video samples of musicians into his musical performances.


References

http://articles.latimes.com/1986-03-10/news/mn-2927_1_chuck-landis


External links

*
LAist Interview with Mark Flanagan
*
Jean-Pierre Boccara Jean-Pierre Boccara is a French-Italian-American nightclub and restaurant entrepreneur and artist known for founding several seminal clubs in Los Angeles, California. Lhasa Club, Lhasaland, Café Largo, and Luna Park were known for bookings across m ...
, Cafe Largo founder {{DEFAULTSORT:Largo (Nightclub) Music venues in Los Angeles Nightclubs in Los Angeles County, California Comedy clubs in California Music venues completed in 1996 1989 establishments in California