Crowd-Surfing in Southern California
From Anaheim to La Jolla, these five venues carry on SoCal’s punk legacy—nurturing new bands while honoring icons from X to Blink-182.
While Gilman can lay claim to the birth of pop punk in Northern California, numerous clubs throughout Southern California played a key role in fostering bands from X and the Minutemen to Blink-182 and the Offspring. While it operated for only five years (1976 to 1981), Orange County’s Cuckoo’s Nest was arguably the center of it all, showcasing acts like the Circle Jerks, Black Flag, and the Go-Go’s. Here are five punk clubs where the scene is still thrashing.
This roundup appears in Issue 34 of Alta Journal. SUBSCRIBE
DOLL HUT, ANAHEIM
Though it bills itself as “The World Famous Doll Hut,” you’ll be forgiven if you’ve never heard of this tiny outpost near the 5 freeway in Anaheim. With a maximum capacity of 89 people and a “stage” that is little else but a wedge in a corner, Doll Hut doesn’t look like anything more than another hole-in-the-wall dive. But this tiny bar has earned its reputation, over its nearly 40-year existence, as a mainstay in the Orange County punk scene, having served as a launchpad for such venerable OC punk bands as the Offspring, the Adolescents, and Social Distortion.
THE SMELL, LOS ANGELES
This small all-ages space has been in downtown Los Angeles since 1999, hosting punk, metal, and indie bands as well as experimental art performances. Volunteer-run, alcohol- and drug-free, and, indeed, noticeably pungent, the Smell is like a secret clubhouse for DTLA’s young artistic community.
ALEX’S BAR, LONG BEACH
With an ambience that is equal parts punk rock dive bar and Twin Peaks’ Black Lodge, Alex’s Bar has hosted plenty of incredible shows since opening in 2000; such notable bands as the Melvins, Black Flag, and Rocket from the Crypt have played in front of its distinctive red curtains. The club’s intimate setting leads to fullhearted, one-of-a-kind performances, with band and audience getting equally sweaty.
THE GLASS HOUSE, POMONA
You might not think of suburban Pomona as an obvious place for one of L.A. County’s best music venues, but the Glass House has hosted some of the biggest bands in punk, hardcore, and metal. It’s more than a local club; it’s a destination for all Southern California music fans. What’s even more impressive is that this spacious, 800-capacity venue has managed to remain all-ages since opening in 1996.
CHÉ CAFÉ, LA JOLLA
Located on the UC San Diego campus, Ché Café is the kind of all-ages community space that has been nurtured and beloved by progressive, DIY-minded college kids for decades. Booking events, running the zine library, maintaining the kitchen (vegan, of course), and keeping the books are all done collectively by volunteers, and you’re just as likely to catch a killer set by some unknown hardcore punk band as you are to join a circle discussion on the works of Mikhail Bakunin.•
Santi Elijah Holley is an award-winning journalist and the author of An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created. He is a regular contributor to Alta Journal.
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