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VENUE PROFILE: THE TROUBADOUR
VENUE PROFILE: THE TROUBADOUR HOLLYWOOD’S MOST LEGENDARY VENUE HAS FACED NEW CHALLENGES OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS…
Once revered by dyed in the wool folkies as an intimate hub of new talent, and later transforming into West Hollywood’s all-round musical nerve centre, The Troubadour has been acclaimed for both its genre-spanning heritage, and its superb sound set-up.
Since its opening back in 1957, The Troubadour has seen the likes of Bob Dylan, Elton John, Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Guns N’Roses, Motley Crue, Coldplay and Radiohead grace its stage, delivering – quite often – important, intimate shows. Concurrent to its reputation as a premiere music venue, The Troubadour has a parallel legacy for standup comedy, with many thousands of era-defining comedians performing sets. They include such comedy heroes as Lenny Bruce, Steve Martin and Richard Pryor.
TROUBADOUR HISTORY
The Troubadour was first established following a trip by its founder, Doug Weston, to London’s then newly-opened Troubadour Cafe. The Earl’s Court venue and cafe was then a hip hotbed of beatniks and folksters, and both name and overall vibe convinced the American nightclub-owning pioneer to launch his own spin on the idea. Opened originally in a different location on La Cienega Boulevard, before moving to its permanent home on Santa Monica Boulevard a short time later. Weston conceived the club as a place to spotlight Hollywood’s folk talent (underscored by its name, and the idea of a ‘troubadour’ – a wandering tale-teller) but the array of artists performing there soon diversified.
By the sixties, it had drawn the likes of Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, performing shows that would go straight into the history books (the venue was the site of Neil Young’s first solo show). Its reputation for both top-tier sound, and a buzzing atmosphere was reinforced in the 1970s, when the likes of Led Zeppelin, James Taylor and Tom Waits graced its stage, the latter of which was discovered during one of Troubadour’s many amateur nights.
Throughout the 1980s, the Troubadour became noteworthy for being a more heavy metal-leaning locale, with the likes of Metallica, Warrant and Guns N’ Roses serving up gigantic riffs. The latter band’s career was kickstarted there after a particularly hell-raising set caught the eye of Geffen Records.
From the 1990s into the 2000s, the Troubadour solidified itself as a genre-agnostic cathedral of talent, with alternating
evenings of world-class alternative, pop, metal and comic acts taking to the stage. By the 2010s, the 500-capacity club’s reputation was so immensely high that Billboard named it one of the top five venues to play in the US. Rolling Stone went even further, declaring it to America’s second best rock club. Impressive stuff.
THE TROUBADOUR’S SOUND
In 2015, Troubadour underwent its first major sound re-fit for nearly two decades, and was outfitted with new L-Acoustics ARCS II speakers, carefully installed by Rat Sounds. The California-based sound company had to study the unique characteristics of the venue in order to determine the best ways of implementing ten asymmetrical hangs. Rat Sound’s Dave Rat and Paul Freudenberg had to carefully consider how to incorporate these state of the art speakers. The venue staff were overjoyed by the clarity of sound that the L-Acoustics setup brought, testing it out with a variety of heavier punk artists. The results were astonishing, and the venue’s engineers were wowed by the extra headroom the L-Acoustics system provided. The setup was completed by a flown L-Acoustics 115XT HiQ which provided a centre fill, a 12XTi for balcony coverage and four SB28 dual-18-inch subwoofers to underscore the low end. Upstairs or downstairs by the stage, the sound was improved by the set up which very much proved what innovations had been brought to the table.
THE 21ST CENTURY
Despite this upgrade, and the venue’s prestige as the go to 500 capacity venue for breaking artists, The Troubadour has faced a whole new raft of challenges as the 2020s dawned, not least the Covid 19 pandemic. Maintaining its independence from the larger promoters had previously been to The Troubadour’s advantage, yet with its doors being forced to close, the venue realised it had no safety net. Like many venues around the world, Covid forced The Troubador to look at the books and consider an unknown and unpredictable future.
Needing a cash injection, the venue started a GoFundMe page, and requested donations to help it stay afloat. “It looks tacky, but it’s a reality at this point. It’s not a joke,” General Manger Christine Karayan told the Los Angeles Times, “If we’re going to survive this thing — and that’s a big if — we’re going to need all the help we can get, from any direction we can get it.”
Thankfully, the appeal was successful, and $70,000 was raised to help its staff and infrastructure. They were aided by Elton John and comedian Bill Burr – both of whom owed much to the venue, and both drew attention to its plight.
After 13 months of closure, the venue re-opened in June 2021, with 15 straight nights of performances. Since that time, The Troubadour has found its footing once more as one of the US’s most integral venues. This year it has welcomed the likes of FINNEAS, The Black Keys and The Chainsmokers on to its stage. Its floor and balconies again filled with music-loving patrons. Thanks to new booker Jordan Anderson, future dates include The Courteeners, John Craigie, Sammy Johnson and newcomers Noah Cunane and Maybe Jacy.
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