Venue Spotlight You often hear the term “location, location, location”. Well when it comes to live music venues, location can mean everything, and Club Nokia certainly has that going for itself. Located smack in the middle of Los Angeles’ hottest entertainment complex L.A. Live in Downtown L.A., Club Nokia has emerged as one of Southern California’s premier live music destinations. Goldenvoice certainly sports some fantastic venues across the country, but Club Nokia has become one of its crowning jewels in just 3 years. Of course, measuring out at almost 60,000 square feet and holding 2,300 people doesn’t hurt to provide an ample place to hold great shows. Additionally, its food is catered by Wolfgang Puck. I certainly have to mention its VIP lounge, which in my personal opinion is by far the best in any music venue in L.A. It sports the coolest lighting backdrop, slowly changing colors throughout the night, which makes for great pictures, private cabanas for small groups, tons of cushioned seating through out, and not only a huge bar, but some of the nicest bartenders in town, which is a rare treat these days. Club Nokia is one of my favorite venues to see a show at, which in turn has made it nothing short of an honor to have worked with so many concerts there too. Since it’s opening, I’ve gotten to help with such shows; from Stone Temple Pilots, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Crowes, Ray Manzarek & Robbie Krieger, The Cult, Motorhead, Stryper, Yngwie Malmsteen, .38 Special, Asia, Alan Parsons Project and Todd Rundgren to Rick Springfield, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis & The News, Blondie, Devo, The English Beat, Big Audio Dynamite, The Psychedelic Furs, Simply Red, Level 42, A-Ha, O.M.D., Echo & The Bunnymen and more. Not to mention patrons can enjoy every spectrum of music there, from all aspects of rock & roll, classic to new wave, current alternative, country, R&B, pop, and even the greatest comedian tours. This is one place you’ll always want to check up on to see what upcoming concerts will be heading their way. Club Nokia is located at L.A. Live, 800 West Olympic Blvd. Suite A335, Los Angeles, CA 90015. (213) 765-7000. www.ClubNokia.com Julian Douglas
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For a new twist, “On The Scene with Mr. 80’s” jumps into the future with ShipRocked 2012 - Caribbean Rock Cruise.
I’ve been a part of ShipRocked’s past 4 cruises and no other music experience brings fans & artists together like SR. This year will be no exception. The ultimate rock music cruise vacation, SR12 embarks from Ft. Lauderdale, FL on November 27th, 2012, providing guests with 5 days and 4 nights of music & mayhem, with a little relaxation on the MSC Poesis, with stops in Key West, FL and Nassau, Bahamas. Guests enjoy multiple performances from each band on various stages throughout the ship, artist meet & greets, Q & A sessions, artist hosted activities, insane parties & more. SR12’s initial line up has just been released, featuring Godsmack, P.O.D., Sevendust, Fuel, Lit, Filter, Queensryche’s Geoff Tate, Five Finger Death Punch, Gilby Clarke (Guns ‘N Roses/RockStar: SuperNova), Black Stone Cherry, In This Moment & more T.B.A. SR12 includes exclusive access to all SR concerts & special events, deluxe staterooms, meals, ship activities & entertainment and more.
Julian Douglas
Rock N Roll Industries Magazine 57