The Hong Kong Café was a Los Angeles restaurant and music venue that was a part of the Los Angeles punk rock scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s when the club was owned and operated by Barry Seidel, Kim Turner and Suzy Frank, followed by a resurgence from 1992 to 1995.
The Hong Kong | |
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 | |
| Address | 425 Gin Ling Way |
|---|---|
| Location | Chinatown, Los Angeles, California |
| Genre(s) | |
| Opened | For Music, June 5, 1979 |
| Closed | January, 1981 |
Located at 425 Gin Ling Way in the Chinatown district of Downtown Los Angeles, California and across the way from sometimes rival Esther Wong's Madame Wong's,[1][2] the former Chinese restaurant[3] was open to audiences of all ages.
It can briefly be seen in the 1974 movie, Chinatown.
History
editFirst Run of Shows: 1979-1981
editThe Plugz and UXA played at the club's opening night on June 7, 1979,[4][5] and numerous bands, including X, Catholic Discipline, The Mau-Mau's, Bags, The Smart Pills, Nervous Gender, and The Alley Cats, performed there until its closing in January 1981.[6][7] Concert footage filmed at Hong Kong Café appears in the Penelope Spheeris documentary film The Decline of Western Civilization.[8]
The Hong Kong Cafe was typically more open to punk and hardcore acts than Madame Wong's.[9] Black Flag played some of its first few shows at the Hong Kong Cafe.[10]
Resurgence: 1992-1995
editThe venue reopened for music in 1992, featuring shows from acts such as D.I., Guttermouth[11] The Offspring, and the Voodoo Glow Skulls.
Aftermath
editThe space is currently occupied by Realm, a housewares and gifts retailer.[12]
Shows at the Hong Kong Café
editShows from the Hong Kong's first months:
| Date | Band | Band | Band | Band | Band
Also appearing were Phil Seymour, the Textones, and Moon Martin. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 5, 1979 | Daily Planet | Elton Duck | |||
| June 6, 1979 | Uncle | Jammer | |||
| June 7, 1979[13] | The Plugz | U.X.A. | |||
| June 8, 1979 | The Alley Cats | Bags | |||
| June 9, 1979 | Snapp | Blow-Up | |||
| June 10, 1979 | Ryno | Curtis Bros. | |||
| June 18, 1979[14] | Black Flag | The Last | |||
| June 22, 1979[15] | The Controllers | Fear | The Plugz | X | Black Flag |
| June 29, 1979[16] | The Controllers | Fear | The Plugz | X | Black Flag |
| July 1, 1979 | The Dogs | The Tremors | |||
| July 2, 1979 | Copter | Big Wow | |||
| July 3, 1979 | Gorilla | Fingers | |||
| July 4, 1979 | The Flyboys | Fear | Satin Tones | ||
| July 5, 1979 | The Weasels | The Silencers | |||
| July 6, 1979 | Pink Section | The Units | The B-People | ||
| July 7, 1979 | The Pink Section | ||||
| July 8, 1979 | The Plugz | The Tellers | |||
| July 9, 1979 | Roy Loney & the Phantom Movers | The Real Kids | |||
| July 10, 1979 | The Shieks of Shake | The Blitz Bros. | |||
| July 11, 1979 | The Alley Cats | The Eyes | Human Hands | ||
| July 12, 1979 | X | Unknown | Unknown | ||
| July 13, 1979 | Unknown | ||||
| July 14, 1979 | Unknown | ||||
| July 15, 1979 | Bags | Controllers | The B-People | ||
| July 16, 1979 | Yankee Rose | Shandi Cinnamon | |||
| July 17, 1979 | Germs | Adaptors | Extremes | ||
| July 18, 1979 | The Real Kids | ||||
| July 19, 1979 | Bates Motel | Hero | Johanna Went | ||
| July 20, 1979 | The Plugz | Go-Go's | |||
| July 21, 1979 | The Alley Cats | Penetrators | |||
| July 22, 1979 | Elton Duck | Daily Planet | Dianna Harris | The Tufftones | |
| July 23, 1979 | The Most | Keller and Webb | |||
| July 24, 1979 | Suburban Lawns | The Eyes | The Brainiacs | ||
| July 25, 1979 | The Weirz | U.S. Rock | |||
| July 26, 1979 | Middle Class | U.X.A. | Agent Orange | ||
| July 27, 1979 | Bates Motel | The Meckanics | |||
| July 28, 1979 | Bags | Nervous Gender | |||
| July 29, 1979 | Ivy and the Eaters | Big Wow | |||
| July 30, 1979 | Ivy and the Eaters | Big Wow | |||
| July 31, 1979 | Axis | The Real Kids | |||
| August 1, 1979 | Fear | Shandi | Johanna Went | ||
| August 2, 1979 | D.O.A. | Pointed Sticks | |||
| August 3, 1979 | D.O.A. | Pointed Sticks | |||
| August 4, 1979 | X | Eddie and the Subtitles | |||
| August 5, 1979 | Reddi Killawatt | Prankster | |||
| August 6, 1979 | Suburban Lawns | Rotters | Spy | ||
| August 7, 1979 | Simpletones | the Crowd | Stepmothers | ||
| August 8, 1979 | U.X.A. | Flyboys | Silencers | ||
| August 9, 1979 | Zero's (S.F.) | Urge | |||
| August 10, 1979 | Zero's (S.F.) | Urge | |||
| August 11, 1979 | Nervous Gender | Human Hands | |||
| August 12, 1979 | The Plugz | ||||
| August 13, 1979 | Bates Motel | ||||
| August 15, 1979 | Germs | The B-People | VS. |
References
edit- ^ The 4th Wave & The Chinatown Wars. Retrieved on August 1, 2010.
- ^ Oliver, Myrna. "Esther Wong, 88; 'Godmother of Punk' Whose Venues Showcased Pop, Rock Acts in '70s, '80s" The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, 17 August 2005. Retrieved on 2010-08-10.
- ^ 1979 When Chinatown Was Punk—pt 1 Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, April 16, 2008. Retrieved on August 1, 2010.
- ^ Thirty Years Ago Today in LA: Hong Kong Cafe Opens, 7 June 2009. Retrieved on 2010-09-05
- ^ Flipside Fanzine Live Show Database 1979 Retrieved 2010-09-05
- ^ Hong Kong Cafe Archived 2010-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, 16 April 2008. Retrieved on 2010-08-01.
- ^ Catholic Discipline (r.i.p. 1979-1980)
- ^ Valentine, Gary. New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation with Blondie, Iggy Pop, and Others, 1974-1981, page 203. Da Capo Press. 2006.
- ^ "Esther Wong: Her Flawed Legacy". LA Weekly. Apr 26, 2012. Retrieved Mar 31, 2018.
- ^ Black Flag Gig Archive Retrieved on 4/5/2018
- ^ Youtube footage of Guttermouth at the Hong Kong.
- ^ Realm. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
- ^ Thirty Years Ago Today in LA: Hong Kong Cafe Opens, 7 June 2009. Retrieved on 4/5/2018
- ^ Black Flag Gig Archive Retrieved on 4/5/2018
- ^ Black Flag Gig Archive Retrieved on 4/5/2018
- ^ Black Flag Gig Archive Retrieved on 4/5/2018
External links
edit
- Hong Kong Cafe Archived 2010-10-02 at the Wayback Machine
- Realm
- The Go-Go's Notebook: Hong Kong Cafe Archived 2010-10-02 at the Wayback Machine