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The show dates are almost all Los Angeles area based shows (I went as far east as San Bernardino and Riverside when info was available, but San Diego and Ventura are excluded). In terms of bands featured here, there are plenty of bands that one might not consider "punk" but were part of that early scene because either they put out a record that commonly wound up in many a punk collection, or because the band played with punk bands. The early punk scene was not cut and dry; there was a lot of commingling of punk and new wave bands on the same bill. I had to make decisions along the way of what seemed to be a relevant show and what should get left out. Many of the purely new-wave line-ups have been left out of the database. On the first couple of pages you will see ads typically found in the Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times Newspaper. In those early days in lieu of flyers, the Calendar section of the LA Times was the other main source for gig info. A few of the LA Times writers (especially Robert Hilburn) did their best to continuously present stories on the new wave/punk scene and profile the local bands.

While visiting this gig database, keep in mind that although a flyer exists for a show, that doesn't necessarily mean the show occurred. It is entirely possible considering the precariousness of the punk scene that many shows got cancelled, rescheduled, or clubs closed before a show could even occur. When I've become aware of this, I've posted a note in the data base next to the gig listing.

Information for this section comes from issues of Flipside and Slash Magazine, flyers, internet research, other band-related websites and the Los Angeles Times. The database is a work in progress and only completed up through the end of 1979, but more will follow as time permits. Please email me if you have any helpful information.

THE CLUBS

I'm also trying to develop a club timeline which is still in the works pending completion of research. The Masque existed from August 1977 to March 1979, but private parties "prolonged" the club into August 1979. The "New Masque" existed from 12/22/78 to about 2/24/79. By 1979 there were several clubs offering nightly punk such as Blackies, Club 88, and the Hong Kong Cafe. The Hong Kong existed from about June 1979 to early 1981. Madame Wongs which was spitting distance from the Hong Kong, tried out punk really early (pre-1980) but soured on it following a trashing incident. They went on to continuously booked all the new wave acts in town. However, it was well-known Madame Wong (a real person) was exceedingly jealous of the success of the Hong Kong (even though they chose to cater to different musical niches!) that ultimately led to a police raid on the Hong Kong Cafe for under-age drinking, with fingers pointing directly back to Madame Wongs as the rat. An article from Slash Magazine on this subject is located inside the gig database here. The Starwood picked up steam in 1980 until they closed sometime in late summer 1981. Club 88 opened in late 1978 or early 1979 and ran until about 1981. The Fleetwood (Redondo Beach) ran from the summer of 1979 to the summer of 1980. Blackies began in summer of 1979. The Cuckoo's Nest located in Costa Mesa (Orange County) closed its doors sometime in 1982. King's Palace was in existence during the last four months of 1979. The Vex opened in the fall of 1980 and existed on and off at various locations throughout the early 1980s. Godzillas was only around for about three months, from December 1981 to about March of 1982. The Stardust Ballroom began having shows in the fall of 1979 and continued throughout the early 1980s. I've left alot of clubs out for now as my information on them is just too sketchy.

As for the Starwood, the club began consistently booking punk bands in 1980 but was permanently closed down in 1981 due to the Club owner Eddie Nash's drug bust and involvement in the "Wonderland murders". Nash owned several clubs that featured either New Wave or punk music (basically the few legit clubs that one could go to to go dancing or hear live punk/new wave music) including the Starwood, the Odyssey, Phazes in Reseda and The Seven Seas. But Nash was heavily involved in drugs and with organized crime.

(For the latest on Eddie Nash, click here.)

"Elks Lodge Riot,"
Original flyer, circa 1979.

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984