CLUB REVIEW : Kicking Out the Jams at Toe’s Tavern in Pasadena

“You Shoulda Been Here Yesterday.”

That statement, prominently displayed on a banner behind the stage at Toe’s Tavern, rather sums up one’s experience at the colorful, surf-themed club in Pasadena. Between its friendly clientele and preponderance of good live music, the 6-year-old club is just the place you don’t want to miss.

From surfer punk to local funk, the music mix entices--recent shows at the 199-capacity club have featured Agent Orange, PopDefect and Thelonious Monster. Along with the two-tiered venue’s four pool tables, the shrine-o’-surfing decor also offers plenty of amusement.

The club, which is filled with dozens of hanging surfboards and photos of surfing action, is painted every color of the rainbow--a nice switch from the more somber venues of Hollywood. A 14-foot, hat-wearing shark hovers over the pit, and a huge heifer rides a board on the club’s second level, with “Cowabunga”--of course--painted on its side in giant letters.

In addition, the atmosphere is so neighborly that even the homeless folks who hang around the parking lot kindly direct newcomers to Toe’s back-alley entrance. And you really shoulda been there last weekend, when a hot local band, Velouria, determined that it’s not too early to be covering Nirvana songs.

* Toe’s Tavern, 37 N. Catalina Ave., Pasadena . Over 21, cover varies . (818) 577-6675.