Billboard Live Settling Into the L.A. Scene

When Billboard Live opened a year ago, the club sponsored one of the biggest spectacles the Sunset Strip has ever seen--outside the venue. The Strip was blocked off between Doheny and San Vincente, celebrities were spotted chatting it up with fans, Jenny McCarthy emceed the affair and Tony Bennett was the evening’s musical guest. The club’s exterior Jumbotrons brought a burst of Times Square color to the Strip, which was in need of an energetic boost.

Inside the club, however, were the signs of problems to come. The interior wasn’t complete, and opening week performances by such artists as James Brown and the Ramones had to be canceled.

When it reopened a few weeks later, it quickly became clear that it wasn’t the “heat-seeking” venue it hoped to be. Despite licensing the name of the music industry’s bible--a weekly who’s who of who’s hot--the club had trouble getting even lukewarm acts.

It was suffering from too many cooks in the kitchen and not enough clear-headed vision. Maybe the club’s managers got caught up in their own hype, thinking if you build it, they will come. “They” didn’t.

Fast-forward a year. Billboard Live is still trying to find its feet, but it’s starting to show signs of long-term life. With most of the initial executives gone and a leaner, meaner staff in place, the new team has gotten down to the serious business of trying to make the club work.

Some better bookings and stronger weekly dance clubs are the key signs of improvement. Technically, it’s not a bad space to begin with. The three-tier venue, which opened at the old site of the famed rock club Gazzarri’s, cost more than $5 million to build, and it does come with certain advantages. Performers have the benefit of playing to a smallish audience--the capacity is 400 (not including the lower-level V.I.P. lounge, which holds 100 more)--but with a big, concert-quality sound system. Even the high-tech industrialized ‘80s look of the place has a payoff during the light shows on dance nights.

The club’s strongest dance promotions are “Dirt,” a Tuesday night hip-hop club that has showcased performances by Busta Rhymes and EPMD and promises to deliver the Wu Tang Clan on Nov. 11.

Friday’s “D.V.S.” club is sponsored by Vivid Video, a Triple X film company whose actresses have become celebrities in their own right. Saturday’s Euro-techno affair, “Reality,” features international deejays as well as an elaborate stage show that changes weekly. Each of these late-night affairs regularly fills to capacity and uses the space to its best advantage, with the plush, underground VIP lounge being a comfortable place to hang out away from the dance floor mayhem.

Hanging out comes with a price, though, costing $20 if there’s room. (Just who exactly are the 180 VIPs who paid the $3,000 to $5,000 membership fee for this privilege?)

On the live front, weeks used to pass before Billboard would have an interesting artist booked, but in recent months, it’s shown improvement. Some strong upcoming performances include Guided By Voices on Tuesday, Meredith Brooks on Oct. 31, Lee Scratch Perry on Nov. 12 and Dwight Yoakum on Nov. 13.

Even the Artist, who knows a thing or two about the travails of the club business--anyone recall Glam Slam?--decided to throw an after-party at Billboard Live on Saturday. Although he didn’t perform (he’d just completed a show at the Hollywood Bowl), his mere presence caused a star-studded frenzy.

Still, it’s not easy being the new kid on the block.

Remember the skepticism the House of Blues faced when it opened in April 1994? Now it’s difficult to imagine L.A. without the festive space. Even though the fad factor has long since come and gone, the House of Blues has settled into the L.A. scene quite nicely, offering a strong variety of bookings and solving that nagging problem of where to take out-of-town relatives who seem to revel in its ornate tackiness.

Although Billboard Live has yet to prove that it has the vision to become a great club, in many respects it’s a good one. Perhaps by its second anniversary, it can look back on a year worth celebrating.

BE THERE

Billboard Live, 9039 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 275-5800. 21 and over (with exceptions), cover varies.