Bootleg Bar & Theater

Security’s weird rules and aggressive behavior honestly ruin shows at this place. You can be the only one in line and they will physically grab you and say «move back body» lol theres also lines on the floor where you can stand

I love this place. There’s always plenty of parking — there’s street parking and across the street behind the church. The shows are always entertaining. There’s a bar and and an outdoor patio to hang. I really like the sound here. Good place to see a band or a play. You can also rent the place out for events.

Always a fun time at one of my favorite small venues! The interior is minimal which is great because it forces one to be completely immersed in whatever sort of medium is being presented or performed. The outside is split level & pretty cool to sit/​chat smoke your cigs. Lot of different types of people & faces! Great service & good vibes!

This spot is a lot smaller than I expected. Its located in a so-​so part of town so if you don’t want to street park there is a lot by the church for about $ 3. I didn’t care so I parked on the street very close to the bar. The venue itself is pretty hipster I would say. Don’t expect any fancy couches or lounge type of setting. The bar has mostly beers but they also have some wine and soft drinks. Not the most exciting place but not too bad.

Pro: Great Beer selection, 2 stages sound separated from each other, so you can go back and fourth.
Con: A nerdy & frustrated Security guard from India, starting fights with folks outside. Why do they recruit psychologically unfit security for a cool place like that?

Not a bad place for a show. This is a smaller venue which has theater seating in the back. I love the industrial and warehouse feel of this venue. It opens from one room onto another. There’s a photobooth which costs $ 1. There are two bars which only serves beer and wine only. In the first open area, there’s a screen and couches.
Decently price great for small shows!

I found this place to be quite a cool venue. At first when i walked in i was unsure if i was in the right place, but it really opens up the more you get into it. There are huge spaces for lounge areas. Lots of seating inside the main area when you first walk in. It’s also where one of the venue’s two bars is located. Was not well stocked at all tho. The selections are very limited. Coming from NOLA, i like my hard liquors, particularly Jameson but it seemed to be mostly beer options. I“m not a heavy beer drinker, but i’m on vacation, so, what the hell.
Came to see Delicate Steve whom i had never heard of prior to this showing, but a very gorgeous friend of mine said she was going to this show and i should check it out, so of course i had nothing to do that night and met her there… of course. To my surprise, it was actually a pretty good show. Everyone in the place was turning up pretty hard and he put on a good, fun show.
There are two stage areas for performances. The one towards the far back of the place is the one that peaked my interest the most. I really liked how there’s a stage, a huge dance floor, and theater-​style seating all in the same area so people can comfortable rotate between seating it out on the floor and taking a break when needed in the seats without having to miss any of the show. I think that is a really clever approach to utilizing venue space.
The sound quality was pretty decent. There were a couple issues during one of the opening acts but it didn’t kill the vibe much. Have to be careful with that tho, having a bad (not saying anyone here is) sound guy can really ruin a show and make a venue look bad. Painful when you pay good money to see a live show and it sounds like crap.
I’d like to see more shows at this venue, i’ll be sure to keep it on my places to look out for when visiting L.A.

Played here on a tour that we were doing and I can’t speak highly enough of most of the staff… however…there was a bouncer there, who I’m pretty sure has been mentioned in other reviews. He was power tripping and needlessly rude. We packed the place with fans. We made them money. That bouncer almost certainly makes some good bands and some patrons think twice about coming to this venue.
Also, for other bands, backline is a bit of a mess. Three janky upright pianos but no drum backline at all and they were missing the weirdest things, like they didn’t have any gaff tape and they had misplaced their projector screen. The green room is a filthy tent sort of thing that is fairly exposed, so changing and vocal warm ups are a bit weird as well.
Bottom line – I wouldn’t recommend this venue to a touring band and its a damn shame, because it’s such an interesting space and it has so much potential.

I don’t mind this place, and my friends band plays here pretty often so I go a lot. The bar is fine, the bartenders have always been courteous, but I also had a terrible experience with the bouncer/​guy who harassed us on the outside patio. I am so surprised that the management has failed to address this given that there are many review mentioning this specific employee.
I walked outside and stood for a moment before the huge door started to open and I thought to myself, as most humans would, «Maybe I shouldn’t stand here.»
«DON’T STAND BEHIND THE DOOR!» he literally yelled, then less than a second later he had his hands on me, SHOVING ME AWAY from the door.
I told him I don’t like to be touched, and that his actions were unnecessary and he looked me UP AND DOWN in a very intimidating way, and pushed the door wide open, letting it touch the wall, where my other male friend was standing.
The same employee came out later and yelled at my friend for standing against the door that the EMPLOYEE HIMSELF HAD OPENED. We aren’t drunk idiots, we are humans who are 2 beers in MAYBE and this man is extremely aggressive.
Later, when the bar was closing, this same employee busted out the door to the back patio to yell at us to leave, there were maybe 10 people out there. I get that you’re closed, we all do. We have ALL worked at restaurants and bars and most of us haven’t been rude, sexist, threatening assholes about it.
He opened the door really hard, and the bottom of the door cut my friend’s foot, it was bleeding and she said, «That hurt, you hurt me.» And he said, «YEAH IT DID.»
I’m planning on talking to someone about this issue, if the management doesn’t care, and it seems likely, I’ll find someone else to mention it to. This aggression will not stand, man.

Unique venue. I really enjoyed the atmosphere at this place. Felt very intimate and there was a really cool lounge with bar. I would totally suggest going here to listen to music and hang out with friend. I had a great time.

The Bootleg has one of the nicest staffs of any smaller venue in the LA area. Actually, scratch that. They have THE nicest staff of any smaller venue in the LA area. The Roxy’s staff are generally dickbags (tbh), and it’s almost like the Bootleg is the exact opposite. It’s old, worn in, and comfortable.
I wish they served mixed drinks. However, you get a good selection of beer. They have gluten free options, too. A small selection of wine, but it’s solid. You can also snag juice, green tea, and a few other goodies. Drinks are well priced.
The sound system is pretty good. I love the vibe there, it’s not awkwardly packed or abundantly overdone. It’s just a great, chill vibe. The Bootleg really makes it about the music.
They’re only losing a star because I can’t get a vodka tonic there. What can I say, I’m a stickler.

Ok. To begin, I absolutely love the venue. Extremely intimate, great beer selection, friendly bartenders… I would and want to give you 5 stars. But this review is specifically for your sound guy.
After the show last night, I was outside on the patio when he came out and was talking crap about the artist. Endlessly, loud, obnoxiously. Defaming her character around her fans.
It was so unprofessional and extremely rude…
I waited years to see a great artist preform and other than leaving the show happy I left so grossed out by this arrogant asshole.

Had a great experience with the Bootleg Bar and Theater! I accidentally purchased a non-​refundable ticket to a show on a day I already had plans on. I contacted the venue and they easily transferred my ticket to a different show last night. They were very polite and wanted to help me find a solution, which is more than I could have asked for.
I saw Meiko last night and it was a great show! They have two stages: One small stage at the entrance and the main stage in the back of the building. They had bleacher style seating at the back of the main room with comfortable seats and also had a reasonably large open space for standing and dancing, which was great because I really wanted to sit down last night. They had a bar at the small stage and a bar at the main stage. They also have a nice patio for smokers and 2 clean, single use bathrooms. I also noticed they had another bar type area that was not in use behind the smaller stage. Overall, it was a great venue for those intimate shows that you are looking for with the type of music they bring in. It was not hard to find street parking at all, which is not easy in LA.
I would definitely recommend going to this venue and with their easy to use website, I will definitely be browsing through their website for future shows to come!

Great time last night! I was happy to see such great beers on tap and bottle!
Love playing ping pong! And so I did :)
Rested on couches in that same front room. Very comfy.
Amazing artists !
There’s a few stages. One of them had theatre chairs.
Nice and air conditioned.
Really comfortable.
My favorite artist /​band was Alexa Melo
Only beer and wine here. I like that at these types of venues; more mellow vibe.
The bathroom situation is horrific. There was only one toilet that I saw …(there may be more.)
When I finally got in there, the toilet was leaking all over the floor. Yeah, no flushing. I took a picture.
Bootleg: Really? Please, more toilets! And ones that work! The line of girls and guys were depressing. We’d rather be watching the shows, playing ping pong, and drinking our beer than waiting in line for a restroom!
Great place otherwise. I’ll be back. Just won’t drink as much so I won’t need to go to that bathroom! ;-)

Located in somewhat of a desolate area in a nondescript warehouse is the DIY looking Bootleg Bar.
Don’t let first impressions trick you though, this place is pretty sweet inside. Huge stage with an outstanding sound system. Nice bar towards the back serving a lot of craft favorites. They also have a pretty nice courtyard behind the building where you can have a smoke or catch some fresh air between sets. Other than the one douchy security guard, everyone seemed pretty low key.
I would definitely go to shows here if I lived in the LA area. Easy street parking too.

I’ve been here for a couple shows. Local Natives in 2010 and Polyphonic Spree on July 15, 2014. Laid-​back, intimate venue in a supposedly sketchy, up-​and-​coming part of town. I like it doesn’t have that whole clubby nor VIP-​get-​special-​treatment BS sort of vibe you get at certain venues *cough** **Sunset Strip** *cough*
I parked on the street for free, but there is a parking lot across the street that charges $ 5. No one checked my bag, but the door guy does check & scan IDs.
The bigger theater has seating! However the GA floor is in front of the seats. So if you sit down, your view will be blocked unless you sit at a seat far enough up to see over the heads of people on the floor. But why would you want to be that far from the artist?
Drinks were reasonably priced which is remarkable for a music venue. When my friend went to get a drink, he said the bartender gave him beer samples which is even MORE remarkable.
For Polyphonic Spree, I easily got to the front of the stage which turned out to be too close. Up-​the-​nose isn’t the greatest view :(There was no barrier next to the stage so no security guard in the way between you and the band.
After the show, you can walk to the 24-​Hour Subway or Winchells a block away for after-​concert eats.

Good place to see a band. Nice little patio area outside. Parking at the church is fine, a little hairy crossing the street — but we survived!
Nice beer selection at reasonable prices. Unisex bathroom in the front. Good sound

I really enjoyed my time at Bootleg Bar & Theater. I came in to see Joomanji and tickets were $ 14 at the door, $ 12 online, and $ 11 dollars with Unilocal’s check-​in deal.
I liked the layout of the venue because it gave you different options. It looked like there were two main rooms with stages. There were also two bars. One bar seemed to have a bigger offering than the other. They serve beer, wine, but I don’t think they have any hard liquor. I did like that they have a few unique drinks like Tecate with tapatio, lime, and tamarind.
Parking
They have a parking lot attracted to the venue but it seems to be used for the bands that are playing. They do have a lot located across the street though.
Overall
Not a bad place to go if you want to get out of the house and still have a mellow night.
Tip
They have a photobooth for $ 3 but it does take forever
They have an outdoor patio for smoking

What a quaint little venue. Bootleg doubles as a lowkey bar and venue that delivers in most all aspects. From t he outside it looks very ordinary, but onc e you step inside, it proves to be an extremly clean venue, and it looks rather lofty. Very cozy, with edison style lighting and candles for a touch of warmth. The bar is off to the left, I didn’t have any drinks as they only serve wine and beer (I’m more of a hard alcohol kinda girl) but each patron seemed pleased with service and selection.
As you walk further in you can see about a dozen tables set up in front of a small stage, that was presenting comics on the particular night I attended. If you take a right you will see a door that looks like it leads outside, however, when you step through, there is a bigger stage set up for live bands and artists. It looked to hold about 150 people which is nice. I like venues where its a little more intimate. I was there to see one of my favorites! Natalia Kills. She was awesome and as stated before it was great and intimate!
The staff was so friendly and ever so pleasant. I will be visiting them again this sunday and will be keeping an eye on their calendar for upcoming talent/​shows.
Overall, I was very pleased with this venue, service, location, and parking! They have $ 5 parking across the street behind the church which is super cheap, and they DO NOT charge a cover fee. Yay!
The only downfall about this place is that they only serve beer and wine, however, judging by the kind of crowd inhabiting the bar, it is a lot more of a relaxing type of environment rather than crazy, get drunk off your ass place. Otherwise, Bootleg Delivered, and I wish to see them continue to thrive!

Really cool loft NYC style venue. I recently came here for the Strictly Social 6 year anniversary and really enjoyed myself. The line wasn’t long, we found street parking so we didn’t have to pay and the interior is pretty cool. High ceilings, pool table, TWO bars and brick walls. I’m a sucker for brick walls… is that weird?
One thing I don’t like is that towards the end of the night, the bathroom was horrendous. The toilet was filled to the brim clogged with toilet paper and completely out of service. Thank goodness there was another single bathroom.