The Derby Club

The Derby was an institution and had an awesome atmosphere… HOWEVER, the former owner (some British guy) was a complete jerk-​off. He often treated the bands that played there like shit and behaved erratically, belligerently and rudely. I can only imagine the main reason The Derby eventually went down the tubes is due to his gross mismanagement. While I miss The Derby, I definitely DON’T miss him.

I think maybe I was just here on an off night — I’m willing to give the Derby another shot, but the last Saturday night I spent here was lame, lame, lame. The place was dead, and everyone was dressed like they just got off their shift at Dennys. Which is perfectly fine, but if that’s the case — don’t charge a cover.
Like everyone says, the interior is interesting. But it feels like the inside of a barn when no one is here.
I hate to say it, but this place has the vibe of a club that used to be cool and is past its prime.

I came here last month to support a friend of a friend’s band. I’m happy I did, I’ve always passed by the Derby on my way to Glendale, but I never got the chance to peek inside. This place has a very charming feel to it. Plush interior, high ceiling, fun lighting, booths and a bar smack dab in the middle. Good music venue, I was jammin’ in the front with the band. Not terribly much to complain about, I expected the cover charge and parking wasn’t so bad (we found street parking so we didn’t have to deal with valet).
But, according to the LA Times, the Derby is to close soon? Such a shame, I was looking forward to another visit :(

I was here once years ago and it was a hip, classy place with live music and swing dancing.
However, I went last Saturday night for a friend’s birthday and it was pretty horrible. There was a $ 10 cover charge for a pretty mediocre DJ that spun hip-​hop and Latin music. It was «18 and over» night, so I felt really old. Too much bumping and grinding for my taste.
The best part of the evening was the brawl that broke out between two rival groups of thugs. It got ugly and they cleared the place out. I guess the security pat-​down on the way in wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

People seem to like the Derby, and I can understand why. It’s a fun place, the staff is friendly, and it’s not too expensive. But it doesn’t quite have the charm of places where I really love going. But I’ll freely admit that that could be a result of my not going enough to really develop a relationship with it as a club.
I’ve seen a lot of really good shows there, and the talent that graces the stage is more often than not on the way to warranting bigger venues. The atmosphere inside is good combination of a Hollywood scene-​ish club and a place where I would actually like to spend time (take a burn, Hollywood). I was never a frequent visitor, but I’ll be sad to see its doors close next week. Au revoir, Derby.

I went to see my friend’s band play in a battle of the bands. The inside setup is pretty nice. Sound system was great. I can’t comment on the prices, since we had coupons for free drinks, but the atmosphere was good. It is, however, very difficult to get a bartender’s attention when you want to order. It took me almost 45 minutes to get a drink.
The downside is that they don’t open until 8, so our group was stuck waiting outside. Also, the entrance is difficult to find. It’s an obscure, dingy, staircase that leads to what looks like a side door and they don’t light the sign until they open up. Once they do open there is a line.
$ 10 for parking is a bit much. That’s what I have to pay on the random occasion that I try to part at my office building in the heart of downtown.

Two stages with live music on Tuesdays
Drink Prices are far (about six dollars a beer)

I feel really bad for anyone that has to play here. I get the same feeling when I know someone is going to college for the first time and choosing to live in the dorm. They just don’t know. If you are playing here, you don’t know any better. They had a petition to «save» this place a few years ago, but I’m sorry that the petition apparently won. Sometimes the best solution is to just nuke the village.
Even so, if your friend’s band is playing here, you should go support. After all, you’ll need someone to sop up your goo when you come down with Alzheimers.

The 1 star review is for the CURRENT incarnation of the Derby, under new ownership for the past 3 – 4 years. I used to come here 3−4x/week back in the mid 90s at it’s peak, thanks to the movie Swingers. The old classic Derby had swing every nite of the week and it was great coming and knowing a big chunk of the crowd. For me I really liked this place in the early 2000s when the crowds died down and they added a rockabilly nite on sundays and thursdays.
After one of the owners Tammi died suddenly the club was sold off (for a while the club was planning to turn into a condo or something but it was saved thru petitions) and the new owners turned it into more of a «typical club» with different genre music each nite and lots of indie bands. Sun nite is still swing/​rockabilly nite, but it’s def lost the energy it had. I came here a few times to check out bands on a fri or sat nite and the place was DEAD. For a while it looked like the club might go bust anytime soon.
The capper on the 1 star review is that my wife and I wanted to get married here since I first saw her at this club many years ago at a rockabilly show, and the person who handles bookings is a disaster. First she is disorganized as hell and it was impossible to get in touch with her and she wouldnt return calls very promptly. It took my father over 5 attempts to reach her at one point then she emails me saying she lost his phone # and could i send it to her again (and again). Finally we had no confidence in her ability to coordinate our event so we went somewhere else that turned out AMAZING (Café Santorini’s Rococo Room in Pasadena).
Then check this out, I get a call from her a few weeks ago saying «hey it’s almost time for your big day, we need to finalize payment to get everything going» and I’m like «WTF are you talking about you dumb bitch, we got married almost a year ago because you’re the most incompetent person I’ve ever dealt with»
This club was once golden, but nowadays I’d say avoid as there are far better places.

Croatian Band was playing here so I’ve decided to go check it out… The main room is taken up by the huge circle bar, all the tables and booths were «reserved» even though they were empty all night, I have no idea what was that about so don’t ask… Stage area and dance floor are very tiny and sound system was really bad for such a huge room, they should do something about that, since it is LA Landmark! I have to admit I liked the way place looked when it was empty, once people start coming in I didn’t like it as much… It was way too hot and sound system was killing me hahaha other than that it was ok I guess! Well I forgot about the bathrooms — very tiny and nasty :(
Lot’s of people showed up for this event and I still didn’t have to wait a long time for my drink, so service wasn’t that bad… three stars it is!

I’ve only been to the Derby for Bridges (the first saturday of the month). They play good old school hip hop/​underground hip hop/​some mainstream and there is usually a house room with house music! duh! haha Spacious bar with booth seating, no vip/​table nonsense! Bathrooms are small though! So ladies, and gentlemen, beware c/​there was even a line to the mens bathroom!
There is a cover and parking is pretty good, valet behind the place ($ 10). Btw, its next to the restaurant Louise’s or something like that. haha.
I highly recommend this place because of the great music, non-​pretentious club/​bar, def not hollywood. You can chill with friends for some drinks, good music and some dancing. This is definitely on my list to come back to.

This place is a good size, with a cool vibe and a ton of potential. I like the main stage area the best, complete with bird perch footrests on the barstools and neat little curtained cubby booth areas. Despite the cool look, they have a pretty unorganized operation and cut off some of the bands’ sets (like in half) — which does not make for a happy camper (especially if you are there for them). I wouldn’t go back unless I knew someone playing there. I would not recommend it if you are looking for a fun hang out or if you have no better reason to go.

They cut off bands early without realizing that the next band didn’t show up. Shame on you, Derby.
With a lot of TLC, perhaps it can someday become the club that it used to be.
There are two rooms, one is the «VIP» room with couches and such, the other is the main stage with booths and too big of a bar. They are understaffed at the bar, but that’s probably because the bar takes up half the room. The sound isn’t wonderful either… and the music they play between acts give me nightmares… and assure that I will be deaf by age 30.
Edit: I forgot to mention their $ 3.50 bottled water. That shit better be from the French Alps!

909 Metal mixed with some honest pop rock.
This place seems to cater to all types of rock music. In the large area where they have that great ovular bar, there was a lot of black and eye make-​up on stage. In the side «lounge» area to the left when you walk into the venue, there more mellow types of rockers. That’s where I was. I really liked the band too. They were called Sink to See.
The bartender was fast, the cover was too high ($ 12) and the parking wasn’t too big of an issue.
Don’t half step. Get your favorite band to book a gig here and then you’ll have a reason to go.

My band played a show here. Things which made me give a low score:
* strict rules were set on ‘load in ½ hour before our set,’ yet they were at least a full band off of schedule meaning we played at 1am to finish just before last call
* $ 10 drinks (no band hook up? WTF)
* Parking, or lack thereof. Sucks for a band to hear with thousands of dollars of equipment in our rig. Related to this topic is the non-​English speaking ‘valet’ car attendants
* No pay. Are you effing kidding me?! It costs over $ 400 to drive down and back to LA — not to get paid is a kick in the balls.
Things which I did like:
* Atmosphere
* Sound guy — probably because he was dating a girl who’s brother I knew, so he turned out to be a nice guy

I didn’t come here for the night club part, i came to see my friends’ band play in the «vip lounge» and it was nott good. the sound in this place sucks. probably because it’s about the size of my living room and has low ceilings. And the whole 1ft stage thing? Reminds me of the Cobalt way too much. and that is DEFinitely not a good thing by any means.
the bathroom sucks. the whole thing is about the size of my shower, yet they somehow managed to squeeze in 2 stalls and 2 sinks? Yet no room for anyone to stand. haha.
At least they had a cute bar. I didn’t get anything to drink, but my friend’s did and said the drinks were alright. whatev. to be honest, i would have rather eaten next door at Louise’s than have payed 10 bucks to get into the Derby haha.
PARKING. so i valet my car and everything’s all good. give him my 10 bucks, whatever. After the show i go to get my car key and the guy (who barley spoke english, by the way) smiles at me as if i’m kidding about coming to get my car. why? oh, because he lost my keys. after me being pissed and yelling at the guy even though he didn’t understand what i was saying, i walk over to my car and the windows are down, doors are unlocked, and my keys are sitting on my seat. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! and they wouldn’t even give me my 10 bucks back. fuck them.
i don’t exactly plan on coming back here unless one of my friends physically drags me. and drives.

I’ve only seen shows in the VIP lounge, but this place is pretty cool. The first time I came here, my boyfriends band had a little problems behind the scenes with setting up and whatnot, but over all, the derby is just a chill place. Full bar, nice couches and chairs… shitty bathroom though.
I’d definitely rather come here than the whiskey or key club to be honest.

Rule # 1: Bartenders being assholes = Bad Bidness.
While enduring an ordinary band playing at extraordinary loudness for such a big room, well, I ain’t talking. Really, I can’t speak over it.
The male bartender bellowed «What to drink?’ and I gave him a gesture of «Uh, wait a couple minutes if you would» He came by less than a minute later (the place was empty), music still beyond loud, and when I tried again to communicate that I can’t/won’t/ yell my drink, he flipped. Got really snotty, «Ohhh, you’re thinking reallllly hard about your drink. Well, you can’t think that hard…» Then he slithered away.
Sorry, dude. I’m not losing my voice before my band comes on. And, it was all I could do to stay. Once the song ended, the female bartender came over, and I ordered my drink.
And, when my band did come on, they were great, but the sound system just wasn’t built for this band– or this room. Crappy mix unless you’ve got plugs or cover your ears. Even after the room filled out into a respectable crowd. And it was great running into friends and hanging out, but really, it’s gonna be awhile before I go back.
Otherwise cool room + Swingers = 2 Stars
UPDATE 5−8−08
The monthly event that brought my band to the Derby has since moved onto to Molly Malone’s. The love keeps overflowing for DC.

Oh my bobby socks this place is fun!
Word to the wise though — never eat here. The wait staff is really bad, and that means a lot coming from me because I say so. But seriously, we were the only people there, it took forever and I got a bowl of minestrone to the lap. The portions are very big but not by any means delectable… plus it’s prices and has a two drink minimum :(
What is AMAZING is the dancing. This little place comes to life after 10pm and it is where you will find this underground community of big band loving, Lindy-​hop doing hopsters. Some of them were so light on their feet I was astonished.
At one point I looked over at the bar and there were two guys in the nicest suits and slickest derby hats. i was temporarily taken back to a jazz bar in the late 40’s early 50’s. If you aren’t the hoppy type, there are swing lessons before hand and like a salsa club, people are all too happy to give you a helping hand.
The band was incredible, too. Very fun departure from the ordinary if you’re not ordinary.
Oh yah — for all you filmies, the movie Swingers was filmed here and I sat in the same booth as Vince Vaughn.

Whenever I’m complaining about the lack of LA clubs with good music, my friend tries to convince me to go to Bridges at The Derby, where they spin the kind of hip hop that will keep your head bobbing and hips gyrating for hours on end.
The problem is, I’m really not cool enough for the people here. While everyone else is standing around the cool breakdancing circle, watching the same two cool b-​boys busting their very cool moves, I’m doing my «special» rendition of the Robot and Running Man to the likes of Kanye West and Terror Fabulous. By the look of disdain on their faces, it’s not very cool at all. Eh, blame it on the free drink tickets if you must.
P. S. — I’ve added an extra star for being the original location for the Swingers movie.