The Hong Kong Cafe
425 Gin Ling Way
Looking at the former Hong Kong Cafe
2008 photo: tlc
The Hong Kong Cafe existed from about June 1979 to early 1981.
It officially opened its stage to punk/rock music on June 5th, 1979.
L.A. Times - June 11, 1979
High Energy at Hong Kong Cafe
by Richard Cromelin
Excerpt from article
The Hong Kong Cafe fiercely competed with Madame Wong's for booking the best bands and attracting the largest crowds.The Hong Kong Cafe, just a few pogo-hops away from the prosperous Madame Wong's in Chinatown, entered the local-bands fray last week, and its first weekend show yielded both positive and negative results.The Hong Kong welcomes some of the bands rejected by Wong's as too rowdy - among them the Alley Cats and the the Bags, who played Friday. Nor is there an age limit. Accordingly, the energy and mayhem levels were high on Friday, and were further compressed and intensified by the room's small size.Brawling, careening participants jammed the floor in front of the stage, and if you chose not to enter the fray, you could catch only a glimpse of the band through an occasional gap between flying bodies. Sound was adequate, but seemed somewhat muffled by the crowd.
Former Madame Wong's (green building) looking towards the former Hong Kong Cafe (red building)
2008 photo: tlc
Looking across courtyard from the former Madame Wong's
to the former Hong Kong Cafe
to the former Hong Kong Cafe
The Go-G0's frequently played at the Hong Kong Cafe
(Madame Wong would not book girl singers or bands)
(Madame Wong would not book girl singers or bands)
Los Angeles Times - July 24, 1979
Plugz, GoGos at Hong Kong Cafe
by Kristine McKenna
Excerpt from article
It was muggy and packed in the Hong Kong Cafe Friday night. Plainclothes cops were on the prowl for underage drinkers, all of which aided in charging up the already high-spirited crowd that turned out to see local champs the Plugz. The group has become as dependable as taxes, always delivering an impeccably professional, heartfelt dose of rock.The Plugz turned in a gripping set, but we've come to expect that. The real news of the evening was opening act the GoGos. When the GoGos debuted six months ago all it had going for it was its all-girl novelty status and lots of enthusiasm. It's since grown up into a fine rock band. Friday's show introduced a better repertoire of material, a new drummer (Gina Schock -a feisty addition), and revealed the group to be steadily gaining control of its instruments. Guitar leads are still a bit ragged but no matter - it it's managed to come this far in six months its future looks more than good.The GoGos short-term master of the basic Chuck Berry cum punk shtick is impressive; however, its ace in the hole is its attitude, refreshingly free of the chip-on-the-shoulder butch stance commonly assumed by women rockers. The GoGos don't trade on their girlish charms, but neither do they deny them. They're young and cute and enjoy being cute.The focal point of the five-girl crew is lead singer Belinda Carlisle, an energetic beauty with bee-stung lips and a Monroe-esque vulnerability. Carlisle's voice is adequate, but her charm as a performer lies in revealing that she cares.
The Hong Kong Cafe closed it doors to music in January of 1981.
Los Angeles Times - January 18, 1981
L.A. Beat: The Hong Kong's Swan Song
By Terry Atkinson
Excerpt from article
The Hong Kong Cafe, a key center of anction in L.A.'s rock renaissance since early 1979, closed its doors for good after its New Year's Eave show - a victim of the rapidly changing scene it helped to promote.Situated in the upstairs rooms of a Chinatown restaurant across a courtyard fromrival Madame Wongs, the exotically decorated club was the focal point of the new-wave movement's/ experimental hard core during its thriving first year of operation.When the larger, more established Starwood and Whisky clubs in West Hollywood began to lure away the top drawing act of this school, however, the lineups at the Hong Kong weren't as potent. A typical night at the club in late 1980 would find three unknown bands of unpredictable styles and quality playing.
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1 comment:
I remember going to the hong kong one fall night in '79. I think the Circle Jerks, Middle Class and the Alley Cats were on the bill. Santa ana winds were blowing and it was an enormous crowd vying for entry. The stairs leading up to the music was totally jammed. Some people were crowd surfing their way up the stairs. My friends and I found a more novel way to enter via crawling up the downspout on the outside of the building and in through the corner window. I got briefly hassled by the cops alleging under age drinking but was allowed to stay and caught a great show. The "stage" consisted of a 4" riser so you were able to literally touch the band or if real lucky be bathed in the vocalists spittle as they growled out the lyrics. FAN-tastic!
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