Largo (nightclub)

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Largo nightclub exterior

Largo is a nightclub and cabaret in Los Angeles, CA, known informally as Café Largo^[1] or Club Largo, known for its retinue of musical and comedic performers and for the Friday night "residency" of singer-songwriter Jon Brion, which has made the club a must-visit for fans and professional musicians.^[2] Owner Mark Flanagan, a Belfast native,^[2] founded Largo in the early 1990s with two partners. The club had a moment of notoriety in 1992 when the Jewish Defense League, threatened "trouble" if a planned concert on behalf of Palestinian causes was not canceled; for the safety of patrons, Flanagan complied. In 1995 Flanagan re-established Largo as an intimate cabaret with live music mainly in the piano bar tradition. Largo has 100 seats with a maximum full capacity of 130, and regularly sells out, with frequent sightings of celebrity musicians and actors in the audience.

Flanagan is the business manager for musician-producer Jon Brion and persuaded Brion to take a regular Friday-night residence at Largo. Brion's extensive friendships brought more talented singer-songwriters to perform at the club, notably including Aimee Mann,^[2] Michael Penn, Fiona Apple,^[2] and Elliott Smith. Over the years, the list of semi-regular performers at the club has included Neil Finn,^[2] Mr. E of the Eels, Robyn Hitchcock,^[2] John Doe, Ben Folds,^[2] Grant-Lee Phillips,^[1] Rickie Lee Jones, Rufus Wainwright, Jakob Dylan, Brad Mehldau and Colin Hay.

The typical Largo show involves a mix of music and stand-up comedy. Mann and Penn developed a road show called Acoustic Vaudeville on the Largo format, which they have taken to Chicago and New York. Seinfeld co-creator Larry David is seen performing stand-up comedy at Largo in his 1999 HBO special "Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm". Brion names the genre celebrated by Largo as "unpopular pop", and underlines the emphasis on lyrics with "We're all song sluts here."^[2] Many of the Largo regulars have had infamous histories of albums their labels won't release. Though generally tied together by this common esthetic, performers come from many traditions including country, rock, and cabaret.

Former Toad the Wet Sprocket singer/songwriter Glen Phillips performs regularly and has even recorded a live album Live at Largo at the club. Andy Prieboy developed his musical White Trash Wins Lottery at the club. The band Tenacious D largely got their start at Largo, which in turn launched the career of actor/comedian Jack Black. Dan Finnerty started The Dan Band at Largo, doing monthly shows there before his stints in Old School and Starsky & Hutch. The band Wild Colonials largely got their start at Largo with a successful Tuesday night residency that lasted nine months during 1992/1993. A five track CD of Elliott Smith playing solo at Largo was released in October 2007, accompanying Autumn de Wilde's book, Elliott Smith.