The History of The Masque In Los Angeles, USA Venue
The Masque was a legendary music venue located at 6655 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, that played an important role in the development of the city's punk rock and new wave scenes in the 1970s and 1980s. It was originally a burlesque theater known as the Gayety burlesque and later, the Palms burlesque.
History:
Early Years (1960s):
- The venue initially hosted burlesque shows and live music performances.
- In the early 1960s, it began to attract a younger crowd interested in rock and roll and psychedelic music.
The Strip (1970s):
- In 1972, the venue was renamed The Masque and relocated to 8179 Santa Monica Boulevard.
- It quickly became a hub for Los Angeles' punk rock scene.
- Notable acts that performed at The Masque during this time included The Ramones, The Germs, X, Black Flag, and The Go-Gos.
Move to Hollywood and Rise of New Wave (1977):
- In 1977, The Masque moved to its final location at 6655 Hollywood Boulevard.
- This era saw the emergence of new wave music, and The Masque became a premier venue for showcasing these artists.
- Bands like Blondie, Devo, The B-52's, Talking Heads, and Iggy Pop graced the stage during this time.
Punk and Hardcore Era (1980s):
- In the early 1980s, The Masque's focus shifted back towards punk rock and hardcore.
- Bands like Fear, The Circle Jerks, The Dead Kennedys, and The Misfits performed there regularly.
- The venue also hosted legendary shows featuring artists like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and SSD.
Decline and Closure (Late 1980s):
- As the 1980s progressed, The Masque began facing financial difficulties.
- The rise of larger venues and changing musical tastes contributed to its decline.
- In 1989, The Masque officially closed its doors.
Legacy:
- The Masque played a crucial role in nurturing and showcasing some of the most influential bands of the punk rock, new wave, and hardcore scenes.
- It provided a platform for these artists to gain exposure and connect with their fans.
- Many musicians and music enthusiasts regard The Masque as a pivotal venue that helped shape the Los Angeles music scene.
Bands That Played The Masque In Los Angeles, USA
- Black Flag
- Circle Jerks
- Fear
- Germs
- Minutemen
- Redd Kross
- The Go-Go's
- The Replacements
- X
- The 45 Grave
- Social Distortion
- The Blasters
- The Cramps
- The Dead Kennedys
- The Dwarves
- The Fuzztones
- The Gun Club
- The Meat Puppets
- The Pandoras
- The Plugz
- The Raincoats
- The Reivers
- The Seeds
- The Sonics
- The Urinals
- The Viletones
- The Weirdos
- 45 Grave
- 400 Blows
- Adolescents
- Agent Orange
- Alice Bag Band
- All
- Angry Samoans
- Bad Religion
- The Bags
- Battle of the Bands
- Beastie Boys
- Big Boys
- Biff Bang Pow!
- Black Randy and the Metrosquad
- Bleached
- The Blasters
- Blood on the Saddle
- Blue Cheer
- Bo Diddley
- The Boils
- Bomp! Records Showcase
- The Brains
- The Breakaways
- The Briefs
- The Brood
- The Butthole Surfers
- Café Society
- The Call
- The Candysnatchers
- The Catholics
- Channel 3
- Cheech & Chong
- The Cheifs
- Chelsea
- The Chesterfield Kings
- Chris Isaak
- The Circle Jerks
- The Clitboys
- The Clovers
- The Coasters
- The Cold
- Concrete Blonde
- The Continental Drifters
- The Controllers
- The Cramps
- The Crazy Horse
- The D-Day Surfers
- The Daily Planet
- The Dambuilders
- The Damned
- The Darlings
- Dead Kennedys
- The Deadbeats
- The Dead Milkmen
- The Deadbeats
- The Deviants
- Devo
- The Dickies
- Dinosaur Jr.
- The Dinettes
- The Dils
- The Distillers
- The Divinyls
- The Dwarves
- The Dream Syndicate
- The Driscolls
- The Dusters
- The Effigies
- The Eggmen
- The Elevators
- The Enemies
- The Event
- The Ex
- The Exploited
- The Eyes
- The F-105s
- The Femmes
- The Final Conflict
- The Flamin' Groovies
- The Flesh Eaters
- The Fleshtones
- Flipper
- The Fluid
- The Flyboys
- The Forbidden
- The Fuzztones
- The G-Clefs
- The Gap Band
- The Gaylords
- The Geisha Girls
- The Germs
- The Geza X
- The Giant Sand
- The Gits
- The Go-Go's
- The Godfathers
- The Golden Earring
- The Goldenrods
- The Groovie Ghoulies
- The Gun Club
- The H-Bombs
- The Haggis Horns
- Happy Mondays
- The Hard-Ons
- The Hated
- The Heartbreakers
- The Hellacopters
- The Hidden
- The Hong Kong Cavaliers
- The Hookers
- The Horrors
- The Humpers
- The Illuminati
- The Imposter
- The Infections
- The Inflatables
- The Injections
- The Insect Surfers
- The Interns
- The Intruders
- The Invisible Man Band
- The Iowans
- The Jetzons
- The Jim Carroll Band
- The Jitterbugs
- The Joy Buzzards
- The Junkyard Dogs
- The Jars of Clay
- The King Bees
- The Kinks
- The Knitters
- The Kommunity FK
- The Korrupted
- The Kryngle Brothers
- The L.A. Guns
- The Leaving Trains
- The Lemonheads
- The Libertyーンズ
- The Lifers
- The Lilys
- The Line 6
- The Lords of the New Church
- The Love Exchange
- The Loved Ones
- The Lurkers
- The Lyres
- The Make-Up
- The Malaysians
- The Malignants
- The Manson Family
- The Manic Street Preachers
- The March Violets
- The Marked Men
- The Mars Volta
- The Mau-Mau's
- The Meat Puppets
- The Mekons
- The Members
- The Meteors
- The Mighty Lemon Drops
- The Minutemen
- The Midgets
- The Miracle Workers
- The Misfits
- The Mission UK
- The Mummies
- The Music Machine
- The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo
- The Nautical Almanac
- The Negatives
- The Nervous Gender
- The New Bomb Turks
- The New Christs
- The New Creatures
- The New Order
- The New Pornographers
- The Nick Lowe Band
- The Nightcrawlers
- The Nuns
- The Oblivians
- The Occult
- The Odd Numbers
- The Offspring
- The Ones
- The Only Ones
- The Orange
- The Original Sinners
- Our Lady Peace
- The Pagans
- The Pandoras
- The Partridge Family
- The Penetrators
- The Perverts
- The Phantom Surfers
- The Pink Fairies
- The Pixies
- The Plugz
- The Pogues
- The Police
- The Pretenders
- The Primitives
- The Proclaimers
- The Psychedelic Furs
- The Q-Tips
- The Queers
- The Ramones
- The Rancid
- The Rattles
- The Raw Power
- The Real Kids
- The Reatards
- The Red Kross
- The Replacements
- The Revillos
- The Rhino 39
- The Roky Erickson Band
- The Romantics
- The Roommates
- The Runaways
- The S.F. Seals
- The Sadistic Mika Band
- The Saints
- The Satelliters
- The Savage Republic
- The Scabs
- The Screamers
- The Seeds
- The Selecter
- The Senders
- The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
- The Serpents
- The Shaggs
- The Shadows
- The Shangri-Las
- The Sharks
- The Shivers
- The Shondes
- The Shook Ones
- The Shrubs
- The Simpletones
- The Sinners
- The Skeptics
- The Skids
- The Sleaford Mods
- The Slickee Boys
- The Slow Children
- The Smith Westerns
- The Soft Boys
- The Sonics
- The Sonics
- The Spacemen 3
- The Specials
- The Spitters
- The Spits
- The Sports
- The Squids
- The Standells
- The Star Spangled Banner
- The Starfires
- The Statler Brothers
- The Steady
- The Stems
- The Strange Boys
- The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs
- The Suburbs
- The Suicide Machines
- The Sunnyboys
- The Supersuckers
- The Swindles
- The Tabby Thompsons
- The Targets
- The Telescopes
- The Ten Speed
- The Tens
- The Terrorgruppe
- The Texacali Horns
- The This Heat
- The Three O'Clock
- The Thunderbolts
- The Tibbs
- The Ticks
- The Time
- The Ting Tings
- The Ting Tings
- The Tone-Benders
- The Top
- The Trashmen
- The Tremeloes
- The Triffids
- The True Believers
- The Tuxedos
- The U-Men
- The Urinals
- The Vains
- The Varukers
- The Vaselines
- The Velvet Crush
- The Ventures
- The Vibrators
- The Victims
- The Viletones
- The Virgin Lovers
- The Voidoids
- The Wackers
- The Weirdos
- The Whitecaps
- The White Cross
- The White Stripes
- The Who
- The Willows
- The Wimps
- The Woggles
- The Wolfmen
- The X
- The Young Marble Giants
- The Young Offenders
- The Zeros
- Zoogz Rift