thumb|right|Largo nightclub exterior (previous location)

Largo, also called Café Largo, Largo, darling!, or Club Largo, is a nightclub and cabaret in Los Angeles, California. Largo is known for its musical and comedy shows and for the Friday night residency of singer-songwriter Jon Brion.

History

Café Largo was founded by Jean-Pierre Boccara, a nightclub entrepreneur, in 1989. Café Largo featured music (including performances by Peter Himmelman, Colin Hay, Victoria Williams, Suzanne Vega, Syd Straw, The Love Jones, Julie Christensen, Hugo Largo, Grant Lee Buffalo, Fiona Apple), cabaret (including performances by Philip Littell, Stephanie Vlahos, Lypsinka, Barry Yourgrau), vaudeville (Les Stevens), comedy (Nora Dunn, Beth Lapides), and spoken word (Tommy Cody, Eve Brandstein, Michael Lally).

The LA Weekly named Café Largo "LA's Best Supper Club" in 1990. The New York Times ran a substantive review "A Place for Poetry in Land of Pictures" on July 12, 1989. Several reviews were published in Newsweek, LA Style, LA Times, Los Angeles, Buzz, Exposure, Movieline, The Edge, Details, Village View, Vogue, Interview, Playboy, and US Magazine. In March 1992, Boccara sold the club to Mark Flanagan and his wife Aimee Cain (international model and of Star Search fame). Flanagan shortened the name to Largo, and his name to simply "Flanagan." Fergus O'Flynn and Joanne McKenna, along with Flanagan, were equal shareholders. Boccara went on to open LunaPark on Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood and operated it from Halloween 1993 to Halloween 2000.

Flanagan began operating Largo in April 1992. (In the 1960s, the Largo, owned by Chuck Landis, was a strip club on Sunset Blvd.) In 1996, Flanagan re-established Largo as an intimate cabaret with live music, mainly in the piano bar tradition. Largo's original location on Fairfax Avenue had 100 seats, with a maximum full capacity of 130, and regularly sold out, with frequent sightings of celebrity musicians and actors in the audience. The club had a strict no talking or cellphone use policy during performances, but allowed audience members to live-blog on their laptops.

Flanagan persuaded Jon Brion to take a regular Friday-night residence at Largo. Brion's contacts brought other singer-songwriters to perform at the club, including Aimee Mann,

Relocation

On June 2, 2008, Flanagan closed the club and moved to the Coronet Theatre on La Cienega Boulevard, renaming it Largo at the Coronet. Jon Brion continues his monthly residency, performing on Friday, usually near the end of each month. He has also begun to incorporate video samples of musicians into his musical performances.

References

  • LAist Interview with Mark Flanagan
  • Jean-Pierre Boccara, Cafe Largo founder
  • Chuck Landis, Veteran Concert Promoter, Dies at Home at 68 – Los Angeles Times