After all was said and done, yesterday morning's fire in Hollywood severely damaged Basque nightclub and the Blood Shot tattoo parlor. Two other adjacent occupancies of the building sustained moderate damage -- Sandee's shoe repair and the San Miguel Spa and Salon. Of the 180 firefighters who reported to the 5:31 a.m. fire, there were no injuries. For those who think an arsonist is involved in the recent spate of fires, Battalion Chief John Miller,......

The fire at Hollywood and Vine spit flames 40 feet into the air. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) After just under two and one half hours, the fire at Basque nightclub was knocked down by the Los Angeles Fire Department, save for one flare up on a rooftop hotspot fifteen minutes later. At 5:31 a.m. this morning, a 9-1-1 phone call alerted officials to a fire at the building located on the northwest corner of Hollywood......

Update: The fire has been knocked down. Read the update here.A major alarm fire broke out at 5:31 a.m. this morning at the famous corner of Hollywood and Vine in the Basque nightclub space (map below). When firefighters responded, the building was fully engulfed in flames. It is suspected that it started in the attic. At 6:00 a.m., fire fighters went into defensive mode on the exterior of the building. By 7:15 a.m., 115 firefighters......

Earlier this month, we published a story about the Doheny. Due to some scheduling, Caroline on Crack was not able to meet up with a representative of the club to get a detailed tour. In lieu of that, the Doheny submitted some interesting facts and a "for the record" statement. The facts are pretty cool, especially number two: Despite the exclusivity of the club, jeans are actually allowed. To quote the Doheny staff, "There will......

This week Zach Behrens became the sixth editor of LAist. Behrens is no stranger to LAist staff or readers -- he was Co-Editor for nearly a year before taking the reins from Tony Pierce and contributed more than 1100 posts since 2005. We asked Zach a variety of questions to put in perspective how and why he came to be editor of the best city blog this side of the Hudson. Andy: When and why......

"Sticky Honey" - Juliette and The Licks Juliette and the Licks @ The Roxy (LAist says: "a can't miss tonight") Shonen Knife @ The Glass House John Mayer @ NOKIA Theater LA Live Stay Fucked, Good For Cows, Grandpire @ The Smell Tea Leaf Green @ The Troubadour Rocky Dawuni, Leon Mobley, Da Lion, DJ Nnamdi Moweta @ Temple Bar Joe Baiza Congress Of, Fatso Jetson, Half Assteroids, Scrappers, Not in the House @......

MUSIC: CalTech isn’t just about nerdy rocket scientists. They have glee clubs, too! All kidding aside, tonight's concert will feature traditional holiday favorites as well as the Women's Club taking on Porpora’s Magnificat, written in the 1730s. 8 pm // Dabney Lounge at California Institute of Technology // 1200 East California Blvd., Pasadena // Free. DANCE: From CalTech, we’ll head over to CalArts in Valencia. The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance is holding its......

Everyone has a guilty pleasure when it comes to terrible movies (mine is Autumn in New York--don't ask). Tonight at the glorious old Vista in Los Feliz, the good people from the So Bad It's Good Film Fest will be screening one of the true standards of the genre: Road House. Patrick Swayze stars as James Dalton, a "cooler" who is brought in to tame the rowdy Double Deuce bar in Jasper, Missouri where......

In the 80s, I kind of felt like I was living in the Twilight Zone. Particularly the episode where everyone thinks people with pig faces are beautiful. Back then, people were wearing asymmetrical everything, giant hair, giant shoulderpads, giant polkadots, and dayglo colors to complement the ultrathick, bushy eyebrows. My mother would try to force these horrible clothes on me in the dressing room, and it was as if they were burning my skin.......

Despite all the competition that's around it and new clubs that are constantly popping up, the Roxy has continued to be a major player in the LA rock club scene. It was just a year ago yesterday that the Red Hot Chili Peppers played a rockin show at the classic venue - and not only was LAist there, but we gave out a dozen free tickets to lucky wieners. Keeping the hope alive, the......

I have an interesting story involving Battles, New York's new experimental tech-rock sensations. It was March of this year, and I had traveled to Europe to film a project that I had been working on. My travel cohort and I made a stop in Amsterdam, where I decided that it would be a great idea to combine various hallucinogens that the city had to legally offer. I'm a relatively tranquil individual, so I naturally......

Like Jim Morrison before him, Ian Curtis exists in the mind's eye as more of an idea than a real person. Certainly, his early death contributes mightily to this perception. Anton Corbijn's Control, however, rescues him from the murky fog of legend and restores him to a state of full humanity. It is, simply, a remarkable film, as much for what it is as for what it is not. It resists the temptation towards......

Every Friday, LAist is taking you on a trip down to Orange County to uncover the unique dining experiences that await adventurous eaters willing to explore beyond the county line. This month, LAist has brought you daily coverage of some of LA’s finest late night dining spots from all over the Southland. So we’d be remiss if we didn’t throw in at least one spot from OC. Some of you readers that have probably......

Andy Milonakis jumped into public consciousness after making some freestyle rap videos on the web, which led to him appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and then getting his own MTV program. Andy's come full circle and is currently at work on a full length rap album, but despite all he's accomplished so far he remains hard on himself for not doing more. Milonakis finds inspiration in his roommate, a newcomer to the industry who......

You can tell when a performer has that "it" factor about them, that indescribable thing that makes them irresistible to watch. Jenny Lewis, front woman of Rilo Kiley, most definitely has "it." The looks, the voice, the charm and the confidence and it helps when you have a band, especially a guitarist and musician as talented as Blake Sennet, behind you. Monday night's return of Rilo Kiley home after months of touring showed a......

Did you know you can still get tickets for Monday night's Rilo Kiley show at the Santa Monica Civic? Do you know why you can still get tickets for the show? Because it's in Santa Monica. And when the people of Santa Monica aren't trying to destroy old trees and houses, they're looking for things to do Other than see great rock shows. Let's think of things they do on the Westside other than......

Korea Town is a busy place, my friends, let me tell ya. There's bars and clubs galore here in K-town, insanity going on at all hours of the night, and when my Korean brothas and sisters are done drinking for the night, and are ready for something greasy or refreshing -- I could only imagine that they'd hit this house, the house of Nak Won.......

Disneyland in Anaheim may have the exclusive and secret Club 33, but your chances of experiencing it is slim -- you've got to have the money, the "in" and the location (above the Blue Bayou, look for the door with the number 33 on it, then knock, someone might open it up... and yes, when we ate there, it was damn good). That's why Disney World in the "other" Orange County is much better......

When your husband is in four bands, you become kind of selective about going to his gigs. But when a show is going to be at Safari Sam's, I always say yes. Because I know I'm going to have a good time and leave well-fed. I really like the club's layout. There is a large hall for watching the bands, and the outdoor smoking area is like being at a cocktail party. My favorite......

Alright, fine. Maybe I am just another drunk girl stumbling down the street every time that I want to go to Greco’s New York Pizzeria. Maybe the urge for the cheesy goodness, the massive slices, and the dripping grease does only strike when my blood alcohol level rivals that of a bottle of tequila. Maybe that’s true, but that didn’t stop me from giving Greco’s the benefit of the doubt as I walked in,......

When Crazy Girls closed down about two years ago, it flooded the market with bikini dancers and ended a great run as one of the older strip clubs in Hollywood. Presumably, that was it for them, leaving Jumbo’s Clown Room and Cheetah’s to pick up the slack. But two weeks ago, the neon signs turned back on, and Crazy Girls opened its doors again. During its hiatus, management changed hands, and as I found......

Call this number and give them some money right now! 310-338-5958. Or do it online! Come on, who doesn't want a KXLU toothbrush? It could be yours for a measly 5-dollar donation. When have you ever even seen a black toothbrush before? How much cooler could a toothbrush get? Not good enough for you? You need a reason? Alright, fine. Then you force my hand. I'm going to make you listen to a scary,......

If you go as far west as you can in West Hollywood on Santa Monica Blvd., right before you wind up in Beverly Hills you will see the Troubadour - one of the most famous rock clubs in the world - established in 1957. Home of the Eagles, Jackson Browne, Elton John, and Linda Ronstadt in the '60s and '70s, the warm, rich club also saw the likes of Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and......

Jason Bentley spends four nights a week in the basement studios of KCRW at Santa Monica College. 20 years ago that was virtually the job description of a DJ, but Jason's one of those DJ that didn't exist 20 years ago. He's as likely to be found talking music on the radio as he is to be spinning to four city block's worth of dancing revelers in downtown Los Angeles. If you've enjoyed "Metropolis"......

So I have this pretty fun tradition (aside from Three Rivers in the holidays), of going camping at Two Harbors on Catalina Island every Labor Day Weekend. The tradition originally began as a Jugglers' Festival, oddly enough, of which I was only a part due to my friend and her husband who are amateur jugglers, and because they are friends with some fairly accomplished ones. There was a juggling volleyball game on one of......

If you keep walking west down Hollywood Blvd past the nonsense of Hollywood & Highland, past the tourist and super heroes at the Chinese Theater and down the next block, you will find the Knitting Factory, tucked away beneath what was once a movie theater. Boasting three stages and tons of bands every night, the Knitting Factory comes to us via New York and has hosted some shows this year that LAist had a great......

1. Go running on Los Feliz Blvd in the evenings, to get the anger out. (It's well-lit, fairly level, and a little exhilarating with all the cars rushing by. Just mind the sprinklers at 8.) 2. Hang out in Studio City or Burbank, etc. There's something oddly cheerful and reliable about that area. 3. Make frequent, unapologetic Pinkberry and gelato trips. 4. Go to the Griffith Observatory and see the Planetarium. That is some uplifting......

Back Door Slam, the group I swooned over at the House of Blues last month and saw again at Lollapalooza earlier this month, is coming back to L.A. for a show at the Troubadour Wednesday, August 29. In anticipation of this momentous occasion -- is that overstating it? -- I talked to lead man Davy Knowles. Apparently his girlfriend read the review I wrote of their show and was a little concerned that I......

Things got off to a rocky start between us and TD Camp. We think he possibly knee-jerk reacted to our review of the new album "From The Ground Up" (see the comments), and wanted to give the San Francisco native a chance to tell his side. Bored Stiff's album comes out today, click here to check it, blah blah blah... OK! here's the interview: LAist: Whats life like as a musician/record label owner? TD Camp:......

Maxwell Lemuel Roach was born on Jan 10, 1924 in New Land, NC. He would go on to become one of the all-time great masters of rhythm. Max Roach's command of instrument, and his musicality as a drummer -- anchored and accelerated the evolution of jazz and moreover everything that is good music. A primary catalyst of the progression of bebop to hard bop -- Max Roach made the drums the hottest instrument on......