Club Deluxe (2009)

The missus and I stepped out last night for a drink or two and some offline social networking. Posed with the challenge of what to do with a Saturday night in San Francisco, I hit my usual web resources and saw that a friend was scheduled to play the Club Deluxe on Haight Street. I have performed at the small bar/nightclub off and on for the past 10 years or so, often holding down a residency gig there. It hasn't changed...much. Well to be fair (and to reveal one of it's more appealing attributes), Club Deluxe seemingly hasn't changed since it was opened in 1949. I first visited the club in early 1992 to see the Royal Crown Revue in one of their earliest San Francisco performances and it was my first introduction to "swank".

Well, the Deluxe is still swinging. The last couple of times I have been in the club I have spoken with it's owner who tells me crowds are good and steady these days. Live music (mostly jazz, mostly straight-ahead) is fairly consistent Thursday through Sunday nights and because of the the closure of several other notable jazz venues in the City you are just as likely to hear some local "A Listers" as you are to hear anyone else.

Spending a couple of hours there last night reminded me why I have frequented this bar for so long as well as keep returning to perform there, the latter of which I plan to do so again soon.

Now about those WPA-style murals on the walls...oh OK, another post for another time...