Live Music, Cleveland

The Cleveland Bop Stop is gorgeous!! What a beautiful jazz club! The music is sometimes a little too loud and harsh on the ears with how little the place is, but the music is great! :) I only have been there once but it's got a dark, moody atmosphere with colored lighting and sharp, contrasting, modern archtitecture. A cover is necessary for some, but not all, performances. The menu is small and quite decently priced. Since I'm a non-drinker, I did not stop at the bar, but it looked well-stocked and the service throughout the entire place was fine. You''ll never be seated too far from the bands and there are local and distant artists/bands that visit. The outdoor patio is small but cute; the view is rather engaging, but not the most 'scenic'; you'll be looking over the salt mines and water treatment facility just beyond the Shoreway. Past them, is the lake, which is certainy good to gaze at from the patio.

If you're looking for a swank, hip and fancy night; this place should be seriosuly considered. Since you'll be in the West side of CLE; park at or as near to the club as possible. Seriously, it's not a wholly bad neighborhood, but there's a sigfnificant danger risk.

Dress Code: Formal; no casual wear.

The industrial area along the banks of the Cuyahoga River is called "the flats". This bar IS NOT associated with the obnoxious, expensive bars up the river closer to downtown. It's tucked away at the bottom of the hill on Literary Road, where Tremont meets the Flats. Indie and garage punk are the norm here.....from local talent to established, well-known bands! It's small and stuffy, but we like it that way.

Dress Code: Puh-lease!!!

Once a rundown Croatian Social Hall, now a really cool concert venue!!!! Smaller shows are held in the tavern, while the ballroom is reserved for the bigger crowds. All different types of music.... from punk to blues and heavy metal to rockabilly.
Cheap beer and decent "bar food".

Dress Code: Come as you are!!!

While I am not a fan of thrash music, one night I ventured to a Mushroomhead concert, a Cleveland based group, as my neighbor grew up with one of the band members & it was something to do. The spectacle of this event was unlike anything I had experienced, sort of a blend of Wiemar Berlin & American Nihilism with a decidedly irreverant sex-cult rriotgurl feminist slant ...I admit, I HAD SO MUCH FUN. Intriquing and frightening in it's own way, especially in pre-war Iraq America, as the energy of impending doom was in a weird way, celebrated, as if the ritual of destruction in a club would stave off the reality of war soon to follow. The mosh pit was a most interesting experience I must say. It was my amateur journey into cultural anthropology. See tips for photos.

Dress Code: Slutty or black. Gas masks optional (with hope.)

The Agora Theatre is one of the best palces to see and hear a live music act! Again I traveled to see ekoostik hookah, this time for New Year's Eve. I must say that I never danced so much in my entire life! The acoustics were fantastic and no matter where you were at, you had a view of the stage.
The music this band creates is truly a moving experience. I just can't get enough of them!!

Saw Joe Jackson and Todd Rundgren in the beautiful and well maintained theater. It's a great place for a show and reminiscent of the Beacon Theater in New York.

Another cool music venue. Local, national, and international acts. Cover charge is never too much.

Dress Code: No shirt, no shoes, no service....

Tim Beeman, spinner about town, "Blue Note Jazz"