Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Nightclub in Huntington Beach

An anonymous OCThen reader asks if anyone remembers the name of a nightclub in Huntington Beach, about a mile north of the Golden Bear...

I recall a club in Huntington, not far from the GB, but a mile or so north, where Cal Tjader would play his vibraphone frequently. I was there on Halloween about 1976 or 1977. Bonnie Raitt was playing that night and she was amazing. Does anyone remember the name of the club?
Post a comment here, if you know anything.

27 comments:

  1. I lived in H.B. back then but I can't remember a club a mile north of Main St.

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  2. This club might have been in Sunset Beach. I remember it but just can't remember the name. Cal Tjader was a regular performer.

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  3. There was a club in Seal Beach in the 60's and maybe into the 70's called the Cosmos. It was owned by the same man who owned the Golden Bear and the Prison of Socrates in Balboa, George Nikos.
    People often performed at all three over a weekend.

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  4. Its Sam's Seafood! I just drove by there. I think it is finally closed and should have been about 10 years ago.! I celebrated New Years there and I think we went to dinner there for a prom.

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  5. Wasn't Sam's Seafood a large restaurant? I remember a small club across the street from the ocean, I believe just south of Goldenwest. A guy would play some instrument that looked like a piano, but he used sticks with rubber tips to strike the "keys". Don't remember the name of the place. tho.

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  6. What about Peter's Landing???? I remember there was a club there in the 70's...I wasnt old enough to go there...But it seems to be in the spot your speaking of. AND FYI Sams Seafood Has reopened... IHeard the food is better but they have taken out most of the Tiki's.

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  7. I think it was The Wharehouse and later, 70s, something like Hungry Harry's. I remember seeing Harry the Hipster Gibson there; Famous for his hit: "Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs Murphy's Ovaltine?"

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  8. Re: the last post, wasn't The Wherehouse in Lido Village in Newport? And, Harpoon Henry's in still there, isn't it? I too remember a small club on PCH with lots of music filtering in the air. Can't recall the name, tho.

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  9. Club had several names over the years; in the 70s it was called Hungry Jose's, "Cheap food and lousy drinks". Had jazz bands; corner ok PCH and 11th St.

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  10. Yes!! I'm the one who posted the original question in January and "Hungry Jose's" sounds familiar. Was it rather small and not set too far off from the street? Do you remember Cal Tjader frequenting the place? Thanks for responding.

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  11. I think there was a club called Dukes of Huntington in the early 80s.

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  12. i just found this.i lived on 12th & pch.it was hungry joe's,15th/pch.dave pike was house band then circa.1972/3..... SmokeyJO

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    1. I remember Dave Pike at Hungry Joe's. I was visiting from the Midwest in the summer of 1974 but was not old enough to get into the club. I remember being happy to see his name on the marque because I was familiar with the Pike's Peak album w/Bill Evans. Anyway, I was listening to the music in the parking lot through the back door where the stage was. Pike came out after the set to have a smoke and he chatted with me say it was (something explicit) that I couldn't go in to enjoy the show. He had sort of a nervous/impatient demeanor about him.

      Anyway, I'd love to have any photos sent to me from Hungry Joe's: ms.valerie@ymail.com
      Thank you!

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    2. I remember Dave Pike there. I was visiting from the Midwest in the summer of 1974 but was not old enough to get into the club. I remember being happy to see his name on the marque because I was familiar with the Pike's Peak album w/Bill Evans. Anyway, I was listening to the music in the parking lot through the back door where the stage was. Pike came out after the set to have a smoke and he chatted with me say it was (something explicit) that I couldn't go in to enjoy the show. He had sort of a nervous/impatient demeanor about him.

      Anyway, I'd love to have any photos sent to me from Hungry Joe's: ms.valerie@ymail.com
      Thank you!

      Delete
  13. Yes, it was called Hungry Joe's. Great place. It was a tiny club that specialized in jazz (and occasionally blues). You could literally reach out and touch the performers. The last act I saw there was Eddie Harris, and he was nothing short of awesome. 'Cheap Drinks, Lousy Food' was the motto there... although the booze was a bit on the expensive side and their food was actually pretty good.
    @ SmokeyJO: I lived on 11th near PCH in the mid/late 70's. We might have been neighbors. Did you surf 17th Street?

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  14. The Goldenbear was just south of Main st in Huntington Beach For those of you who cant remember ! They tore it down and put up a new building with both a movie house and a new version of GB but they lost out due to the noise ! Its a sad shame that our cities histories our demolished for the sake of $ ! Im a Long Beach resident and they ruined most of the LBC too ! Anybody remember the old A&W rootbeer drive-ins or Helen Gracies in Los Alamitos ? Or how about The big blue Van de Kamp wheel that use to spin off the 5 fwy !

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  15. Nightworks! on Goldenwest!

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  16. love the GB! saw dave mason and many other old school bands there in the early 70's

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  17. I lived on 9th street behind Taco Bell in 1973-74...yah, there was a cool place called Hungry Joe's! close by!

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  18. does any one have better clam chowder ,smoked albacore,seafood,than the crab cooker of newport beach

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  19. My father used to take me to Hungry Joes!!! We went there for my 16th birthday back in 1976! there were always these cool jazz bands playing. I remember them singing me happy birthday. growing up in those times was pure magic! Dick Dale lived down the street and Sandy West (Pesimento), the drummer for the Runaways was just a kid I went to school with...she lived down the street form me. I used to stand in her driveway and watch her play her drums. what a trip.

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  20. I used to go to Hungry Joe's in the early 70's -- my boyfriend at the time loved jazz and lived right near the HB pier. Since I was pretty young and didn't know much about jazz, it sort of had to grow on me. They did have food and yes, the place was not fancy at all. Hungry Joe's burned down sometime in the 70's. It was located maybe a mile or so north of the HB pier, I think it was somewhere near where Goldenwest hits PCH. There was nothing around and long before that whole stretch of beach was built up. It was a great place, lots of fun and the I loved the atmoshphere!

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  21. I saw Bonnie Raitt at the Golden Bear about the same you are describing. It was awesome.

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  22. I found Hungry Joes by accident. I had just moved to Orange County from Virginia and was cruising up PCH and I saw the sign. hungry Joes,cheap food, lousy drinks. I seem to remember something about the Dave Pike quartet. It was 1977.

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  23. I saw Joe Pass play at Hungry Joe's in 1974. Still ranks as one of my greatest music memories - just Joe , me and a handful of other lucky jazz guitar lovers

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  24. Anonymous wrote.....The Goldenbear was just south of Main st in Huntington Beach For those of you who cant remember ! They tore it down and put up a new building with both a movie house and a new version of GB but they lost out due to the noise ! Its a sad shame that our cities histories our demolished for the sake of $ ! Im a Long Beach resident and they ruined most of the LBC too ! Anybody remember the old A&W
    rootbeer drive-ins or Helen Gracies in Los Alamitos ? Or how about The big blue Van de Kamp wheel that use to spin off the 5 fwy !

    Yep ! I live in the LBC too n I agree... They really screwed up all of Long Beach n pretyy much everywhere ! LOL ! I especially remember A&W, Helen Gracies n the Van de Kamp wheel ! :) Id rather b back n the 60s,70s n 80s than the way things are now ! :)

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