Of all the places to play in Los Angeles, Canter’s Deli would seem an unlikely place for any band to call their favorite venue, but the magic of the Kibitz Room is to be found nowhere else in this great city. The Randy Todd Band still plays there 10 years after their first appearance at the Kibitz for exactly that reason.
Whether you’re a fan of pickles, french fries, whisky and rock n’ roll or not, you can still experience the wonder of this family-friendly roadhouse dive. Red lights, G’n'R posters, bartenders that have been there a decade, and music just about every night of the week make this a great place to play or go listen to local bands.
Since Canter’s is open 24 hours, seven days a week, the old bar closing adage, ‘You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here,’ doesn’t apply. After loading up on bootlegger strong yet affordable drinks, you can still practice responsible driver behavior by staying for breakfast at the diner adjacent to the Kibitz Room. A longtime practice of nightowl celebrities, the Canter’s latenight dining experience is something to behold.
Overall the Kibitz Room is a great place for bands new to L.A. to get their feet wet playing out, and for old friends to meet after years apart, at a place where you really can feel like everybody knows your name. Artists, musicians, singers, songwriters and fans can all congregate and celebrate free music in a scene where somebody’s always got an angle, and here at Canter’s the catch is, you’ve gotta have fun.
