Good evening boys and girls and welcome to Largo.

December 23, 2014 10:43 AM

LARGO is a 2008 documentary about the iconoclastic Los Angeles club, which opened in its original incarnation on Fairfax Ave. in 1989.

Founded as Café Largo by Jean-Pierre Boccara - one of the co-founders of L.A.’s defunct post-punk melting pot, Lhasa - Largo quickly became a cozy second home for songwriters, comedians, and cabaret performers of distinction. Early stalwarts included Suzanne Vega, Grant-Lee Phillips, Victoria Williams, Syd Straw, Hugo Largo, Sandra Bernhard, El Vez, Lypsinka, and more. With the arrival of musical polymath and multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion, the club’s rotating “house crew” exploded to include friends and collaborators such as Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple, Robyn Hitchcock, Ben Folds, Rickie Lee Jones, Elliott Smith, and dozens more. Comedian Tig Notaro also famously disclosed her cancer diagnosis onstage during a set at Largo in August 2012.

LARGO, the documentary, screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2008, coinciding with the club’s move to its current location at the Coronet Theatre on La Cienega Blvd. Featuring performances by Fiona Apple, Andrew Bird, Sarah Silverman, Flight of the Conchords, Aimee Mann, Patton Oswalt, Mark "E" Everett (Eels), and more, the film has not been made available in any private/home viewing format until its quiet release via Vimeo on 22 December 2014.

posted by mykescipark (14 comments total)

Christmas has come early, I thought we would never get to see this.
posted by Lanark at 10:53 AM on December 23, 2014 [4 favorites]

This is awesome, thanks! As a companion piece, here's Mark Flanagan on the Professor Blastoff podcast talking at length about Largo's history.
posted by saladin at 10:57 AM on December 23, 2014

The old Largo on Fairfax was a lot of fun. It was surreal to go across the street to Canter's afterwards for a snack and there would be a strange mixture of scenes, the comedy crowd mixing it up with the Hollywood rocker crowd.
posted by cazoo at 10:58 AM on December 23, 2014

Don't forget that the always-amazing Thrilling Adventure Hour performs there now.
posted by roger ackroyd at 11:16 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

Marc Maron speaks both reverently and ruefully about Largo regularly on "WTF" - look forward to checking this out.
posted by ryanshepard at 11:42 AM on December 23, 2014

Been going to Largo for years, mostly to see the Paul F Tompkins show. So great that this movie is finally being released.
posted by dogwalker at 11:49 AM on December 23, 2014

Thanks. This is my favorite night spot in LA. Love the Jon Brion & friends shows!
posted by z3niMAGiNE at 12:32 PM on December 23, 2014

We should totally have a MeFi meetup at a Jon Brion Friday at Largo.
posted by mykescipark at 1:05 PM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]

Went to Largo one night about six years ago to see Jon Brion. He got sick and they got Zach Galifianakis as his last second full-in. I wasn't even mad.
posted by sourwookie at 1:57 PM on December 23, 2014

Largo is just one of those places where you never know who's going to show up. If I could afford to spend every night of the week there, I would.
posted by mykescipark at 2:01 PM on December 23, 2014

So you're telling me this is where Syd Straw might show up .....?
posted by benito.strauss at 2:12 PM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

We should totally have a MeFi meetup at a Jon Brion Friday at Largo.

HEARTILY, I CONCUR

(great post, Myke!)
posted by retronic at 4:40 PM on December 23, 2014

Yay! I've been waiting forever to see this. Thanks mykescipark
posted by Start with Dessert at 8:08 PM on December 23, 2014

So Syd Straw isn't in this documentary, but Sarah Silverman is? That's a shame. Apparently having a great voice isn't worthy of attention, but talking at great length about your bowel movements is. :-/
posted by pxe2000 at 5:01 AM on December 24, 2014 [1 favorite]