Breathing new life into Los Angeles’ historic Naud Warehouse, at the intersection of Mission Junction and Chinatown between the Los Angeles river and east-side train tracks (at 1729 Naud Street), the team at TVG Hospitality are raising the bar, with an unmatched experience for both artists and guests. The hope for Pacific Electric is to foster a hub for creatives and fans to connect and celebrate food, beverage, and culture.
Senior General Manager Stacey Levine (who has run operations at landmark Los Angeles venues over the years, including the Wiltern and Hollywood Palladium) shares, “We are learning and changing little things every day to fine-tune the experience, but we’re getting great feedback from fans, from bands, from tour managers. I couldn’t be happier.”
As a 750-person venue designed and built for unforgettable moments, the newly opened space will serve as a meeting spot for artists and fans, partnering with independent promoters for genre-spanning headline acts, underplays, club nights, and special events. “When people walk in, they have the option of going out to the garden, getting a snack, having a drink out there. It’s really great,” adds Levine. “We’ve had a show with six bands and, between each act, people were outside really enjoying the space.”
With a name that pays homage to the company that operated Los Angeles’ iconic ‘red cars*’ that shuttled people between communities from the 1920s-60s, Pacific Electric is about creating an ethos of community and bringing everyone together for a great experience. As the smallest club in TVG’s portfolio (and the first in Los Angeles), Pacific Electric still has the most moving parts. Shares Levine, “I watched it getting built for a year and a half, theorizing and planning, seeing how it really goes, and then fine-tuning. I had a lot of excitement and expectation about what it was going to be like and what we wanted it to be. My expectations were high, and we are hitting them all. Being in the space and seeing what it really is now is even more rewarding because it’s everything we thought it would be.”
From stunning sound (from L-Acoustics) and full LED lighting design, an inviting courtyard gathering space, a merch room area, collaborations with Indian street food specialist BADMAASH (with items like Chicken Tikka Poutine or BADMAASH Street Tacos) and retro cocktails (revisiting ‘90s themes with piles of fresh ingredients), to top-notch artist greenrooms (serving as mini-apartments should headliners wish to stay overnight), the team has left nothing out. “Our very first show was with Dawes. They were so happy, they love the space,” says Levine. “I’m hoping to get them back.” The courtyard garden entryway has been a big hit, and a show with Yonder that had patrons locking phones up, included a designated area for everything to be set up and simplified. “We’ve done merch in different areas that were right in front so people can see everything when they come in,” continues Levine. “The way that we wanted the venue to flow, it’s happening that way. People are enjoying a drink, they’re going into the show, and when the act is on, almost everybody is in there watching the show—but we still have the bar on the outside serving drinks too. It’s really nice to have so many options in one space, with many different experiences in one night.”
There is also rotating artwork showcased throughout the building, currently showcasing work from Christian Letts (of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) and guests can gather at MITSI for cocktails on the second floor before or after shows (open until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday). Adds Levine, “There’s so much to do here. There’s Apotheke on the corner and Majordomo, and we’re really close to the train line. People are really enjoying the space. It’s easy to get to.”
Having wrapped the Netflix Is A Joke comedy series (with two shows a night for five nights straight), and headline shows including Dawes, Norah Jones, Voxtrot, and Alexander Stewart, this month’s events include Pomplamoose and Kim Gordon. (Full calendar updates at pacificelectric.la/whats-on.)
Founded by GRAMMY-winner and entrepreneur Ben Lovett (of Mumford & Sons) in 2016, TVG is all about community and elevating the live music experience and creating the best possible experience at the intersection of live performance and hospitality. Developing, designing, and operating superior iconic venues, they see music as a catalyst for socioeconomic change and a way to build a sense of community. With previous projects in London, England (Omeara, The Social, Lafayette), and Huntsville and Birmingham, Alabama (The Orion, Saturn, The Lumberyard), TVG has further high-profile projects underway across the United States.
*The Los Angeles ‘red cards’ were electric streetcars that connected Los Angeles to Orange, San Bernadino and Riverside counties and helped with regional growth in the 1920s. Covering over 1,100 miles of track in their heyday, the network covered long-distance suburban routes and were especially popular during WWII. The system was dismantled in favor of personal vehicles in the 1950s and ‘60s.
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Contact Mike Jones, Shore Fire Media – [email protected]
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.musicconnection.com ’
