The Elbo Room Jack London, which has been showcasing native and touring bands—significantly of a thunderous punk and steel persuasion—in Oakland since 2018, is about to enter its ultimate week. The newest in a spate of native venue casualties, the Elbo Room will completely shut after its final present on Friday, March 31.
Positioned at Broadway between Third and Fourth streets, this bi-level membership was the East Bay outpost of the unique Elbo Room within the Mission. Even after being granted legacy standing in 2017, the Elbo Room SF shuttered on the finish of 2018—bringing an virtually 30-year run on Valencia Avenue to a detailed. It was finally changed by a dance membership referred to as the Valencia Room within the spring of 2019.
Because the San Francisco Chronicle first reported, co-owners Matt Shapiro and Erik Cantu determined to decrease the curtains on their Oakland venue final yr however resolved to maintain the soundboard sizzling till they may promote the membership. Throughout its 5 yr tenure in Oakland, the Elbo Room hosted steel and punk bands like Blackwülf, Bush Tetras and Boneless Ones.
Shapiro, who wears a number of hats because the membership’s booker and bartender, informed The Customary that the choice was considerably gradual, prompted partly when he turned a part-time resident of Germany three years in the past.
“We’ve been doing this for a very long time, and it was time to make adjustments in our lives,” he stated. “I’m able to stay [in Germany] completely.”
Shapiro didn’t touch upon the way forward for the area.
Through the Elbo Room’s ultimate week, the membership will host almost-nightly reveals that includes Belgian electro-industrial pioneers Suicide Commando, German synthpop group Photo voltaic Faux, Coctail Twins—a play on the post-punk band, naturally—in addition to Oakland’s loss of life steel band IMPALED, Eighties new wave of British heavy steel devotees Union Jack & The Rippers and extra.
Sarah Holtz might be reached at [email protected]