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Greatest Rock Venues of All Time

11/15/2010
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(Gibson) If there's a characteristic shared by many great rock venues, it's that they're rarely about glitz, glamour, or Vegas-style flash. Oftentimes, the best venues have a raggedly dilapidated quality that feels part and parcel of rock music itself. Many great artists served apprenticeships and honed their crafts in such settings, performing on low-tiered rickety stages. With just a couple of exceptions, the legendary venues below prove that shifts in the direction of rock can sometimes occur in the unlikeliest of places.

Whisky A-Go-Go (Los Angeles, California): The L.A. rock scene was essentially born on the day the Whisky A-Go-Go opened its doors in 1964. Located on Sunset Strip, the club served as the breeding ground for such acts as Alice Cooper, Buffalo Springfield and The Doors. As its name implies, the club also spawned the relatively short-lived phenomenon of go-go dancing. The Who, Led Zeppelin, Cream, and countless other pioneering bands made their southern California debut on The Whisky's stage.

The Fillmore (San Francisco, California): No venue had a greater impact on '60s counterculture than the original Fillmore did. A focal point for the psychedelic movement, the venue achieved notoriety not just for the musicians who appeared there, but also for an ambiance built around strobe lights, light-show projections, and, of course, its famous posters. Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd were among the notable artists who bolstered their paisley reputations by playing The Fillmore. Such diverse artists as Otis Rush, Miles Davis and Otis Redding performed there as well. - Find out the rest of the Top 10 here

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