A Place for Acoustic Music--and a Little Szechwan

The woman on stage is rapping barrio poetry with cool jazz playing behind her--a guy on stand-up bass and another on saxophone. The room is dark and the audience listens as if her words were gospel.

This place sounds like a coffeehouse, but it doesn’t look like one. People in the crowd are dressed expensively; there are even a few suits and ties. They’re using chopsticks to munch egg rolls and paper-wrapped chicken. The bartender pours Samuel Adams Lager at three bucks a glass and talks about the Valley from a decidedly Westsider’s point of view.

“It’s like a whole different world over there,” she says.

Genghis Cohen, a veteran lunch spot and Szechwan purveyor near trendy Melrose Avenue, has quietly become a hangout for acoustic music. Sixty chairs are set aside after dark each night as a cramped side room of the restaurant becomes Genghis Cantina.

“It’s a bit claustrophobic,” one patron comments.

Perhaps, but the sound system is surprisingly decent and the performances even sharper. The shows begin at 8:30 or 9, depending on the night, and continue past midnight.

Dan Bern, a staple on the city’s coffeehouse circuit, headlines there. Yvonne de la Vega, a poet/rapper/vocalist, is a frequent opening act. Fridays are for David Zasloff, who offers a jazzy version of stand-up comedy. Country-Western finds its way inside every once in awhile, and on Thursdays, people fill the room and spill out into the bar for the hard-driving vocals of Danny Peck.

“When you’re playing the next step up, at the Lingerie or the Troubadour, with the rock ambience, there’s a difference between that and a listening space,” Peck said. “Genghis Cohen is a listening room.”

Up-and-coming performers also think of it as a showcase. They tape their glossy black-and-white composites to the wall in the entry in hopes that a record company executive will notice. On a recent night, before Peck’s set, there was a scattering of industry talk among people in the audience.

Occasionally, the cantina will present an already discovered face. John Wesley Harding has played there. So has local favorite Victoria Williams. E. G. Daily, more at home in rock clubs, has performed her songs to acoustic guitars on the small stage.

“This is the kind of place where you can work on your stuff,” said Allan Rinde, the owner.

Although the room is relatively new to music, Rinde is not. He worked as a promoter, manager and record executive before growing bored with the business and opening his restaurant in 1983. Two years ago, he began booking music a couple of nights a week.

“I was looking for something to keep this place hopping at night because I don’t go to bed early,” he said. “The Whiskey and the Roxy are a little too young for me.”

A year ago, the live entertainment at Genghis Cantina was expanded to seven nights a week. Because of the room’s size, Rinde avoids acts that include drums or amplifiers. He shies away from jazz because, he says, there are already enough jazz rooms in the city.

Beyond that, he said, the cantina serves up “anything that’s acoustic.” And a mean side order of pan-fried dumplings, too.

Genghis Cohen is at 740 N. Fairfax Ave., Hollywood. Open for lunch from noon to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, dinner from 5 to 11 p.m. daily. Full bar. Entertainment times vary. The cover charge ranges from $2 to $5. Call (213) 653-0640.