In Ventura, Rock Venue on a Roll

For the first 40-something years of its existence, the Ventura Theatre screened first-run movies and served as the main make-out pit for generations of amorous teens.

These days, the Ventura Theatre is the center of the rock ‘n’ roll universe in Ventura County.

After dwindling audiences in the ‘60s and ‘70s left the place in disrepair, the seats--and all those teen-squeeze memories along with them--were pulled out in the mid-’80s. Slowly, through four ownership changes and ongoing refurbishing efforts, the theater has become a viable venue for all types of popular music, from This Week’s Hot Band to geezers on that endless Won’t Go Away Tour. The theater also stages punk, folk, country, an occasional hip-hop show, and plenty of local bands play the big stage as well.

Robert Antonini, a longtime concert promoter in Santa Barbara, has owned the 1,247-seat venue for about a year. After relocating to Ventura to run the place, Antonini quickly learned that more than 30 miles of highway separate Ventura from Santa Barbara.

“In Santa Barbara, there’s a bunch of highbrows that wouldn’t go to a rock show anyway,” he said, “and all the working people moved away because they couldn’t afford to live there.”

In Ventura, there are fewer students because there’s no university but more people willing to spend dough to see a good show, according to Antonini.

“In Ventura, there is a class of working-class people, carpenters and mechanics or whatever, who make $15 to $20 an hour, who actually have some disposable income because the cost of living is way less here,” Antonini said. “This blue-collar crowd is more into guitar-driven classic rock such as Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Gregg Allman and Heart.”

For Angelenos, a 60-mile road trip north to see a show at the Ventura Theatre could easily prove more fun than a gig in L.A. For one, most of the same bands that play L.A. play shows--often unadvertised because of contract stipulations--in Ventura, and it’s a lot less hassle there.

“It’s not as uptight up here. In fact, it’s way less uptight up here than it is in L.A. Down south, there’s a lot of pressure on the bands when a show is sold out, plus there’s usually a lot of industry people hanging out.”

The theater has its charms, too. Inside the fairly large lobby is one bar, while another bar lines the back wall of the big music hall. You can stand by the music hall bar or sit at one of the cabaret-style tables and see over the throngs closer to the stage. There are four distinct levels, and you can see the stage fine from each. There’s also a balcony, where seats remain, to accommodate bigger crowds. There’s a huge dance floor up front for mosh-pit action during youth-oriented shows, or more tables and chairs for shows catering to a less energetic audience.

The food is fine, and they don’t rob you for drinks (the Newcastle Brown Ale is a particularly good thing). Even the bouncers are nice--not drawn from some alien race put on this planet to torment music fans.

In the past, Ventura was notorious for having Van Gogh’s ear for music--lousy sound--not a good thing for a music venue. The sound system managed to wreck a John Prine show, just a guy and a guitar, which is no mean feat. These days there’s a new audio system.

Now, even the local bands are coming around again. Under previous regimes, local bands such as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy refused to play the theater, while others were banned by the management. Antonini has abolished the drink minimum policy, and the bands no longer have to sell tickets, previous points of contention.

“We’re not going to promise to have Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan--but if they want to stop by, that’s fine,” Antonini said. “We’ll have a lot of $10 shows. I’ve learned to stay away from cool jazz, but youth shows like Blink 182 do real well, and we’d like to do more shows with bands like Offspring, Rancid and Garbage. We know the bands, and if you get the right ones, you’ll have a good show.”

BE THERE

The Ventura Theatre, 26 Chestnut St., Ventura. (805) 653-0721. Tonight: Hot Tuna, Larry McCray. Friday: Tracy Byrd. Saturday: DOS, Food Stamp, One Track Mind, No Regard. Sunday: Sonia Dada.