Best of 2000: Best Place To Get The Blues

Blind Melons
710 Garnet Avenue,
Pacific Beach
(858) 483-7844

This beachfront bar has supplanted Croce's as the city's premier showcase for local blues talent and superstar national and international acts. Guitarist Walter Trout, nearly a stadium draw overseas, chose BM to play after spirited bidding from rival clubs, and the popular Barney Roach open-mike jam attracts a stage full of the best local players (nearly always a sellout, buy tix early). The club is usually overheated and some jockeying is needed to find seats where the stage is visible, but the blues aren't supposed to be about comfort and convenience.