Boom Boom Room   

1601 Fillmore St
San Francisco, CA 94115
415-673-8000
www.boomboomblues.com

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The late blues master John Lee Hooker opened the Boom Boom as an informal place for people to get together and listen to blues. It's attitude-free and simple enough for anyone to feel comfortable - - but there's a lot of history here. Not only was it founded by a blues great, but the club's location (between Japantown and the Fillmore Auditorium in what's now referred to as the Western Addition) is also significant. In the 1940s and 1950s, the neighborhood was the heart of West Coast blues, known as the Fillmore. Hooker chose the address because it used to be one of his favorite clubs. The razing of the district for "urban renewal" forced most of the clubs, and many of the residents, out of the city entirely. When the club first opened, one of the best aspects was a table continuously reserved for Hooker, who would drop by and listen in at least once a month. Now his spirit seems to preside over the dark and cozy nightclub. Though Hooker was a Delta bluesman, he liked every form of the music, and the club still showcases a variety of local and national talent seven days a week. Expect to hear every genre -- raunchy LA, countrified Texas, acoustic Delta, electric Chicago, Louisiana swamp and piano-based West Coast Blues -- plus fusions of all the above along with danceable funk, soul and jazz jams. You'll be surrounded by a mixed crowd of black and white, old and young.