Huntington Beach, CA-- bars and clubs are so hot, they're cool. The bars and clubs of Huntington Beach are not stuffy or pretentious. Life in a beach town is generally casual and fun. Sand between your toes is the norm at the downtown Huntington Beach bars and restaurant clubs such as Perqs, Dukes, Chimayo at the Beach, Hurricanes and Gallaghers.

The Huntington Beach bar and club scene is not only a low-key training ground for the up and coming bands, but also a place for established musicians to play their music close to home. From the comedy clubs in L.A. you'll find known comedians trying their material on the HB audience to see if it plays out in the burbs.

Jazz, rock, indy, reggae, blues...even Irish tunes are popular music in this Southern California beach town filled with incredible talent.  From members of the Gold Record band, Korn, one who owns restaurant clubs in town (Tuna Town and Silvestra's Steak House) to Courtney Love listing HB as her residence, people come to the beach to kick back. But they still know their music and comedy. And they quality doesn't let down at the beaches 40 miles from West Hollywood, the heart of hip.

Sure the restaurants come and go in any place. Few last forever, though Perqs (the formal brothel) is the only remaining actual bar that was grandfathered in before businesses required food service along with cocktails and liquor.  So technically, Perqs is the only bar business. It is located only a few steps from the beach and sand near the Huntington Beach Pier. Several years back the owner got smart and put in a window allowing a limited ocean view. Down through the years he's seen lots of changes. His walls are decorated with memorabilia of the Golden Bear, the ultimate HB club that no longer exists. Top acts in rock and blues from around the globe all played HB's venue, and some helped launched careers at Golden Bear.

Tumbleweeds Bar & Grill is where you'll find solid rock n roll most nights. Drive further up Beach Blvd. to discover the Surf City Saloon. It offers some indy, alt and rock nights and a get-down atmosphere. There's talk that the entire complex in which it sits will be torn down to make way for new businesses. But for now, get over to Tumbleweeds to enjoy consistent, quality music and drinks.

Marlin Bar & Grill on Gothard is like Cheers with a tiki twist. I has one of our favorite band, Cubensis, a Grateful Dead cover band.  Martini Blues Jazz Club features jazz, comedy, rock, blues and a whole lot more. It's 3 rooms of entertainment in one place. Mighty nice! Many of the L.A. comedy acts come to Martini Blues or Gallaghers to perform and try out their material on smaller crowds. Fitzgeralds on Magnolia and Garfield offers great rock and alternate bands most every week.

And a new place Blues Cafe (used to be Kozmos, then The Brigg), has brought some top acts to HB.

Oops, we almost forgot about the dinner clubs that offer exceptional sounds. The top straight ahead jazz club is fairly new. Cavallino's (used to be Kikuya), on Adams near Beach, where the dinners aren't cheap, but they're good and the jazz is great, and Arbor's ( been around for decades on Springdale & Warner) features jazz at least once a week.

Should we keep going?  The Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa Red Chair Lounge features April Spain, Say When and other bands. They also have bands playing in the restaurant, the Sunset Grille on weekends.

Say When performs at Chimayo each week, as well. And Dukes has bands in the spring and summer at Big Wednesday events, plus Hawaiian Sunday Brunch.

If you like rock, jazz, blues, indy, alt, comedy and tropical music, you'll find the various styles played at the bars, restaurants and clubs of Huntington Beach California.