


Loud were also on the bill this year.įacebook is the preferred way of re-connecting everybody and promoting the reunions. “That kind of thing makes it special” said Boyle. Last year Witch also played the last Jezebel's Reunion, the first time the band had played together in 25 years. Even though Witch never signed a major label recording contract during their career, their fans remain as dedicated as ever. Local favorites Witch headlined the show. Their dreams of becoming rock stars may have faded with reality and age, but they remain dedicated to their music. Most of the musicians on stage Saturday are now in their 50's. “We just wanted to come down and see good friends and be with everybody” she says. Ken took time off from his job with Apple to perform with his band Gypsy Saints. Mansfield and her husband Ken made the trip down from Boise, Idaho. The most recent occasion was last Saturday when Malone's in Santa Ana hosted the fourth annual Jezebel's Reunion. The employees found other jobs, and the regulars of the club found other places to go out, if they went out much at all.Įven though Jezebel's is long closed, the scene has faded into memories, and everybody has scattered all over the country, many of the die hards from the glory days of Orange County metal get together once a year and party like it's still 1989. “To have Metallica in a place like that was insane.”īut all good things must end, and not long after the closing of Jezebel's, grunge rock took over as the most popular form of rock music. There were 67 arrests that night.” Tom went on “The watch commander read the riot act to me and Jeff the next day,” he says. “We had 800 people in the parking lot, and another 1000 outside. Instead, they let it leak that Metallica was playing the small Orange County club.

“KNAC announced the show as 'special guests' but were supposed to stop promoting the show after it sold out.” But the radio station never got the word. “What a nightmare!” That's what Tom Boyle, 57, the former manager of Jezebel's says, referring to the night Metallica played there. See also: The 10 Greatest OC Metal Bands of All Time The venue was usually packed to capacity during these shows. Touring bands such as Metallica, Megadeth, and Armored Saint also made Jezebel's a stop during the height of popularity of hair metal. “Everybody played there” says Sue Mansfield, now 54. But the club still has a fiercely loyal following among the now aging rocker baby boomers who frequented the club in its heyday.įrom 1986 to the time owner Jeff LeBraun closed the club shortly before his untimely death, the club served as a place where young Orange County based rock and metal bands and musicians could hone their craft before hitting the clubs in Hollywood. State College in Anaheim, now houses a Mexican restaurant. The building, which still stands at 125 N. Jezebel's nightclub died a sudden death in 1993.
