LARGO - The Best Kept Secret of Los Angeles' Subculture
by RICHARD ANDERSON, special guest writer
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It is 7:45 on Friday evening,
and the Los Angeles sky threatens rain. On Fairfax Avenue, across from
the famous Canter’s Deli, a thin 
strand
of white lights illuminates a modest sign that simply reads, ‘Largo’.
In the daytime, most people would stroll by the outside of this tiny club and never know the kind of acts performed within. There are no large billings of performers to come and no advertisements to be found.
Tonight is different though as a line of 50 people anxiously awaits entry. A security guard outside warns those still in line that they may not get in, but it’s worth a try.
Until recently, Largo was one of Los Angeles’ best-kept secrets, but word spreads fast and the best things don’t stay secret for long.
With a list of performers like Fiona Apple, Mark Oliver Everett, Aimee Mann, Sarah Silverman, and Colin Hay – not to mention the regular Friday night performance by Jon Brion – Largo has gained quite a reputation with many Los Angeles residents as a home for great musical and comedy acts.
It is standing room only this evening as people squeeze themselves tighter to make room for the ever-growing crowd filtering in from the outside.
The inside is modest and simple, inviting the guest to “watch the performers, not the walls,” according to 28 year-old Robert Beightol of Rowland Heights, Calif., one of the managers on duty this evening.
Each black table is adorned
with a single, red flower. Candles flicker 
across
the walls casting eerie shadows as dark bodies shuffle throughout the
crowd, trying to find their seats.
Largo is a tiny place, to say the least. Of its 600 square foot interior every inch is filled with chairs, tables, or people, minus one path at the room’s perimeter. Waiters and waitresses squeeze through the mass, skillfully carrying trays filled with food. The aroma of baked chicken and mashed potatoes is hard to ignore, though some try their best as they make a beeline to the bar.
On a typical Friday night here, we usually serve 150 to 200 dinners,” says 24-year-old Cyrus Chini, a longtime Los Angeles resident and waiter here at Largo. “I’ve never worked at a place serving banquet style food that is so popular.”
Chini rushes off to join his team of waiters and waitresses frantically rushing plates to those lucky enough to have a table.
“Our food is good, I see why so many people eat during shows”, said Chini, on a return trip from the kitchen, “but our beer is better”.
The stage is barren, 
except
for a battered piano to the side and a microphone stand in the center.
As the lights dim, a spotlight is cast from the back of the house as a
large, bearded man appears. The crowd goes wild.
This man is Zach Galafianakis, a local comedian and audience favorite at Largo.
“At what age do you tell a highway it was adopted?” he asks. “I think seven, because that's about the time it starts to think, "Hey, I don't look like the Kiwanis club.’”
After a 20-minute set, Galafianakis
exits the stage to make room for 
David
Cross, another comedian. Before Cross has even begun, Galafianakis speeds
to the bar, soon returning with a pint of Guinness in hand.
Galiafianakis, 34, has been performing here for years. His is one of the quickest acts to sell out, according to regular Largo patron, 25 year-old Brian Lucett, who wends his way up to Largo several times each month from his hometown of Glendora.
“It’s a long drive, but it’s well worth it. This is a club that features a certain kind of act that attracts a certain kind of following. Because of that, [Largo] has kind of developed a word of mouth, legendary status within the L.A. subculture,” says Lucett. A die-hard Galiafianakis fan, Lucett refers to the comedian by first name, as if he’s known him for years. “Zach’s was the first show I ever saw here at Largo; now I try to see him every time he’s in town.”
The two could be brothers, or at least distant cousins. Lucett sports a mighty beard, which he says was inspired by Galafianakis, and both have the same dry, sarcastic tone of voice, according to Lucett.
“There’s really an unusual lack of over-indulgence for the typical LA crowd,” says Lucett. “It’s quite refreshing, to be packed in this little place with good people. It really feels like home here.”
Lucett is not alone in his
love for Largo. Though others come eager to 
see
performers other than Galafianakis, still the club plays host to many
regular patrons. According to Beightol’s count, this evening 130
others have joined Lucett to enjoy a good show and a break from the hectic
Los Angeles streets.
Galafianakis is suddenly back on stage, taking a seat at the piano. “I know I just got back here, but I’ve really got to be going,” he says as he bangs around on the keys with one hand, clutching a fresh beer with the other. “There’re some people from Elimidate here to see me, and I think I’ve really got a chance this time.”
The audience erupts with laughter as he rises from his seat and makes his way off the stage, signaling the end of another entertaining evening at Largo.
366 N. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 855-0350