An Ode to Pomona’s Excellent Music Venues

by Zane Castillo

When I moved to Riverside, California for college, I didn’t know much about the music scenes or venues in the area. I had always been a music lover and had become an audiophile during my high school years when I would scour various music blogs for new bands. I discovered many new artists and music genres that I had never known existed, but I had never been to a live show. I wanted to change this now that I was in college and generating an income.

I started to research music venues that were nearby and several of my classmates also told me about some, but I did start to notice that the venues that were recommended the most were The Fox Theater and The Glass House in Pomona. I discovered that Pomona was a small diverse city with a strong focus on live music and that both venues were a mere block away from each other. I found out about a festival that was going to happen at The Glass House where many local bands were going to play, and I decided to go with some friends. 

When I got to the Glass House, I was really surprised by how many people had come out to see the bands. There was a mix of young adults, to people in their 40s and 50s. A sizable crowd started to form as the opening bands began to play. It was here that I first saw Tijuana Panthers perform. The Long Beach surf rock band was my favorite of the festival with their catchy songs and cool retro style. A mosh pit even formed to the surf rock music and people crowd surfed throughout the band’s set. Many other local bands performed including The Lovely Bad Things, La Sera, Crystal Antlers, OFF!, The Soft Pack and No Age. Many of the bands performed at a loud and energetic pace that kept the crowd moving and shouting along to the lyrics. When the show ended, I left feeling completely ecstatic from all the band’s that I’d seen, and decided that I was going to see as many shows in Pomona as I could in the upcoming months. 

At the Glass House, I saw Abe Vigoda, Yacht, Onuinu, and Explosions in the Sky in quick succession. The Explosions in the Sky concert turned out to be one of my favorite shows ever as the band delivered an epic performance which had the crowd and myself yelling and cheering for an encore. The lead guitarist had to come out and tell everyone that the show was over and that unfortunately, they would not be playing any other songs. It was a let down for all of us but turned out to be a show that I have never forgotten. 

At the Fox Theater, I saw many bands including Thirty Seconds to Mars, White Rabbits, Yellowcard, Good Charlotte, Tokyo Police Club, and Passion Pit. For any band that I did not know, I would not listen to their music but instead hear them for the first time live. This proved to be a more rewarding experience as many bands that I assumed I would not be totally into turned out to be a favorite after seeing them perform such as Passion Pit.

I became such a frequent visitor to both the Glass House and Fox Theater, that other people who would go to shows constantly would recognize me and we would talk about music and what bands we were currently listening to. We would exchange information on bands and also talk about upcoming shows that we had to see. We formed a group that would send out text messages about shows that we should check out together. We spent countless hours texting about music and creating playlists that we shared with one another. I felt lucky to be around people that were into music as much as I was and were eager to share the music that shaped them. 

No matter the weather, we would be in line to see the bands that we had been waiting to see at the venues in Pomona. It was with this group that I discovered more bands including White Arrows, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Spectrals, PAPA, Manchester Orchestra, The Babies, Hellogoodbye, and Cloud Nothings. Cloud Nothings proved to be one of the shows that we enjoyed the most as the band delivered a truly wild performance that left us in awe. For about a year and a half, we kept going to shows together until college ended for most of us, or we began to move to different states for new careers. It was difficult to see the group split up after so much time hanging out at the venues, but we were all going off to better things.

When I left California, I knew that I was going to miss those days and nights at The Fox Theater, the Glass House, and Pomona itself. Those venues exposed me to so much music that I was completely unfamiliar with and the thrilling experience of seeing bands perform live. I made close relationships with fellow music lovers that I still talk to till this day. Pomona will always be a special place to me that will always bring forth great times, music, and people.