(818) 506-6353
11334 Burbank Blvd
(Lankershim Boulevard)
North Hollywood,
CA
91601
34.1721
-118.3781
Neighborhoods: North Hollywood, South Valley
Hours:
Fri-Sat 9pm-2am
Last updated 8.31.09
Category:
Nightclubs, Bars & Pubs, Bars & Clubs
Payment Methods:
Cash
Bar & Club Type of Music:
Alternative Rock, Electronica, Punk
Bar & Club Special Features:
What People Are Saying About CIA
Featured Review
Tara Lis
Contributor
The Scene – Located in an industrial area of North Hollywood, the California Institute for the Abnormalarts (CIA) is a strange circular maze of funhouse decor and bizarre relics. Somewhere between the shrine to a dead fairy, the skull of the smallest Freemason and the body of fishboy, one begins to question if it's really a live music venue or artifacts from Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. Co-owner Carl Crew is a lifelong lover of the unusual, and an ex-mortician; both traits are evident in his carnival-like club, which he refers to as a "multidimensional art space." – –…
Editor's Tips
- Parking:
- This isn't the safest neighborhood around, so try to go in groups. Single women would be well advised to get an escort to their cars at the end of the night.
- Know Before You Go:
- After a very long wait, the bar finally has a license to serve beer and soju, but still no hard alcohol.
| ambiance | 50.0% positive |
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|---|---|---|
| drinks | 33.3299994468689% positive |
|
| food quality | 100.0% positive |
|
| overall | 0.0% positive |
|
| service | 66.66999816894531% positive |
|
| value | 0.0% positive |
|
| wait time | 50.0% positive |
|
My FAVORITE club in the world!!!
by cravencroft
This is the most amazing creative club Ive ever had the pleasure to attend and perform at. I grew up in London, and spent my early teen years in kicking around clubs in Amsterdam and Paris, and this is the coolest nightspot Ive come across. My band and myself had a great experiance here, everyone on the C.I.A. staff treated us first class. Our fans loved the club too, and we have already booked 2 more shows with them. All the photos taken of us performing at that show came out beautiful, colors and backgrounds are completely psychedellic and freaky. Wish they had clubs like this back home. 5 stars!!!!!
AWESOME!!! VENUE TO PERFORM AT!!!
by patrapee
This club is the best venue I performed in, and amazingly its not pay to play which is the norm for a club of this caliber. The entire staff was cool, and our fans who came can't wait til we perform there again.The sound was fantastic !!! great acoustics. The drinks are reasonable, and the freakshow theme is really cool. They have a Thai food bar inside the club that has great beef sate, better than Thai town. National Geographic channel was there that nite tapping a show hosted by Henry Rollins and meeting him was cool. I highly recomend this club to bands and patrons alike.
Worst experience in America!
by FackieFopez
What an awful place. Bands and musicians beware, stay away! We have toured all over this country and never have we been treated with so much disrespect and nastiness. Totally unprofessional management with a great con-game to get out of paying bands that packed the house. We were told to be there at 7pm and then no one showed up till 9pm. Sound guy was an atrocious control freak who would not let all of the members of the band into the building at one time. Made a pregnant band member stand out in the cold, would not allow her to use the restroom until they were ready to let customers in. We could tell the staff was taking pleasure in being uncivil to us, like schoolyard bullies. We were left SHAKING WITH ANGER!! And this place is plugged as some kind of interesting or weird or cool circus themed club. This place is very stupid!!
Filled with junk made to seem like it's interesting. A bunch of foam rubber props! Fake artifacts made in China! Wishes it could be the Museum of Jurassic Technology, but it's a con! It's in a very sketchy and industrial part of North Hollywood. Just say no to the CIA. Everyone, stay away from this putrid, soul sucking nightmare!!!
- Pros: Nothing charming about this place.
- Cons: Unsafe neighborhood, staff is so rude!
Best place to be in North Hollywood
by theruiner663
First off I love the place, I love horror theme night clubs! I would go more often if LA had more local bands that didn't have an ego and could actually play music! Some of the people that go there are rude, if they bump into you they don't say sorry. Just goes to show you the type of people those crappy bands bring to see their crappy music. The bands don't care about sound quality just how loud they can be. I saw this band play with japanese girls once and it was just horrible, they took forever setting up, and about the time they went on I was ready to go home! I love this place but I wish they would find better talent!!!
- Pros: Great venue, love the decor.
- Cons: The crappy bands that play there, they are all too loud for
JERKS JERKS very very very RUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by varnr
BANDS!!! DO NOT PLAY HERE!!!!!
1. YOU HAVE TO "Tip" the sound guy to mic the kick drum. hahaha. he doesn't do ANYTHING but the 3 mics for vocals. He(Justin) even said "if you tip me, I will mic the kick drum but i only have mics for vocals, it is going to sounds horrible anyways because I don't care" ........ what the hell???? so pointless. just they want to be BAD BAD PEOPLE
2. YOU ALSO HAVE TO TIP THE GUY TO CHANGE MUSIC ON THE FLOOR. COST YOU $20. ASK THE OWNER BOB HE COULD BE REASONABLE.
3. BE CAREFUL with JUSTIN, CARL at the place. They are the worst people you will ever meet. I was shaking by how rude and heartless they are.
4. Bands only get water. ha!
5. DON'T EVER NEVER PLAY THIS PLACE. the place looks great. but it doesn't worth anything to deal with these AMAZINGLY HORRIBLE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!
- Pros: place looks great
- Cons: RIP OFF, Jerks, unprofessional, horrible treat to bands
The Details on CIA
Place Categories:
- love place
- worst people
- great staff
- interesting crowd
- great atmosphere
- quite friendly club owners
- very rude jerks
- not like evil clowns
- incredible guitar
- like rock music
- incredible drums
- best kept lil secrets
- incredible vocals
- not best neighborhood
- horrible anyways
- authentic other creepy circus paraphernalia
- really great performers
- beautiful freak
- great show
- authentic petrified magician arms
- really great bands
- favorite bar
- interesting venue
- slow punk song
- cool circus

