The Wiltern is one of the best concert venues in Los Angeles — and it's in Koreatown
The Wiltern is at 3790 Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown, in a 1931 Art Deco building that is one of the more beautiful structures in Los Angeles. The exterior is recognizable, the turquoise and gold terra-cotta, the geometric ornament, the sign that reads Wiltern in letters designed by someone who understood that typography is architecture. Inside, the theater holds 1,850 people and the sound system is excellent.
The booking calendar runs across genres, indie rock, R&B, hip-hop, pop, electronic, and the acts that play here are the ones between the 500-capacity clubs and the arena level. This is the room where you see artists in the window when they are large enough to matter but still small enough that you can feel the show rather than watch it on a screen.
The night around the Wiltern: dinner at Parks BBQ (955 S Vermont Ave) before the show, it is four blocks away. After the show: Normandie Club (3719 W 6th St) for cocktails if you want something quiet, or Brass Monkey (3440 Wilshire Blvd) for norebang if the group wants to keep the energy going. The Wiltern puts you in Koreatown at 11pm with the full range of Koreatown options still available to you. That is a good position to be in.