The lady and me will be travelling the West-Coast(Seattle to LA n back,via Montana and Vegas) for a month in August n September 2013 and I'll need my fix of live music.

Are there Garage/Surf/Rockabilly/'real' Country festivals taking place around that time? What clubs can you recommend to check for gigs in LA, SF, Portland, Seattle and in between?

Also tips on good 2nd hand vinyl stores, music stores selling used equipment, and any odd 'must see' place are very welcome.

Thank you!!!!

Thanks Alex, I will have a look what's on once we are in town. I have been at Dante's many years ago, but had forgotten the name of the club until now that I read it. Do you happen to know about any 'affordable' hotels in the cool parts of town(and which are those?). We prob want to stay more than a night in Portland so it'd be nice to have the hotel close to the action.

Alex Fast said:

For Portland: Check out-

Club 21, Slabtown, Tonic Lounge, Dante's, Kenton, Omalley's etc for shows

Green Noise, JAckpot, Everyday Music and Crossroads for vinyl.

Thanks Shaun, if we spend the night in Vegas I will try to get a hotel close to those bars. Are there in the same area, more or less? The Double Down sounds familar, I might drank there once when on the road with a band, but as a local chick drove us there I got no idea where it was. And it might as well could have been a totally different place, it was a looong night ;-)

You got a link for your band where I can check for gigs?

Shaun Coleman said:

check out thee swank bastards, when you are in vegas.  yes it is my band but I hear that we are good live. 

 Only two bars I go to are Frankie's Tiki Room and The Double Down Saloon.

Thanks Stanton, yes we will be driving through Utah and if there's time I will check some of those stores. Anything you would consider a must see or do in Utah for a tourist? I checked and there seem to be some interesting state parks along our way.

Stanton Woods said:

If your driving on I-15 through Utah, check out these record stores:

 

Get ready to spend some money, and have fun on your trip.

For Portland: Check out-

Club 21, Slabtown, Tonic Lounge, Dante's, Kenton, Omalley's etc for shows

Green Noise, JAckpot, Everyday Music and Crossroads for vinyl.

check out thee swank bastards, when you are in vegas.  yes it is my band but I hear that we are good live. 

Only one good previously loved vinyl store in town but the prices are out of control.  One decent used gear store in town goes by the name of Cowtown Guitars.  Only two bars I go to are Frankie's Tiki Room and The Double Down Saloon.

If your driving on I-15 through Utah, check out these record stores:

Randy's Records

157 East 9th South  Salt Lake City, UT 84111

A lot of vinyl, and in most genres. This dude's been around a long time.

Graywhale

208 South 1300 East  Salt Lake City

They've got a great selection of new and used CDs, the vinyl section isn't as extensive as Randy's, but there are some great gems for the taking.

The Heavy Metal Shop

63 Exchange Place  Salt Lake City, UT 84111

A great store, but small. Metal is the main draw. There is another record store around the corner that has a bit of old used vinyl. I think its called uprock records.

Raunch Records

1119 East 2100 South  Salt Lake City, Ut

The punk/thrash/metal/whatever hot spot. Raunch has vinyl, cds, and tapes. All your skate punk favs. Even some skateboard stuff too.

Groovacious 

173 North 100 West  Cedar City, UT

This place has vinyl, cds, tapes, even a few 8 tracks. A wide range of genres, and a lot of cool surprises.

Get ready to spend some money, and have fun on your trip.