Pasadena After Dark

On the corner of Los Robles Ave. and Colorado Blvd., The Mixx is a restaurant, bar, and lounge. It opened in 2017 and also offers an array of unique musical entertainment. Thanks to a recent remodel, they added a vibrant LED wall behind the stage.

Many bars and clubs, especially in Old Town, program the same top 40 formats. This serves crowds more interested in barhopping and socializing than the entertainment itself, explains The Mixx’s head of talent, Ané Uno. “No matter which location you end up in, you end up listening to the same music and getting the same vibes.” So, Uno explains, “We decided not to compete with the rest of Colorado Boulevard. We offer Pasadena something different, which hopefully brings new traffic to the city.”

Uno arrived at The Mixx with over two decades’ experience producing Latin Alternative concerts at venues ranging from the El Rey, the (now closed) Knitting Factory Hollywood, the Fonda Theater and The Roxy. He also spent several years as talent buyer at the Conga Room on Wilshire Boulevard and in Downtown L.A., and later at Los Globos in Silver Lake.

When The Mixx owner Ed Minassian offered him a job, he took the opportunity to help the club owner expand his vision.

“We saw that just having a DJ was dying out,” Minassian says. “So, we concentrated on dinner and shows with different genres, from Latin to jazz to blues. The idea behind it was bringing live music to a smaller venue that’s more intimate, more locals-driven, compared to a concert hall.”

They started out booking popular 80s and 90s tribute bands—from classic rock to new wave, and rockabilly to Latin. They also added unique cabaret shows and movie nights, including The Rocky Horror Picture Show and John Waters’ Cry Baby; both with full shadow casts and a live cabaret.

Currently, Tuesdays are a big draw, with a zesty tropical, cumbia, regional Latin music night featuring salsa and bachata dance lessons and a Taco Tuesday menu. The food is designed to complement the entertainment, and post-Covid, there’s an effort to keep things affordable. There’s a $5 food and drink Happy Hour during the themed karaoke nights, and two-for-one drinks specials on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

“The Mixx is Pasadena’s best kept secret,” says Julian Shah-Tayler, singer for the David Bowie tribute band, The Band That Fell to Earth. The group headlined The Mixx in January. “A friendly crowd with an alternative bent,” says Shah-Tayler. “My Bowie shows have been packed against the largest LED wall in town.”

At a recent show featuring local 80s cover band The Blackouts, the imagery behind the group added an immersive element to the band’s set, with vibrant popping colors and edits.

With hits from The Smiths and The Cure making for a retro-raging flashback, cover bands are what The Mixx is best known for these days.

“We don’t advertise too far in advance because unfortunately other local venues have caught on to our concept and have attempted to replicate our formats,” says Uno. “I really don’t blame them. Pasadena needed something new for a long time.” themixxpasadena.com