What, No Depeche Mode?

Wherein one man, a longtime music writer, dares to list southern california’s most remarkable shows, in order of appearance:

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Louis Armstrong

Frank Sebastian’s Cotton Club

1930-’31

During an eight-month residency at the Culver City juke joint, Satchmo, above right, pioneers the now time-honored acrimony between law enforcement and musicians, serving nine days in jail for smoking a joint.

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Benny Goodman

Palomar Ballroom

Aug. 21, 1935

Goodman hits the road with fresh-sounding arrangements purchased from Fletcher Henderson. His big band is a flop, however, until it reaches L.A., where 10,000 fans go crazy for the new thing known as swing.

Jazz at the Philharmonic

July 2, 1944

The legendary jam session at the Philharmonic Auditorium features Nat “King” Cole on piano and Les Paul on guitar, but it’s best remembered for the strange squeals coming from the tenor sax of Illinois Jaquet. Could that be rock ‘n’ roll?

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Dizzy Gillespie Sextet

Billy Berg’s

December 1945

Although the Howard McGhee Quintet had introduced bebop to Los Angeles, Gillespie, whose band features Charlie Parker, takes it to the next galaxy during a four-week stand.

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Ritchie Valens

El Monte Legion Stadium

Fall 1958

At the West Coast center of ‘50s rock (and the only place where teens can legally dance), Valens makes his pro debut on a bill with Rosie and the Originals, the Penguins and Bobby Day.

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Dick Dale

Balboa’s Rendezvous Ballroom

Dec. 29, 1961

The grand pooh-bah of the surf guitar shares a bill with some Hawthorne band called the Beach Boys. The Boys barely finish two songs before being booed off the stage.

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The Beatles

Hollywood Bowl

Aug. 23, 1964

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the Byrds

Ciro’s

March 1965

With “Mr. Tambourine Man” all over the radio, the tune’s author, Bob Dylan, joins the show.

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The Doors

Whisky a Go Go

Summer 1966

A flying-on-LSD Jim Morrison debuts “The End,” complete with a ranting Oedipal climax.

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Elton John

The Troubadour

Aug. 25, 1970

The Englishman makes his American concert debut with a solo set that marks the Troub as mellow central.

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Van Halen

Gazzarri’s

April 4, 1974

Pasadena’s bad boys begin their residency on the Sunset Strip.

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The Damned

The Starwood

December 1976

L.A. gets its first shot of U.K.-style punk: Spittle and glass fly, and seemingly half the crowd later forms bands.

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THE Go-Go’s

Greek Theatre

Oct. 8, 1981

Local punk girls celebrate the triumph of “Beauty and the Beat,” the debut album that inspires women everywhere to pick up guitars.

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Marvin Gaye

The Forum

Feb. 13, 1983

Performing before the NBA All-Star Game, Gaye, bottom left, transforms the “Star-Spangled Banner” into a purifying anthem of sexuality.

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Run-D.M.C.

Long Beach Arena

August 17, 1986

With the kings of rap still offstage, a gang fight erupts, casting a decade-long pall on local hip-hop shows.

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Nirvana

The Roxy

Aug. 15, 1991

Hair bands, R.I.P.

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Beck

The Onyx

Late 1993

Tortured-soul blues man sleepily bangs an acoustic guitar as faces push against the glass of the Los Feliz coffeehouse.

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Organic

Snow Valley

June 21, 1996

The mother of all raves exposes SoCal to the cream of electronica and underscores techno’s commercial potential.