Many Torontonians will fondly remember tromping up a set of rickety stairs to a weirdly sideways and cramped concert venue, shoved side-by-side in a sweaty mass to hear some very loud and very good live music at the El Mocambo. It was a rite of passage for any Toronto music fan and for up-and-coming bands from around the world.
Fast forward a decade or two, and the first band I saw coming out of the pandemic was at a special launch party for the newly revived El Mocambo featuring Our Lady Peace. Toronto resident and entrepreneur/financial guru Michael Wekerle had stepped in to save the venue from what would have been a very sad demise. He sunk a fortune into the place, reportedly over $30 million, but it was clear from the outset that his business smarts didn’t match the realities of running a music venue in the city of Toronto. Still, the new El Mo was a thing of beauty.
“I was coming back from a trip overseas and heard on one of the radio stations that they were getting rid of it, and I went to buy the sign. I met up with Sam Rocco, and he said, ‘No, I won’t sell you the sign, but I’ll give it to you if you buy the club’” Wekerle said, in a previous interview for Streets of Toronto. “The purchaser was going to be a computer store. So for a few hundred thousand more, Sam gets a chance to make a little money back after losing money for the last five years there. He’s a great guy, great family guy. And we ended up doing the deal in 24 hours.”
Gone was any sign of wear and tear from the almost eight-decade-old building. Wekerle basically build a new state-of-the-art concert venue inside a very old two-storey Chinatown shack. It was beautiful. The sound was incredible. But since that date, there is rarely any concert worth mentioning happening at the venue. There is no history being made at the new El Mo. Not yet anyway.
That could all change very quickly. Now that the venue is up for sale there is still an opportunity should the El Mo fall into the right hands. Given the work and boatloads of money Wekerle put into the El Mo, it is basically a turnkey concert venue with studio space, the opportunity to live stream shows at the top level and much more.
History Lesson
Few venues in Toronto—or Canada, for that matter—have the storied past or rock ‘n’ roll pedigree of the El Mocambo. Located at 464 Spadina Avenue, the club first opened its doors in 1948 as a fine dining restaurant with live music, catering to an upscale clientele. But by the 1970s, the El Mo had transformed into one of the country’s top small live music clubs, hosting an eclectic mix of emerging artists and global superstars across genres like rock, blues, punk, and reggae.
With its unmistakable neon palm tree sign glowing above Spadina, the El Mocambo became especially known for its intimate setting, allowing audiences to get up close to legends in a way few venues can match.
Five Famous Concerts at the El Mocambo
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The Rolling Stones (March 1977)
Perhaps the most iconic moment in the venue’s history. The Stones, a band that has made a habit of playing secret shows in Toronto ahead of world tours, played two gigs under the pseudonym The Cockroaches, with one performance later featured on the Love You Live album. A scandal involving then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s wife, Margaret Trudeau—who was seen partying with the band—only added to the lore. -
Elvis Costello (1978)
A fiery set from Costello at the peak of his early punk-influenced period further cemented the venue’s rep as a place where raw talent met unfiltered energy. His blistering performance is still remembered by Toronto music veterans. -
U2 (1980)
Long before Bono became a global sunglass-wearing icon, U2 played a now-legendary gig at the El Mocambo as part of their very first North American tour. The intimate show gave early fans a glimpse of what was to come from the Irish upstarts. -
Stevie Ray Vaughan (1983)
The blues guitar legend delivered a powerhouse performance that’s often cited as one of the best in the club’s history. Vaughan and his band Double Trouble released the El Mo performance as a DVD, and two of the tracks were included on a live album. -
The Ramones (1976)
One of punk’s earliest and most influential bands brought their buzzsaw guitars and blistering pace to the El Mo during their first wave of international shows, helping ignite Toronto’s own punk scene in the process.
There have also been a number of artists who have recorded live albums at the El Mo such as the aforementioned Rolling Stones, and Elvis Costello along with Canadian bands such as April Wine, which release Live at the El Mocambo in 1977.
Toronto live music venues, the smaller, less expensive venues especially, have had a hard time in recent years. And, news of the venerable Dakota Tavern closing only makes it worse.
Wekerle told the Toronto Star that he is committed to finding a buyer that will preserve the El Mocambo legacy.
“I’ve saved the El Mocambo once, I’ll do it again,” he said. “We have a great opportunity here to keep live music alive.”
Let’s hope most music history will be made under the neon palm very soon.
