A proposed hotel/condominium project has cast some doubt over the future of West Hollywood's House of Blues outpost, but operators of the Live Nation-owned Sunset Strip club intend to stay in the neighborhood. If a wrecking ball ultimately hits the 1,000-capacity venue, don't expect it to strike in the near future. The club has a lease until 2012, and any demolition would not occur until the potentially lengthy process of securing financing and permits has been completed.

The West Hollywood City Council voted 4-1 this week in favor of moving forward on the development of a project dubbed "Sunset Time," which, according to a release from the city, will include a "boutique hotel, condominium units, a live entertainment venue and other commercial uses." The House of Blues has an option to renew its lease in 2012 for an additional 13 years, until 2025. 

Reached by phone, House of Blues general manager Marcus Nicolaidis read the company's official statement: "We have a lease, which with renewals rights, goes through 2025, and we plan on continuing our operations at the venue and look forward to being a continued part of the West Hollywood community."

Billy Corgan and Co. mix old and new in a headlining set at the annual celebration of the Strip's musical tradition. Also on the bill: Slash and Fergie.

Somewhere near the middle of Smashing Pumpkins' headlining set Saturday night at the Sunset Strip Music Festival, Billy Corgan recited a long list of the Los Angeles musicians who'd "made [him] want to be a big rock star." That the group included the Doors, Love and the Electric Prunes came as no surprise: Traces of those bands' expansive sonics and flowery philosophizing course throughout Smashing Pumpkins' work, from its 1991 debut, "Gish," to the new songs Corgan began releasing for free online late last year.

A handful of unlikelier names cropped up as well, such as Guns N' Roses, Ratt and Mötley Crüe — acts whose commercial instincts and lack of self-reproach once seemed at odds with Corgan's tortured-artist vision. At first, you wondered whether the frontman was playing nice for the occasion, an annual three-day celebration of West Hollywood's vaunted (if perhaps declining) musical tradition. Yet Saturday's concert actually suggested that after several years of combative relations with the band's fan base, Corgan has happily reclaimed his role as crowd-pleasing hitmaker. For the moment, at least, "big rock star" does not appear to be an ironic guise.

Backed by three able stand-ins for his original bandmates, Corgan alternated fresh tunes with old favorites during the 90-minute show, which Smashing Pumpkins performed on an outdoor stage near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Doheny Drive. (Sunset was closed to traffic Saturday between Doheny and San Vicente Boulevard.) "Ava Adore" and "Cherub Rock" were energetic and full of heavy-metal muscle, while "1979" sounded dreamier than it has on past Pumpkins tours. "Hummer," from the group's 1993 breakthrough "Siamese Dream," emphasized the sumptuously lyrical quality of Corgan's guitar playing.

A big swath of eastside music fans will trawl the 10 east to Indio for a show more often than they'll venture past Vermont Avenue to the west for one. But this weekend's Sunset Strip Music Festival, the third installment of the fest and the second to feature a blocked-off Sunset Boulevard, is banking on the idea that there exists a huge community of fervent and distinctly Westside L.A. music fans, with their own distinct glam-infused rock, rap and electro ethic.

"I meet more people moving to West Hollywood for the music scene than ever," said Nic Adler, the owner of the Roxy. " You see scenes on the eastside and in Venice, and now I look at the opportunities here and see a great place to find yourself in L.A.'s music culture."

With headlining sets from Smashing Pumpkins, Common, Semi Precious Weapons and Kid Cudi, it's not meant for kids who devolve into spasms after spotting Dean from No Age at Chango. But it might also be codifying one of rock's most legendary stretches of blacktop as the backbone of a busy Westside music scene again. Read the whole preview feature here.

-- August Brown

Photo by Lyle A. Waisman / Getty Images

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Nestled between this weekend's Sunset Junction and the Sept. 3 FYF Fest is West Hollywood's three-day celebration of rock 'n' roll riffage and crossover hip-hop. The third annual Sunset Strip Music Festival closes with an all-day street fest and headlining sets from Billy Corgan's current incarnation of the Smashing Pumpkins, as well as former Guns N' Roses slinger Slash and rising psychedelic rapper Kid Cudi. 

Though events start happening at West Hollywood clubs on Aug. 26, only Aug. 28 will feature two outdoor stages and a host of nationally known acts. 

Set times for that day's fest, which will close down a stretch of Sunset Boulevard to house the two stages, were unveiled today, and will feature a closing hand-off of sorts from a pair of Chicago-bred artists. Veteran rap lyricist Common will finish out a stage near the corners of Sunset and San Vicente Boulevard, ending his set moments before the Smashing Pumpkins take to a stage closer to Doheny Drive at 8:20 p.m.

The Aug. 28 portion of the fest, in which music starts at 1 p.m., will involve a host of Sunset Strip venues, including the Cat Club, the Key Club, the Roxy Theatre and the Whisky A Go-Go, with bands playing throughout the afternoon and into evening. Tickets for Saturday are $49.50 in advance, and $60 at the gate. Other acts on the bill include Semi  Precious Weapons, Travie McCoy, Neon Trees and the Binges. Fergie is slated to guest with Slash.

Full set times after the jump: