Musical Memories in Modesto

Night-life in Modesto, built around live music -- mostly jazz and rock music -- once was all the rage. Then the music died, along with much of the downtown itself. Today, however, a rebirth of sorts is under way. But does today's scene match or surpass what the city offered from, roughly, 1949 to the end of the 1970s? Were the clubs of yester-year better than what we have today? Do we need more live music? Less? And what about dancing? Does anyone care?