Editorial:

We know, it’s only rock ’n’ roll. But we like it.

With the glow still fading from last year’s Golden Bear Reunion concerts, which brought together Ray Manzarek, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Chris Hillman and other 1960s legends at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort, a young entrepreneur is seeking to bring the long-defunct venue back to town.

Well, that’s not quite accurate. The new Golden Bear that Joe Daichendt has proposed won’t entirely resemble its predecessor, and it won’t be on the same foundation. Daichendt envisions the new Bear as an intimate club where up-and-coming bands and comedians can play to audiences of a few hundred. And we’d guess that, with all that young talent onstage, a lot of the music won’t be a throwback to 1965.

But even if the music won’t, the spirit will be.

Half a century ago, mainstream rock wasn’t always the elaborate spectacle of later years. Even chart-topping acts often performed in small or medium-sized venues with reasonable ticket prices. Bands played sets of an hour or less, often sharing the bill with several other artists. Record companies cranked out LPs without a world tour to accompany each one.

It’s tempting to imagine the resurrected Bear as a shrine to the flower-power era. But it’s also easy to imagine a young Bob Dylan, acoustic guitar in hand, tuning up onstage at a low-key venue like Daichendt’s. And that honors the spirit of classic rock much better than a simple replica of the past would.

Furthermore, we admire Daichendt’s willingness to solicit community feedback regarding alcohol licensing and parking. That’s a wise public-relations move, considering the recent complaints from downtown residents about, well, sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.

“[E]veryone wants to see the Golden Bear come back, but come back in a way that’s compatible with residential life,” Kim Kramer, the spokesman for the Huntington Beach Downtown Residents Assn., told the Independent.

If the new Bear can combine the best of 1960s pop with the best of modern Surf City zoning, that would be, well, fab.