During the late 1970s, Jerry Paulsen was the first promoter of bands to appear at the Mab on a regular basis. He booked them on Mondays and Tuesdays to begin with so he could showcase the bands that he featured in Psyclone magazine to existing record executives. The scene became so popular that he was soon booking two bands a night seven days a week. Bay Area punk and New Wave bands performed there, and it was an important touring stop for bands from beyond the San Francisco Bay Area. Among the local bands that performed regularly at the Mabuhay were The Adaptors, Avengers, Dead Kennedys, The Nuns, Crime, Dils, Sid Terror's Undead, Pearl Harbor and the Explosions, The Mortals, new wave band Judy Garland, the Tubes and Wall of Voodoo, to name a few. After he left, Dirksen (the "pope of punk") booked The Dead Boys, Nico, The Runaways, Devo, X, The Police, SVT, The Go-Go's, Motörhead, Sun Ra and his Arkestra, Patti Smith, The Jim Carroll Band, REM, The Fabulous Titans and others. Comedians such as Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams also made early appearances at the venue.