Posted on 10/09/2006 1:58:33 PM PDT by LurkedLongEnough
CBGB owner Hilly Kristal sits at his club during an interview Sept. 26, 2006, in New York. After Oct. 15, the legendary club that has hosted acts such as Patti Smith, the Talking Heads, the Ramones, and Blondie will close its doors for good, ending a 33-year run as punk rocks seminal music venue. CBGB owner Hilly Kristal sits at his club during an interview Sept. 26, 2006, in New York. After Oct. 15, the legendary club that has hosted acts such as Patti Smith, the Talking Heads, the Ramones, and Blondie will close its doors for good, ending a 33-year run as punk rocks seminal music venue.
NEW YORK --Legs McNeil remembers the night back in 1975 when he walked into the dingy storefront club perched in the even dingier Bowery neighborhood. The band onstage, four guys in leather jackets and torn jeans, was the Ramones. McNeil sat at a nearby table, watching their set with Lou Reed.
"Every night was memorable, except I don't remember 'em," said a laughing McNeil, co-author of the punk rock history "Please Kill Me."
After Sunday, memories are all that will remain when the cramped club with its capacity of barely 300 people goes out of business after 33 years. Although its boom years are long gone, CBGB's remained a Manhattan music scene fixture: part museum, part barroom, home to more than a few rock and roll ghosts.
The club didn't exit without a fight. An assortment of high-profile backers, including E Street Band guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt, battled to keep the legendary club open. But in the end, it was a simple landlord-tenant dispute -- and owner Hilly Kristal saw the handwriting on the club's dank walls.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
The only 'big city' club I ever got to was the Cameo Theater down in Miami, mid 1980s. The ladies rooms had broken windows that looked out over Collins ave (way before South beach became hip), two inches of standing "water" on the floor and the toilets hadn't been flushed in ten years. Pretty horrific, but the memories remain.
Saw the Damned, Stray Cats, Ramones and The Clash back then--but most of the great bands didn't venture that far south back then.
I did manage to make it to some of the clubs in London when I was a student -- not the same, of course.
"Lady's of the evening - gone."
Perhaps out of sight, but you can not walk twenty yards without some Mexican guy flipping a hooker's business card at you. There were whole lines of those guys! (Made an interesting collection of business cards by the end of the trip! We never did call one.)That was really the only gripe I had with the place.
I literally lived at CBGB's in the 70's.
It was a short subway ride from my Brooklyn apartment. I would come home from school on Friday, do homework and go to sleep. Would wake up at 11:00, shower and meet my friends on Avenue X.
If it was summer, we would get home from the city at 6:00am, catch some breakfast and off to the beach.
My favorite act at CBGB's? Johnny Thunders, RIP.
I was in a mens Room in Spartensberg, SC, in '65 that had a sign Urinals, opened the door, a wide field.
Scratch 'n sniff!
Art Bell, gone. Oops, I saw a post yesterday that he might be moving back to the double wide.
Yea, I know. Pretty sick crap. They keep saying that this town is a family destination. Then you see that when ya walk down the street.
In case you did not catch the humor / sarcasm in my post - when I said, "go ask Oscar" - ?
That would be the mayor - Oscar Goodman.
Before he was a mayor - he was a lawyer for the mob.
A lot different then seeing the Runaways with a young gal named Joan Jett.
And we should care? Why?
LOL
Last I heard he was still on the air (way past my bed time) and the king of Pahrump.
We chased Talking Heads from Boston to Long Island to Philly to DC for one of their tours (the Big Suit, have forgotten which year, but the one that produced the concert film). So we caught 5 or 6 shows in a row, which was pretty good.
Anyone who's a TH fan should check David Byrne's site, which he actively maintains at www.davidbyrne.com (don't pay too much attention to his blog, he's a run-of-the-mill NYC artiste, to wit, a leftie).
But he has lots of good stuff to sell and some freebies. I'm salivating over "The Brick" which is a boxed set of all 8 studio albums, and the 2006 remastered Eno/Byrne "My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts."
saw the Ramones there but that's all i can say, as most of it was/is still a blurrrrrr... 8^)
Noticed the article is from the Boston paper - and absent from the New York media as far as I can see. Boston did and still rocks. In the 70's a fair share of punk rock icons battled at The Rat.
I was a college DJ in Massachusetts in the 70s, played stuff like Ramones, Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, Willie Alexander, Richard Hell, The Rings, Reddy Teddy, Robin Lane, Lou Reed, etc. How could I "become" a conservative??????
The answer is, I always was. There was even a 2001 discussion on F.R. about a possible FReeper affinity with punk rock attitudes: "Attention Punks and Metalheads on F.R." http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a82f211341d.htm
" Hurrah, Roxy, even Max's were more fun."
Went to Hurrah's only once around '78 or '79 and saw THE CURE on their first US tour ; you know , when they were " underground " . If memory serves Hurrahs was AOK . Never went to CBGB .
Not to mention Lita Ford and that chick from the Bangles!
Patti. Wow.
Saw her a few times in concert and have to say they were among the best I've ever seen.
When she'd dive into those spontaneous monologues it was a sight to be seen. Everyone in the audience on their feet. Amazing.
I walked past her one morning in front of the New York Public Library on (???) Avenue. She was wearing a black and purple cape and big (but not effective as a disguise) sunglasses. She gave me a big smile.
Melt.
Where you gigging man ? I have pro drummer friends up in Boston . I'm in Japan .
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