The au Go Go was an oasis for folk music, jazz,
comedy, blues and rock.
The club was the first New York venue for the Grateful Dead, and Joni
Mitchell. Richie Havens and the Blues Project were weekly regulars.
Jimi Hendrix sat in with blues harp player James Cotton there in 1968.
Van Morrison, Tim Hardin, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker,
the Youngbloods, John Hammond, Jr., The Paul Butterfield Blues Band,
Jefferson Airplane, Cream, The Chambers Brothers, the Hamilton Face
Band all played there. Blues legends Lightnin' Hopkins, Son House, Skip
James, Bukka White, and Big Joe Williams performed at the club after
being "rediscovered" in the '60s. ” The world premiere of the Andy
Warhol's
film,
HARLOT,
took
place
on
January
10,
1965
here.
Comedian Lenny Bruce and the club's owner, Howard Solomon, were
arrested here on obscenity charges in 1964.
The legendary CBGBs
315 Bowery today
CBGBs
315 Bowery at Bleecker Street.
Founded in 1973, CBGB (Country, Blue Grass, and Blues) was originally
intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for
American punk and punk-influenced bands like Ramones, Misfits,
Television, the Patti Smith Group, Mink Deville, The Dead Boys, The
Dictators, The Fleshtones, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, Blondie,
and Talking Heads. In later years it would become known for Hardcore
punk with bands such as Agnostic Front, Murphy’s Law, Cro-Mags,
Warzone, Gorilla Biscuits, Sick of It All and Youth of Today becoming
synonymous with the club.
The storefront and large space next door to the club served as the CBGB
Record Store for many years. Eventually, in the late eighties, the
record store was closed and replaced with a second performance space
and art gallery, named CB’s 313 Gallery. The gallery went on to
showcase many popular bands and singer/songwriters who played in a
musical style more akin to acoustic rock, folk, jazz, or experimental
music, while the original club continued to present mainly Hardcore
bands and post-punk, metal, and alternative rock acts.
The club closed in October 2006. The final concert was performed by
Patti Smith on Sunday October 15.
High-end men's fashion designer John Varvatos opened a store at CBGB's
former space in April 2008. Much of the graffiti covering the bathrooms
has been preserved.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex, on Mercer St, has some relics
from the club on permanent display.
337 8th Street today
8BC
337 8th street between Avenues B & C
Named for its location on, it was
on a block of abandoned burnt out buildings and considered dangerous to
get to. It was a performance space, art gallery, and nightclub in the
underground art scene that exploded in the East Village in the early
1980s.
This was the most critically acclaimed of the many venues that sprung
up in response to the influx of artists and performers reclaiming
Alphabet City.
During its 2-year existence, Halloween 1983 - October 22, 1985, over
1,500 performances were held ranging from punk rock bands to Japanese
Butoh dance.
82
Club
82 E. 4th Street
1958-1978 - Legendary drag cabaret the 82 Club was
located here, on the
southwest corner of 4th st and 2nd Avenue. Ty Bennett becomes the
headliner and 'den mother' . A favorite hangout of Harvey Fierstein, 82
Club makes cameo appearances in both Torch Song Trilogy and The Rose.
By the 1960s and 70s, Club 82 became a popular hang out for celebrities
and glam rockers like David Bowie, Lou Reed . The Stilettos (the
precursor to Blondie) performed here during this time..
The New York Dolls also performed at Club 82.
It is now a restaurant called Stillwaters.
23 St Mark's Place-1968
now, a restaurant
The
Electric
Circus
and
The
Dom
19-23 St. Mark's Place
Originally this was the Polish National Hall. In the
mid-1960s the
basement of the building was converted into a bar and called the Dom.
The bar was successful and attracted artists, musicians, and poets in
the area. Andy Warhol and his
entourage, in particular the Velvet
Underground and Nico performed
here. The
Velvet's strange atmospheric music and Warhol's performance displays of
lights and costumes, attracted a hip clientele-- according to the New
York Times, "everyone from hippies to Tom Wolfe and George Plimpton"
--
way before St Marks would make its reputation in the 1970s with the
punk scene.
In 1966 it changed management and briefly became the Balloon Farm.
In 1967 after another change of ownership it was covnverted into a
psychedelic discotheque called the Electric Circus. The Jimi Hendrix
Experience performed here and legend has it
that this is where Jimi Hendrix and Janis
Joplin bedded down on several
occasions. By 1970 the "tune in, turn on" hippie culture was in
decline. When a small bomb exploded on the dance floor in March 1970,
injuring seventeen people, the negative publicity accelerated the
decline of the club, and it closed a year and a half later.
In 1971 the club was closed after the owner died and it was converted
into a community rehab center. Now it is a restaurant.
Fillmore East 1971
A bank and apartments today
Fillmore
East
Second Avenue at Sixth Street
In the late 1960s – early 1970s this rock palace operated in the East
Village.
Known as the Village Theater for most of its previous existence, the
venue had been a mainstay of the Yiddish theatre circuit; it had also
been a cinema and had fallen into disrepair before becoming the
Fillmore East.
Acts that played here include the Grateful Dead, The Doors, The Who,
Eric Burdon & The Animals, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Beach
Boys, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Allman Brothers Band, Derek
and the Dominos, Jimi Hendrix, Country Joe and the Fish, Big Brother
and the Holding Company, Mountain, Lonnie Mack, Humble Pie, Led
Zeppelin, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Pink Floyd, Raven (U.S. band),
Procol Harum, John Mayall, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Frank Zappa,
Canned Heat, Miles Davis and many more.
Many live albums were recorded at the Fillmore East, notably At
Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers Band. Jimi Hendrix also recorded a
live album at Fillmore East with the Band of Gypsies. John Mayall's The
Turning Point was also recorded here. Grateful Dead released a 4-disc
set taken from their 5-night stint at the Fillmore East in April 1971,
appropriately titled Ladies and Gentlemen… The Grateful Dead: Fillmore
East — April 1971. The Grateful Dead also recorded the albums Fillmore
East 2/11/69, History Of The Grateful Dead Volume One – Bear's Choice
2/13–14/70, and Dick's Picks Volume Four – Fillmore East 2/13–14/70, a
3-disc set released on Grateful Dead Records. Another famous album
recorded here was Miles Davis' Live at the Fillmore East, laid down on
March 7, 1970 in a rare live recording of Davis' so-called "lost
quintet".
Shortly before it closed, Frank Zappa and the Mothers recorded a
live album in June 1971, entitled Fillmore East — June 1971. The
performance included The Turtles' two lead singers, Howard Kaylan and
Mark Volman. John Lennon and Yoko Ono included the live tracks recorded
with the Mothers at the
Fillmore East on the album Some Time in New
York City.
Its final concert took place on June 27, 1971, with the billed acts
Allman Brothers, The J. Geils Band, Albert King, and special guests
Edgar Winter's White Trash, Mountain, The Beach Boys, and Country Joe
McDonald in an invitation-only performance.
As of 2007, the former entrance lobby is a branch of Emigrant Savings
Bank. The rest of the interior has been gutted and rebuilt as an
apartment complex.
Max's Kansas City, circa 1974
PHOTO: Bob Gruen
213 Park Avenue South today
Max’s
Kansas
City
213 Park Avenue South (17th and 18th
Streets)
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub (upstairs) and restaurant
(downstairs) and was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and
politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.
Opened in December 1965, it was a hangout for artists and sculptors of
the New York School, sculptor John Chamberlain, Robert Rauschenberg and
Larry Rivers, whose presence attracted hip celebrities and the jet set,
and also a favorite spot of Andy Warhol’s entourage. The Velvet
Underground played their last shows with Lou Reed at Max’s in the
summer of 1970. Deborah Harry worked here as a waitress before joining
Blondie. It was homebase for the shortlived Glitter rock scene that
included David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and, of course, Lou Reed. This was the
first place many bands began their careers. Bruce Springsteen played a
solo acoustic set there in the summer of 1972. Both Aerosmith and Bruce
Springsteen and the E Street Band played their first New York City gigs
there. Bob Marley & The Wailers opened for Springsteen there at the
beginning of Marley’s career on the international circuit, in 1973.
Max’s Kansas City’s popularity declined after pop art had transformed
into punk rock, and the legendary establishment closed in December,
1974.
The Mercury Lounge today
The
Mercury
Lounge
217 East Houston Street
Since it's opening in 1993 as a music venue, many
famous artists played
at the Mercury Lounge, like Lou
Reed, Joan Jett, Bikini Kill, The Damnwells, Jeff Buckley, Jimmy
Chamberlin, The Strokes, Paper Route (band), Interpol, Tony Bennett,
the Dandy Warhols, Broken Social Scene, The Killers, Editors, and
various others.
The structure housed the servants to the Astor Mansion, connected to it
by an underground labyrinth of tunnels. Garfein's Restaurant occupied
the space in the early part of the twentieth century, and from 1933 to
1993, the storefront housed a seller of tombstones.
77 White Street today
The
Mudd
Club
77 White Street
Opened in October 1978, the Mudd Club quickly became
a major fixture in
the city’s underground music and counterculture scene. The club
featured a bar, gender-neutral bathrooms, and a rotating
art gallery on the fourth floor curated by Kieth Herring. Live
performances showcased punk rock, new
wave, and experimental music.
As it became more frequented by downtown celebrities a door policy was
established and it acquired a chic, elitist reputation that made it
impossible for an ordinary person to get in.
The club closed in 1983.
The Peppermint Lounge
128 West 45th Street
An early discotheque where Go-go dancing is reputed
to have originated
in the early 1960s. The Twist dance craze was closely associated with
the club. Women began getting up on tables and dancing the twist.
Many celebrities frequented the Peppermint Lounge, including Jacqueline
Kennedy in 1962, and The Beatles during their first U.S. visit in 1964.
The lounge was the home base of Joey Dee and the Starliters, who
recorded their #1 hit "Peppermint Twist" at the venue in the early
1960s. In the mid 1960s, the house band was The Wild Ones. The Denos, a
traveling road house band that performed soul music with a dance beat
were featured.
It closed when it lost its liquor license on December 28, 1965
The
Pyramid
Club
101 Avenue A
Opened in 1979, this nightclub helped define the
East Village scene of
the 1980s.
The struggling artists, actors, and musicians who lived in the East
Village in the late 70s and early 80s created their own scene. They
took over The Pyramid, an undistinguished club on a desolate block.
Andy Warhol and
Debby Harry dropped in to do a feature on the club for MTV. Madonna
appeared at her first AIDS
benefit at the club. Both Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers played
their first New York City concerts there.
