Monday, October 16, 2006

Adieu CBGB!

According to reports on NPR, it appears that CBGB finally closed its doors for good this morning. I won't lose much sleep over the loss of CB's legendary music stage; like many, I can't remember the last time I went there to see a band. When I did visit the grimy club, it was invariably to see some friend's noisy band, rather than one of the seminal punk groups that made the place famous in the 70s, (unfortunately, I missed that scene by two or three years).

What I WILL mourn is the loss of CBs gallery space next door at 313 Bowery, where I spent countless merry hours during the 90's and the early 2000's attending their terrific art shows, (a handful of of which were curated by yours truly). CBs 313 Gallery was one of very few art venues in Manhattan where miscreants like me were welcome to mount large shows; their space was expansive and well-maintained, they had a great bar, and the folks who ran the place were top-notch. I have nothing but fond memories of Micheline and her crew at CBs 313, and I wish all of them the very best of luck in their future endeavors.

In observation of CBGB's closing, here's a drawing I did for an Electric Frankenstein poster in August of 2005.


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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:09 PM

    Danny,

    Great drawing for Electric Frankensteing, but it's a bit anachronistic...there hasn't been a bowery bum sprawled on the sidewalk outside (or even near)CBGB's in years.

    Also, I know you were at CB's about 3 years ago, give or take, (maybe 2), where you saw the Dictators perform a brief set as part of the celebration of Punk. The gallery had a bunch of art from Punk Magazine on display, and Holmstrom was there with the new (one-shot)PUNK hot off the presses!

    (I showed up, saw the crushing crowd inside the gallery, turned around and went home. I regret I didn't stay for the Dictators. The one time I saw 'em, at the Ritz in the 80s, they were great!)

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  2. Unknown7:22 PM

    Bob is of course correct; I did see about fifteen minutes of a hard-driving Dictators set a few years ago at the Punk magazine extravaganza. I was kinda blown away by how good they were; prior to that, my only experience of the Dictators was hearing a handful of their old tunes, which had left me unimpressed. Come to think of it, that's probably the last time I saw a band at CBGBs.

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