Who was the last person to play CBGBs?
It’s likely that the big red “CBGB” that adorned the famous punk venue’s exterior awning will echo long as an enduring image recognised by many, before knowing the context of such an iconic relic, just like Aladdin Sane’s lightning bolt or The Rolling Stones’ lips and tongue.
Opened in 1973 on East Village’s 315 Bowery, Hilly Kristal’s Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gourmandizers quickly found itself the home of an entirely different subculture. Before long, the nascent punk community would also descend to the CBGBs petri-dish, the likes of Suicide, various members of Television, and Jayne County all began to mark their sound in the New York club.
While the rest of the music press were still enamoured with the classic rock of the day, a coterie of kids unimpressed with the Woodstock generation’s lofty balloon into stodgy irrelevancy lit a fire at CBGBs’ insurrectionary ground zero, Blondie, Ramones, Patti Smith, and Talking Heads all began to play regularly, as well as Max’s Kansas City on Park Avenue South.
Over time, CBGBs would expand to a record shop, café, and art gallery, but by the 2000s, financial troubles and alleged unpaid rent forced Kristal to confirm the lauded venue’s closure by late October 2006. Kristal would pass away only the next year from lung cancer complications, with a public memorial attended by the club’s various staff.
So, who was the last person to play CBGBs?
Handled by local promoters Rocks Off, a series of nightly events to give CBGBs a proper send off was arranged, hosting a myriad of new acts as well as drawing punk pioneers from Bad Brains, The Dictators, and an acoustic set from Blondie.
Taking the stage on the final night of October 15th and broadcast by Sirius Satellite Radio, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and Television’s Richard Lloyd joined Patti Smith to play a bittersweet set that nearly ended on her canonical ‘Gloria’, imbuing Ramones’ “Hey! Ho! Let’s go!” from ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ during the chorus. Closing with ‘Elegie’ as an encore, Smith reeled off a memorial list of artists who had died since helping form CBGBs’ countercultural stature. Upon Smith’s final show, Kristal’s loved venue shut up shop for good at 1am, following a near three and a half hour set.
Languishing for a couple of years, the vacancy at 315 Bowery was snapped up by fashion store brand John Varvatos, capitalising on the space’s rich and storied history with various posters and memorabilia on display, a piecemeal effort which stings with queasy cultural parasitism. CBGB Radio would launch on iHeartRadio, festivals would follow under their branded banner, and official recognition would eventually bestow the former punk club with a Historic Places celebration as part of The Bowery Historic District.
“All of Manhattan has lost its soul to money lords,” Dead Boys’ Cheetah Chrome lamented when the alley behind CBGBs became a shopping mall. “If that alley could talk, it’s seen it all”.
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