the end of an era

consider it done


by this time next sunday, a vital piece of rock 'n' roll history will be gone, with not even a punk band's bumper sticker to peel away. cbgb's final show will be occurring next saturday, october 14th, with deborah harry and chris stein a la blondie packing it up and putting it away. bad brains will also headline several shows this week in a formidable ode to what was and never shall be again, much like the hardcore music scene the band once led from their early days in d.c.

it was to be expected. people questioned how long it was before an anti-institution becomes an institution and loses its relevancy. but had cbgb's really lost its touch? was its style now only a ghost, a facade of what it once represented? having been there recently, i can say that i appreciate it for its willingness to still host small, relatively unknown bands. i enjoyed the carved and hole-ridden tables, the stickers and the grit still smoothed over the bar, the lack of real standing space that forced you to get in touch with the crowd-- the ambiance that whispered amidst the dust flickering through the spotlight that you knew a secret, and you were in it, you were there.

granted, i was not there when it began, i only have photos, films, and recounted memories to establish an idea of what cbgb's started almost 30 years ago. but i am nonetheless a little sobered, and more than little heartbroken, to see my omfug be dispersed to some other place. my gormandizing will have to be fulfilled elsewhere, my dreams of one more night of sweat, beer, and vibrating bar stools with a brooklyn lager will have to end this week.

time to move on
although the club might have a rebirth in las vegas, i don't believe i can take heart in that. it will become a place where, as legs mcneil says, "girls with augmented breasts [will be] playing joey ramone slot machines." i'm sure all the dark rough and tumble grime will be wiped up to take on a whole new identity of glitz, sheen, and shine in the brazenly chintzy sin city. that's not what i'd go there for, and that's not what i'd want to see.



i'll try to make it to a show this week to say my goodbyes. if not, then i shall open a beer and make a toast in one last huzzah to the dissonant epoch that was.


/jen/