What many people don't know is that CBGBs was a shit hole, where the last time an interesting band played was in about 1980. Sad to see it go, but really, it's hard to see how a rock club can operate as a museum, unless they just put a Ramones cover band up there. Mmm, Vegas.

Prove it!

I don't think it's sad to see CBGB/OMFUG whatever close down. It was a terrible place to play music and a really terrible place to see music, except, I gather, from 1976-1981 or whatever. As the poet reminds us: "Punk rock died when the first kid said 'punk's not dead.'"

I have it on good authority, though, that Josh Feit did get a triple double while being guarded by Walt "Clyde" Frazier.

More importantly Josh, you played at the Middle East in Central Square and they are still doing well.

B)That Chamberlin photo has NOTHING on your own basketball photo, which I demand that you post as well!

This is the internet. Pics or it DIDN"T HAPPEN!

I spend many happy evenings in the Middle East. Josh, what was your band?

Fnarf seconded on both counts. Curiosity piqued.

Who? What? When?

Fnarf: I calll bullshit on your sweeping statement.
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 were awesome at CBGB in 1991 or thereabouts. Same for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion before they turned into a self-parody. And that's just what I caught as a tourist.

It is, however, a shithole.

Rumor has it that Josh Feit also once wrote for a weekly newspaper, but the data isn't there to support that allegation.
;>)

punk rock died when the new york times reported that "Mr. Vicious played bass and vomited."

CBGB was a terrible place to have to take a shit, but it was not a particularly bad place to play or see a show. like most venues around for ages, it was hit or miss on both fronts.

as other clubs came and went, i got to play there about 30 times through the 90s, from opening for good shows like unsane and boss hogg, to crappy 'audition' nights where a long island hair band bussed in friends from massapequa park only to instruct them to leave before the next band took the stage (that would be my band at the time...).

the sound system was top-notch, loud, and clear. the stage was too high and the room too narrow (i often thought that if they would just remove ten years of stickers and fliers they could've added about 100 more square feet of space).

i don't like rolling rock.

if you lived or hung around anywhere nearby you could catch word of a surprise performance by dinosaur jr. (the greatest and loudest time i ever saw them--the first chord out of j's amp knocked the wall-to-wall crowd back ten feet from the stage) or sonic youth (alias 'drunken butterfly') trying out new songs prior to recording, among others.

or you could go weeks without seeing anything decent listed in the NY Press.

it had its ups and downs. but if it was truly such shit since 1981 or so, it would have went the way of max's, the ritz, the marquee, the academy, brownies--and the list goes on.

it didn't simply survive on it's history. it was a glorious shithole to see a good show or play a good show. you just had to make sure to shit before you headed over to the bowery.

CBGB's is not "now defunct". It will be closing its doors Halloween night. Although possibly an good example of its lack of relevance, the Dictator's just played Friday night and I'm told it was amazing.

Then again, what does "relevance" have to do with anything. It's a rock and roll club, not the MOMA.