Otsikko sen jo kertoo. www.cnn.com CBGB's, epicenter of live punk, closing its doors
POSTED: 1:47 p.m. EDT, October 13, 2006
NEW YORK (AP) -- Legs McNeil remembers the night back in 1975 when he walked into the dingy storefront club perched in the even dingier Bowery neighborhood. The band onstage, four guys in leather jackets and torn jeans, was the Ramones. McNeil sat at a nearby table, watching their set with Lou Reed.
It was unforgettable. But as McNeil would soon discover, it was just a typical night at CBGB's, the club that spawned punk rock while launching the careers of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Blondie, the Talking Heads and the Ramones.
"Every night was memorable, except I don't remember 'em," said a laughing McNeil, co-author of the punk rock history "Please Kill Me."
After Sunday, memories are all that will remain when the cramped club with its capacity of barely 300 people goes out of business after 33 years. Although its boom years are long gone, CBGB's remained a Manhattan music scene fixture: part museum, part barroom, home to more than a few rock and roll ghosts.
The club didn't exit without a fight. An assortment of high-profile backers, including E Street Band guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt, battled to keep the legendary club open. But in the end, it was a simple landlord-tenant dispute -- and owner Hilly Kristal saw the handwriting on the club's dank walls.
"I knew the closing was inevitable, because my lawyers said, `You can't win this case. The law is that your lease is up, and they don't even need a reason to put you out,"' said Kristal.
Kristal sits beneath a platinum record from Joan Jett, a CBGB's clock and a few of the endless band stickers that blanket the interior. Kristal, who is battling lung cancer, wears a black and white CBGB's T-shirt with a matching baseball cap.
He once managed the Village Vanguard, the renowned jazz club where he booked acts like Miles Davis. Things were a bit different at his new club: "In rock, the bands were creative -- but at first, they didn't play so well."
The first punk-scene band at Kristal's nightspot was Television, soon followed by Patti Smith. Punk poet Smith will play the closing night as well, a booking that Kristal described as effortless.
Smith isn't the only veteran playing one last gig. The '80s hardcore band Bad Brains and the '70s punks the Dictators are both scheduled for the final week. Blondie's Debbie Harry and Chris Stein are also stopping by.
When Kristal opened his doors in December 1973, CBGB's stood for country, bluegrass and blues -- three musical styles that wound up in short supply. Tommy Ramone, drummer for the Ramones, recalled how a new breed of bands gravitated to the space.
"At that time, there were no places to play in New York," Ramone said last year. "It was a very dead time in New York City, doldrums all around. But CBGB's allowed bands -- original bands, no less -- the freedom to go and play and do whatever they pleased."
Kristal plans to move the club far from its roots with a new CBGB's in Las Vegas. The owner plans to strip the current club down to the bare walls, bringing as much of it to Nevada as possible.
"We're going to take the urinals," he said. "I'll take whatever I can. The movers said, `You ought to take everything, and auction off what you don't want on eBay.' Why not? Somebody will."
Even a longtime CBGB's devotee like McNeil thinks the best advice for the 74-year-Kristal is go west, old man.
"I always said Hilly should go to Vegas," said McNeil. "Girls with augmented breasts playing Joey Ramone slot machines. It would become an institution."To talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming |
 thescientist
13.10.2006 23:14:30 | |
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En vo uskoa että CBGB's sulkee ovet. En vaan voi. Sellainen paikka musiikin historiassa, niin paljon asioita on tapahtunut siellä. Ihan uskomatonta. "My silence will convict me."
Kuunneltua
Romantikkoitkijät #30 |
 Paperilyhty
14.10.2006 00:31:13 | |
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Wau. Aika uutinen :O
Hienot lopettajaiset tulee varmaankin kyllä. "We always wanted to sell out but no one was buying" - Wayne Kramer, MC5 |
 Tarkastaja
14.10.2006 00:45:52 (muokattu 14.10.2006 00:46:04) | |
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Nyt saatiin Las Vegasiin yks muovinen turistikohde lisää. Punk-casino. |
Manuel Pyrhullo
14.10.2006 03:02:09 (muokattu 14.10.2006 14:10:16) | |
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Mitenköhän tämä vaikuttaa elämääni?
e: Annetaan viestille lisäarvoa, eli lisää sanoja, niin kenenkään ei tarvi huomautella tai kitistä kevyessä humalassa kirjoitelluista yhden rivin yöviesteistä.
Varmasti mahtava paikka, kun siellä noin kovat bändit ovat soittaneet. Sääli, että tuonkaltaisen historiallisen paikan täytyy sulkea ovensa.
RIP CBGB & OMFUG |
 Feggy
14.10.2006 08:49:43 | |
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Mitenköhän tämä vaikuttaa elämääni?
Olipas tarpeellinen viesti. |
 rheinone
14.10.2006 09:57:38 | |
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Nyt saatiin Las Vegasiin yks muovinen turistikohde lisää. Punk-casino.
Just näin. All you gotta do is plug me into High Voltage Rock'n'Roll. |
 ChangeOfSeasons
14.10.2006 11:41:52 | |
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Onneksi tuli käytyä paikalla viime vuonna. Todella harmi :( |
krautio
15.10.2006 18:16:18 | |
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Jep, itsekin kävin siellä kesäkuussa 2006. Melkoinen paikka, joka ikinen paikka vuorattu tarroilla. Ja vessat, voe hele***ti!!
Ainoa miinus oli se, että kyseisenä iltana siellä soitti todella surkeita bändejä. Kiroilin mielessäni, että matkustin rapakon toiselle puolelle katsomaan sitä, miten kitara viritetään lavalla kesken keikan. Piti lähteä kesken pois.
t. Köpe
Onneksi tuli käytyä paikalla viime vuonna. Todella harmi :( "I would step on anyone who fucked around with my band - personally. I would never send in a heavy, I'd deal with it myself, just as I would go to any lengths to get the band the money they were due" - Peter Grant, The Man Who Led Zeppelin, page 96. |
Roberto
15.10.2006 18:26:10 | |
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Ihan loistavaa että muuttavat, mesta jatkaa toimintaa ja saavuttaa ennenpitkää ansaitsemaansa ikoniutta. Nykissä homma hyytyi melkolailla jo kauan sitten. |
 Flash
16.10.2006 08:45:55 | |
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Jep, itsekin kävin siellä kesäkuussa 2006. Melkoinen paikka, joka ikinen paikka vuorattu tarroilla. Ja vessat, voe hele***ti!!
Kas, itekkin kävin siellä just kesäkuussa. Onneksi tuli käytyä. Live Music Is Better! |
 Sarko
16.10.2006 10:37:39 (muokattu 16.10.2006 10:38:49) | |
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Country, Bluegrass, Blues.
R.I.P CBGB's.
EDIT: Mielestäni todella hienoa että CBGB'sin viimeisellä HC-Punk keikalla soitti Bad Brains, tosin ilman HR:rää Stakes are high, but so am i. |
Coatl