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Favorite Defunct Nightclubs

pjs

By pjs
in New York: Dining

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lia

lia

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Posted

Danceteria and the Peppermint Lounge (hey, i'm a child of the 80's)

Most recently, Tobacco Road on w.41st. best bands.

Bottom Line had great burgers/fries.

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pjs

pjs

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The Mudd Club. Great location, down on White St., and all kinds of fashionably weird music.

Great place. The dj's would play your latest demo if you supplied them an acetate.

PJ

"Epater les bourgeois."

--Lester Bangs via Bruce Sterling

(Dori Bangs)

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HungryChris

HungryChris

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What about Studio 54 and the (gasp!) original Copacabana? (60th and 5th)

That was a while ago, but I used to work for a chain owned by Steve Rubel, who also owned Studio 54. I think Steve did a stint in prison for income tax evasion and died of AIDS. Anyway, some of us from the chain would call him and let him know we were coming and the bouncer who kind of hand picked who he let in would part the assembled masses and let us in when we showed. It was a freaky place, but fun for a single young person.

Steve used to say that the bouncer's job was to keep out all the "bridge and tunnel people". That always cracked me up.

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JennyUptown

JennyUptown

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On my very first night living in NYC, my college friend Sarah invited me to join her and her older, wiser, cooler friends at System (now Spa, I think). I was 21 and renting a filthy dorm room from NYU until I could find a place of my own.

When she told me to meet them there (instead of them coming to get me at 3rd and 11th), I was seriously stressed...about getting lost, about getting in, mostly about getting mugged so I took the mace my father insisted I accept from him as my final moving-in gift.

The club itself was fun if not completely memorable. But I can't walk up 3rd Ave to this day without laughing at myself for thinking of myself as being brave for walking all five blocks by myself. Big bad city back, right?

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mjr_inthegardens

mjr_inthegardens

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Mother in the meatpacking district,,,,,, i believe it was on west 14th ,, they had tons of diffent nights,,,,,,,,, including Jackie 60 which was supposedly a blast though i never go to go to that one,,,,,, they lost their lease the summer of 2000,,,,,, imagine that, i think theres some store there now, bummer.

Tunnel had its moments too,,,,,,,

Mother was purchased by an Alum of the club and is now FILTER 14, one of the best small underground dance music venues in the city. In some ways if not entirely it keeps the off-kilter soulful vibe of Mother going. Filter will probably be open another few years. Check it out when you can. Good fun.

SPA/SYSTEM//KEY CLUB in all its many guises was always pretty much an NYU/tourist trap playing bad music to go with overpriced drinks.

-MJR

�As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy, and to make plans.� - Ernest Hemingway, in �A Moveable Feast�

Brooklyn, NY, USA

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ErinB

ErinB

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This thread is taking me back in time. Twilo was one of my favorite clubs. Also, I'd been to the Wetlands a few times to see Ska shows.

Those were the good old days.

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tryska

tryska

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the reggae and ska shows at wetlands were awesome. soul kitchen used to be an interesting scene too. all sorts of up and coming hip-hop people looking for samples.

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sandra

sandra

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Danceteria and the Peppermint Lounge (hey, i'm a child of the 80's)

Oh yes... definitely those two and the Mudd Club and Tunnel, and of course Palladium, saw Devo there... and there was one on 14th street, downstairs, all mirrors and blue lights... can't remember the name of it.... anyone? anyone?

AND Studio 54 in the later years...

www.nutropical.com

~Borojo~

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lia

lia

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Danceteria and the Peppermint Lounge (hey,  i'm a child of the 80's)

Many a fun time was had at the Peppermint Lounge circa 82/83. (another child of the 80's). The Ritz was also a winner.

I saw Todd Rundgren at Webster Hall (aka the old Ritz) last week, first time i'd been there since the 80's...massive deja vu. The concert room is completely redone, but very nicely decorated and the sound is great too.

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Blondie

Blondie

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I saw Todd Rundgren at Webster Hall (aka the old Ritz) last week,  first time i'd been there since the 80's...massive deja vu.  The concert room is completely redone,  but very nicely decorated and the sound is great too.

In a few weeks I'll be making my first visit since the 80's too - for Gomez. I can't wait to see the space.

Sometimes When You Are Right, You Can Still Be Wrong. ~De La Vega

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pjs

pjs

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I saw Todd Rundgren at Webster Hall (aka the old Ritz) last week,  first time i'd been there since the 80's...massive deja vu.  The concert room is completely redone,   but very nicely decorated and the sound is great too.

Ah yes, Todd, the wizard of Great Neck, according to Richard Melzer.

Speaking of Great Neck in the context of this thread, WTF ever became of "My Father's Place" in nextdoor Roslyn?

And where is Eppie?

PJ

Edited to edit.

Edited by pjs (log)

"Epater les bourgeois."

--Lester Bangs via Bruce Sterling

(Dori Bangs)

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WPep

WPep

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There is not and never will be anything quite like DJ Sasha and John Digweed at TWILO. :sad:

True. True. I believe I saw Digweed's last show at Twilo.

I'm sorry....I couldn't deal with it on Friday's. Too many 18 year olds trying to show me their glowstick skillz......

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pjs

pjs

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Max's Kansas City

Highlight: Gram and Emmylou.

Green with envy. Just green. :wink:

Brooks, I've been meaning to respond to your post but the night mentioned was so surreal, surreal as to the venue and the type of talent booked, that I've had to gather my thoughts.

Yes, you should of been there. The band was hot, Gram was wasted, Emmylou seemed scared and the regulars didn't have a fucking clue of what was going on upstairs.

PJ

PS My Father's Place in Roslyn was where Andy Kaufman honed his act on Sunday amatuer nights with no pay.

Edited by pjs (log)

"Epater les bourgeois."

--Lester Bangs via Bruce Sterling

(Dori Bangs)

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pidge

pidge

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when i was in college...c.1982, we decided at midnight to take the 2 hour drive to nyc to go to the original limelight...the video installations, the pirhanas in the baptismal font, the dancing on the altar....still one of my all time favorite club nights.

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mjr_inthegardens

mjr_inthegardens

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There is not and never will be anything quite like DJ Sasha and John Digweed at TWILO. :sad:

True. True. I believe I saw Digweed's last show at Twilo.

I'm sorry....I couldn't deal with it on Friday's. Too many 18 year olds trying to show me their glowstick skillz......

true true

but some classic end of the nights around 4-7 am after all the chaff had cleared out

I'd also note that it seemed a lot less diluted in the early days before they moved the DJ booth -- 96-97... before the place got the reputation it deserved.

Avalon that is the current incarnation of the Limelight space is hit or miss. The crowd can alternately be pretty good or astonishingly obliviously bad (imo)... there's still something great about that vaulted room though.

-MJR

Edited by mjr_inthegardens (log)

�As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy, and to make plans.� - Ernest Hemingway, in �A Moveable Feast�

Brooklyn, NY, USA

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WPep

WPep

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true true

but some classic end of the nights around 4-7 am after all the chaff had cleared out

I'd also note that it seemed a lot less diluted in the early days before they moved the DJ booth -- 96-97... before the place got the reputation it deserved.

Avalon that is the current incarnation of the Limelight space is hit or miss. The crowd can alternately be pretty good or astonishingly obliviously bad (imo)... there's still something great about that vaulted room though.

-MJR

Hell, I used to walk in around 4am on Sat.Night/Sunday morning, and that was early.

You know what the problem is with Avalon......it's too "clean". All the rooms are gone. Blah.

The only cool clubs that I went to that were not considered "underground" were Centro-Fly and China Club(because I could drink free), and Space Miami.

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mjr_inthegardens

mjr_inthegardens

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true true

but some classic end of the nights around 4-7 am after all the chaff had cleared out

I'd also note that it seemed a lot less diluted in the early days before they moved the DJ booth -- 96-97... before the place got the reputation it deserved.

Avalon that is the current incarnation of the Limelight space is hit or miss. The crowd can alternately be pretty good or astonishingly obliviously bad (imo)... there's still something great about that vaulted room though.

-MJR

Hell, I used to walk in around 4am on Sat.Night/Sunday morning, and that was early.

You know what the problem is with Avalon......it's too "clean". All the rooms are gone. Blah.

The only cool clubs that I went to that were not considered "underground" were Centro-Fly and China Club(because I could drink free), and Space Miami.

Saturdays at Twilo were definitely their own league. I only did junior once or twice with friends, and of course the legendary DT night near the end.

Avalon is weird because the whole upper "reaches" of the place are vip/bottle service.. around which, disgustingly enough, the whole club scene in the city is now centered. It is definitely more antiseptic than limelight.

China Club is a tourist hellhole.

I will miss Centro a lot. Hadn't been to much recently and their attempt at redecor was atrocious, but I had part of my first date with my GF there and many other fine nights --- Laurent Garnier, Digweed, DJ Sneak...

-mjr

�As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy, and to make plans.� - Ernest Hemingway, in �A Moveable Feast�

Brooklyn, NY, USA

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hjshorter

hjshorter

Posted
Posted
when i was in college...c.1982, we decided at midnight to take the 2 hour drive to nyc to go to the original limelight...the video installations, the pirhanas in the baptismal font, the dancing on the altar....still one of my all time favorite club nights.

I was wondering if anyone would mention Limelight. What a strange place.

Heather Johnson

In Good Thyme

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jeunefilleparis

jeunefilleparis

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Mother in the meatpacking district,,,,,, i believe it was on west 14th ,, they had tons of diffent nights,,,,,,,,, including Jackie 60 which was supposedly a blast though i never go to go to that one,,,,,, they lost their lease the summer of 2000,,,,,, imagine that, i think theres some store there now, bummer.

Tunnel had its moments too,,,,,,,

Mother was purchased by an Alum of the club and is now FILTER 14, one of the best small underground dance music venues in the city. In some ways if not entirely it keeps the off-kilter soulful vibe of Mother going. Filter will probably be open another few years. Check it out when you can. Good fun.

SPA/SYSTEM//KEY CLUB in all its many guises was always pretty much an NYU/tourist trap playing bad music to go with overpriced drinks.

-MJR

well if you re talking about Spa on 13th and bway,thats now called Plaid.

"Is there anything here that wasn't brutally slaughtered" Lisa Simpson at a BBQ

"I think that the veal might have died from lonliness"

Homer

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