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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 9:54 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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We had great small clubs here in Las Vegas. They lasted through the early 1980's.
just a few were the Troubadour and the Moby Grape. From what I remember I think I had a lot of fun there. :?


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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 3:03 pm
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Thee Image, in Miami Beach. It opened in 1968. You never knew who was going to show up there.

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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2015 5:58 am
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We had a couple of great rock clubs in Connecticut when I was a youngster. The Agora Ballroom in West Hartford would draw both national and local bands. Your feet would stick to the floor. The Shaboo Inn in Willamantic out near Eastern CT State and UConn drew many national acts to this old 19th century textile mill. Today, the house band, the Shaboo All-Stars play the occasional gig at one of the big casinos near the Connecticut shore. I'm know there were other clubs down in the New Haven area.

Fast forward to the 1990s -- There was a club in New Britain called The Sting. You could see acts on the way up and on the way down. I got to see Steppenwolf (actually John Kay and four guys from New Hampshire), the Tower of Power, Peter Frampton and many of the acts I missed in the '70s. Alas, I believe that club is gone, too.


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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 8:42 pm
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Decent bars around the Utica, NY area back in the 60s and 70s. The clubs near town tended to be "Top 40" type live music back then. But on the outskirts there were many bars that were more rock oriented. My band did a few of the Top 40 places (usually on slow nights) but our forte was the bars, where you could let it go and they'd love you. Also back then: high school dances and they'd pay fairly well sometimes. You could play 4 nights a week and make a living at it without being a big name headliner.

But the late 70s came, and along with that a combination of Disco and bands pricing themselves out of the market. We could get a decent sized bar to go $500 - $600 when they knew we'd pack the place. But then bands began to inch up to $1K and when they also started charging high schools that much ... record hops came back in. Soon live music became rare - a big party house might occasionally feature a couple top area bands -- for $20 admission instead of the $1.99 (or less) in my time. That was then but ...

... tough DUI laws and then no smoking laws pretty much finished the scene off. According to friends still in the area, most people are afraid to go to a bar. If there's going to be music, the cops will be there in force ... okay if you don't drink and don't mind minor harassment on your way home. But otherwise ... well, the area music scene is pretty much dead.


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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 6:49 pm
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In the Bay Area, there was the Key Stone Berkeley, the Key Stone San Francisco (aka "the Stone"), and the Key Stone Palo Alto. For us in Marin County, the Key Stone Berkeley was best because it was very easy to get to (compared to the Stone in SF) and wayyyy easier parking. Ahhhh, the bands I saw there ... the Joe Perry Project (just after he left Aerosmith), Ronnie Montrose, the Tubes, Santana, Y&T, Todd Rundgren, Rick Derringer, Quiet Riot (who were an unknown opener for Vandenburg; their 'Metal Health' was just being released - within 6 months, they'd be shockingly huge), the Dregs ... wayyyy too many bands to list ...

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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 11:39 pm
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The Stone and the Keystone Berkeley were ok. The trick to parking at The Stone or The Fab Mab was to park down around Battery, Vallejo or Front Streets and then walk up the hill.

The Keystone Palo Alto had lousy acoustics; you went to see somebody there not to hear them. One Step Beyond was better.

The hot ticket in Frisco of olde was the Old Waldorf. Free parking in the Embarcadero, and because it had a foot bridge connecting the parking to the section with the club the girls felt safe wearing some pretty jaw dropping numbers…


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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:39 pm
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The 60s, and 70s saw many clubs with revival bands for those of all ages to enjoy. At least in my area, any of these available entertainers will now be concert bound, and tribute bands may or may not be available for club work. House bands may be in attendance with a sprinkling of touring musicians. Regardless, with society changes, music trends, management, promoters, and ticket distribution, it seems canned music and spinning tunes (some good, some great, some bad, some very bad) is the name of the game today. Spun dance music is one thing, but watching headsets rock versus live bands and performers is another. IMHO. Lighting and projection is optional.YMMV

I'm glad to have had the opportunity to have had choices when some legends were still hitting the smaller venues. Some of today's legends paid their dues at these clubs where we participated in their success. Today, not so much.

To those bands and artists and establishments that continue to entertain us with accessible and affordable live entertainment for the love of music THANKS!

For the fan support of said artists - Ditto :wink:
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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 5:04 pm
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I was born in the 60's, so I was probably to young to remember any rock clubs back then, and my parents weren't that cool to drag me out to any clubs as a kid. My first concert was Boston back in 1977 or so.

I live close enough to Northampton MA, where I frequent a club called the Iron Horse. The Iron Horse goes back to like 1979, and has many blues, folks, rock, pop, jazz and so on bands. They really mix it up. Over the past 3 decade I have seen countless bands there and at a sister club called Pearl Street.

The Iron Horse was at one time selling pricey dinners, but that all changed and dinners are now kept to less expensive eats, snack and beer. I'll used to go out more, but if there's a band I want to see I will check em out.

In my home town here, there's the Wilco Fest/ Solid Sound Fest and I have never missed that. Plus we have the Fresh Grass Fest here at a place called Mass Moca. I don't see every show, but I see quite a few shows there.

The music scene has really changed over the past 30 years. There's a lot of good music out there, but you need to look a bit around for it. With all the social networking out there, you think it would be easier for folks to hear about these bands, but it takes a bit of effort. Older folks have family commitments, work commitments, mortgages, and all the other stuff that goes along with being a responsible person, like paying the electric bill. You can't always just drop everything on some old ball Tuesday night and head out till midnight. I guess you could, but most don't.

Major labels haven't helped. It seems if a band can't pulling in millions to support a group of over paid old executives that probably haven't been out or bought a record in 40 years, there just not gonna take a chance.

Wish I was a kid in the 60's, and had gotten the chance to hear some of the bands that would go on to big names. I have no issues with what's happening in music today. Each generation has there own music. The thing about being in a band today is you really need to run a24/7 business, just as much as you need to be a musician and artist.


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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 8:15 am
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Aspiring Musician
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This is kind of a side note on this subject, but one of the myriad of reasons live music scenes are dying out is that MOST clubs and venues start the music too late in the evening/night.

Think about this:
You have a "normal" (whatever that means nowadays) job, with an 8AM to 5Pm shift...you would like to go out and hear some music, but the venue doesn't open until 9PM, the music doesn't start until 10PM, and the show isn't over until 2AM (I'm referring to a standard bar-band scenario).

If this is a weekday or a workday, there's little or no chance that you will subject your body to that kind of abuse...even if you don't drink or drink lightly, it's going to be really tough or you're going to have to REALLY like that band in order to stick it out for the whole show and then go to work the next day.

Add to that...if you have kids, you'll need a sitter who is willing/able to stay until 3AM (when you finally get home).

Even if it's the weekend, the kids have activities (soccer, dance recital, piano lessons, etc.) that you'll be pretty useless to participate in or enjoy.

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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 8:15 am
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Aspiring Musician
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My last three treks to go out and listen to a "bar band" had the bands' last set playing to a mostly-empty room...and these were good-to-great bands with a very loyal following. The manager was griping about the lack of bar receipts during the last two sets (set three, the crowd started thinning; set four, they were less than sparse)...however, earlier in the evening (during the first two sets), the bar was packed.

There is a chain of high-end gourmet "lifestyle" grocery stores in Texas called Central Market. They have live music and other events from early spring to late fall on an outdoor stage. You can buy foodstuffs and drinks inside and imbibe during the performance (they also have burgers, beer and wine outside)...there's also amenities for the kids (playground, etc.).

The bands play from 6 to 9, and the place is packed 99% of the time. The bands are average to good (occasionally great). The last set is rarely sparse, and if it is, it's generally the band's fault (just not interesting enough)...

The Screamin' Armadillos have played there 3 or 4 times, and every time, we had fun, the audience had fun and we were home before 11PM...making normal family functions possible the next day, for both band and audience.

Likewise, there's another venue in Fort Worth called Fred's Texas that also has live music, which usually starts around 5 o'clock...they will book two or three performers or bands, which will play until 12 Midnight or so...but you have the option to hear some live music and get home at a reasonable time.

Both of these venues are all-ages as well (Fred's is a little less kid-friendly, but ok), so kids are being exposed to live music as well...

After playing a 10PM to 2AM bar gig to an increasingly thin crowd (it started out standing-room-only but got sadly empty towards the end of the 4th set, which started at 1:15AM), I convinced the bar owner manager that "our crowd" (the regulars who followed us) would be better suited to an 8PM to Midnight show...the following week, we played another gig, same set list, same guys in the band, and same crowd in the bar...and the place stayed packed until we finished...in fact, many of them stayed while we broke down everything and loaded up, so she had customers there until 1AM.

But when we went to book a third show, she was concerned about the FIVE DRUNK PATRONS (plus a small smattering of our die-hard fans) that weren't going to be entertained during the time period of our last set (just before last call/closing time at 2AM).

I pointed out that those same people were still there at closing time, because they were there to drink, not to be entertained. I also asked her to calculate how much five drunks were spending during that last hour as opposed to the seventy to eighty people we brought in that stayed for four full hours (between 8 and Midnight)...but she just couldn't/didn't get it, because tradition/precedent/whatever says you have music until 2 or 3.

The bar managers are shooting themselves in the foot and making it less profitable for themselves because they insist on doing business the same way it was done in 1975.

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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 1:47 pm
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Screamin Armadillo wrote:
This is kind of a side note on this subject, but one of the myriad of reasons live music scenes are dying out is that MOST clubs and venues start the music too late in the evening/night.

Think about this:
You have a "normal" (whatever that means nowadays) job, with an 8AM to 5Pm shift...you would like to go out and hear some music, but the venue doesn't open until 9PM, the music doesn't start until 10PM, and the show isn't over until 2AM (I'm referring to a standard bar-band scenario).

If this is a weekday or a workday, there's little or no chance that you will subject your body to that kind of abuse...even if you don't drink or drink lightly, it's going to be really tough or you're going to have to REALLY like that band in order to stick it out for the whole show and then go to work the next day.

Add to that...if you have kids, you'll need a sitter who is willing/able to stay until 3AM (when you finally get home).

Even if it's the weekend, the kids have activities (soccer, dance recital, piano lessons, etc.) that you'll be pretty useless to participate in or enjoy.



I think so


I see a lot of shows that start at 7pm. The shows last about 2 hours or so. Ya have a few drinks and your home by the time the late night news is on.

Doesn't really effect your life too much.

When show start at 9 or later, now you're talking whole different story.

I saw Ryan Adams at a small club one time ( I have seen him a few times) but he started on Ryan time, doors opened at 7 pm, Ryan gets to the stage at 9-ish. He played a set and said he was gonna take a short break. The short break was an hour and a half. I could barely stay for a few song from the second set.

I told my buddy Ryan was on Ryan time, not Mike time.


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Post subject: Re: rock clubs in the 60's and 70's
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:15 pm
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Roadie
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60s and 70s in upstate NY, high school dances were usually 8 - 11, bars and clubs were 9 - 1 when I first started, but most had cut back to 9 - 12 by the early 70s. It was also usually just one band unless they were starting earlier in the evening. We didn't have pay-to-play either, though more than a few bar owners would try to get you to play for just drinks until you were fairly well known.

That all starting going out with the dance clubs -- sound system and a DJ = go all night, to 2:00AM closing. Out here in LA (where I am now), we have the venues that have different bands starting often at 7 and going to the late band coming on at 10. That's also the format in some of the local bars that feature multiple bands. Agreed: you don't want to be in the 9 - 10 slot on a week night, since most of the audience will be gone.

A new ripple here is that some of the wineries are going to live entertainment. A couple I know are doing 7 - 9 on Friday nights and they're popular so far. Another place has music on Tuesday from 7 - 10, and the 9 - 10 hour is usually pretty sparse.


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