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In the UK in London there was/is a club called the Marquee. It has in the course of it’s 40+ year history had about 4 different locations. In the mid 1960s its 2nd venue was a small lane just off of Wardour St in the heart of Soho. Hendrix, the Who etc played there. It was by all accounts ‘the place to play’. Sometime in the 1970s I think it got moved to Charring Cross road about 1/2 a mile away. The original venue (nestled next to the mighty Ship Inn – great pub, if you’re in London check it out) was turned into a car park! Even that has now been knocked down. Recently it was re-developed and its now luxury flats!
The 2nd ‘official’ Marquee was kinda famous for putting on ‘rock’ shows. Hordes of metal bands, poodle rock, hard rock, Â indie rock etc etc. Guns And Roses played there, Janes Addiction too. You name ’em. It had a little legendary phase and then as the 80s turned into the 90s it seemed to lose it’s way. No one played there, it traded on it’s name, the booker didn’t have his/her finger on the pulse. Whatever. I can remember there being a bit of an outcry when it was announced that it was gonna be shut as the brewery who owned it thought they could turn more profit running it as a theme pub in what is a touristy part of town. People moaned and moaned. But frankly the place was well past it’s prime and the scene (for what it was) had moved up the road to Camden or wherever. It’s now a terrible chain pub called the Moon Under Water. No one goes there!
Then about 3 years ago they opened a NEW Marquee in a shopping centre in Islington which is in North London. Quite a way from Soho. I think Dave Stewart the dude from the Eurhythmics had a hand in it. It was however AWFUL!! Soulless mini shopping mall. New Marquee situated next to a cinema, a Borders, couple of theme pubs! Didn’t work. Within a year it has shut down with the club re-opening as the Islington Academy. Terrible place to see bands.
Now they’ve re-opened the Marquee back in the centre of London in Leicester Sq, which may be closer to Soho in location but still a million miles away in spirit. The location is a 3 floored ex-dance venue. I’ve been there once to see a ‘showcase’. No one plays there. The place is seen as a bit of a joke (my band are playing there in 2 weeks – so it must be a joke!!). Never seen ANYONE of any merit booked to play. It’s kind of a tourist trap.
My point? Don’t really have one:) Just an observation. I think its sad that CBGBs is shutting. But if the place has ‘had it’s day’ better it shut and folks remember it for what it was than for it’s turned into. I agree with Dorado in that ‘punk’ isn’t a nostalgia thang. Don’t know New York, but if there is something going on up the road then better to get involved and make your own ‘scene’ (for want of a better word) than hanging onto one that has by all accounts had it’s time.
Hope this doesn’t upset the apple cart – this is just an observation about an almost similar situation in London:)I think you could almost stretch it to side 1 of You’re Living All Over Me being the best’ SIDE 1′ of an album in rock history…
Last nights London Koko show sort of re-inforced by 15 + year belief in this theory.Little Fury Things
Kracked
Sludgefeast
The LungI’m kinda serious about this
!
In a positive way!
It’s got everything you could possibly need.
Not being disparging on Side 2 which IMO in Raisans has one of the greatest guitar solos in the (adopts booming biblical voice) ‘HISTORY OF ROCK’.From what I can gather the gig was late(ish) starting as the band were kinda delayed getting into the country from Dublin (or so I was told). But agreed an earlier start would have been cooler – then I wouldn’t personally have had to get a dodgy night bus and witnessed a gang fight/stabbing!! Jesus – kids these days!! There was claret everywhere…. No one seriously hurt (well the stabbed kid and his mates ran off REALLY fast..).
Still even that couldn’t ruin last night!Roll on that DVD!
Personally speaking I thought the Alexander Tucker set was kinda great. He was rocking a Six Organs Of Admittance/Currituck Co vibe. All the way from Tunbridge Wells no less! Psychy folk! Lets have it!
I guess we could have had, I don’t know, some modern bottom feeding sub-grunge rubbish like 9 Black Alps or something, but Dino Jr seems to pick cool supports…Ok – just add my tuppence in.
Er… what a great night! What a great show!!
I started watching on the balcony but by Sludgefeast was down in the crowd – then up front positioned between J and Lou – right in front of Murph.
Does anyone remember the plastecine cartoon character Morph – kids tv show in the early 80s. Morph had a friend called Chas. Murph is now a dead ringer for Chas! I guess you have to be from the UK and the wrong side of 30 to know what I’m talking about here:)
The set worked great I thought. Well the album is perfect imo – but the encores were very cool indeed.
J knocking the cymbal over made me laugh!! So punk rock man…..
As discussed only downer was idiots shouting / talking really loud at the front during Poledo. I mean… wtf! Shut up for one minute will ya – this is a total one off!!
I think Kokos ok. They have air conditioning!! How cool is that….for a UK club thats pretty unheard of! Whatever next cold beer? It was a VERY hot night. Roll on Mudhoney in 2 weeks.
One things that shocked me was the size of Js stack I mean 3 x Marshall stacks! Thats bigger than what he had at the Forum. It wasn’t ‘too’ loud either. In fact sound wise from where I was it was probably the best sound I’ve heard at a Dino J gig – and I’ve been going to see them since 1989.Picked up a gig poster at the end – really nice quality paper print. Cool image – # 73 of 80 I think. £12 – not bad! Gonna get it framed!
I picked the JayLouMurph CD up this week off of UK Ebay (payed £11 – not bad I guess) and it’s pretty excellent. Totally captures the original line up experience 1st time around. Total wall of noise in parts and some great tape loop between songs bits – ‘Thankyou, thankyou’ etc etc
Great to hear a live version of Don’t too!!I’ve always thought J was a snappy dresser
Some classic on stage T Shirts include a marvellous Strength Through Oi! t shirt (with the ‘orrible Skin dude botting his boot towards the camera) and that old Tad Sub Pop t shirt he used to sport with the hearts in Tads eye. Liked his Alien Workshop Ts too!
He’s really rocking it with that Wolf t shirt though. You’ve got to really not care/have a lot of balls to pull that look off. Kinda Market Stall/Fairground chic!! Over in the UK about 15 years ago there was a real trend for kids to wear black bomber jackets with that kinda realistic panther design on the back. Mmm classy!!!
I used to dig his dyed Levi jacket and thick cardigan combo too.
Er…. maybe too much info here.I can relate to this!! It sounds like the US shows have been amazing…. I have seen some great gigs this year… Arcade Fire in Paris, Comets On Fire in a wee pub in Brighton, Melvins in London… But Dinosaur at the Forum…..
I felt battered afterwards – but ina good way. So inspired but I want another fix…. so roll on the You’re Living All Over Me show!
Dinosaur addiction is tough to kick….Buy that ticket (if you didn’t already!) and get more pics! These are amazing! It’s like Dinosaur Jr PORN!!
You should do prints….
Does J only play the Strat on Mountain Man? He didn’t use it in London. Roll on their next London show!
Thanks again!I have plenty of very fond ‘early’ Dinosaur Jr memories. I think I kinda discovered them in mid 1988, around the time of the Freak Scene single and Bug release. Maybe it was just before that, anyway….. it’s a long time ago and I was 17 so I think I was just beginning to…..you know smoke a bit, have a few drinks every now and then:) My big friend (still to this day) was a dude we called Dob (real name Robert) who had a copy of You’re Living All Over Me which we would blast at every opportunity. We would hang in his house A LOT. We weren’t cool. We didn’t have girlfriends. We had long hair. We were sorta proto-grungers (you know ripped jeans, converse boots, check shirts, beads etc – remember this is pre-Nirvana). We read comics, listened to John Peel on the radio, watched trashy movies, chugged cheap lager, went to gigs, listened to Sonic Youth, hardcore blah blah blah.
Anyway it’s spring 1989 and word was Dinosaur Jr were gonna be playing some rare UK shows so like WE WERE THERE!
We lived on the South Coast of the UK and the closest and easiest show to get to was Portsmouth at the Polytechnic. The show was on a Saturday night, so great, EASY! We would either jump on the train or cadge a lift and drive down on the night get a ticket etc etc. It was going to be a BLAST!
Anyway as it turned out a few of our friends wanted to go as well which was cool, so a lift was arranged and on a sunny May evening 5 of us (me, Dob, Stan, Kev and Chad piled into our friend Stan’s really small Fiat car and off we raced to Pompey! 45 minute drive and we were there……..however it seemed that every indie rock fan in the South of England was also there. The whole area around the venue was packed and there was a big sign saying those fateful words. SOLD OUT. We were screwed…….we were NOT getting into this show:(
We were just gonna split, find a pub, whatever, when I spotted a familiar bespectacled looking bass guitarist hanging out in the parking lot. I just thought F%*@ it I’m gonna go talk to him!! So I approach Lou who by now has Murph stood next to him.
Me:
‘Lou, hey how’s it going? Er me and my 5 buddies have driven a really long way to see you tonight and we don’t have tickets and the gig is sold out, is there anyway that you could you know either sneak us in or like put us on the guest list?’
Lou:
‘Sure no problem, what are your names? Anyone got a pen?’
So Lou, the GOD that he is, puts me and my five mates on the guest list. We thank him (I think Chad actually dropped to his knees and kissed Lou’s hand!!) and swagger past the locked out crowds and go to the box office to where Lou has just taken the list and we are IN! I quickly buy myself a ticket to the Mudhoney show that was happening the following week (another story!!) and it all goes off!! Lunachicks support. Then Dino J play and it’s an incredible gig! There’s a (really bad) recording of the show on the Video/Audio site. They play all the greats plus weird covers of Gigantic by the Pixies and some intense kinda Napalm Death noise jams!! What a night! What a band!!!!
As they say at AA meetings (so I hear:) thanks for letting me share!!
