Liberty Lunch closed in the late 90's. Cavity Club closed in the mid-90's The Cave Club closed in 1985, dude. The Black Cat burned down in August 2000. You forgot the Electric Lounge, which shut down in 1999. Anyway, you need to move on, buddy. There are still a whole bunch of non-douche places to see music in Austin. I could list them for you if you wish. Of course, you will find the occasional douchebaggery anywhere. If you can find a town without douche bags, please let me know. And, you really can't compare Austin and Houston in terms of live music. Houston's only unique music scene is purple drink & krunk.
Thanks for posting this. I came across Dennis a few times back in the day. Also had a few friends that played on the strip that grew to despise his sleazy ways. Thankfully, I was never in a band that he would have touched with a 10 foot pole.
Ridiculous that people who knowinlgy moved into lofts across from a freeking music venue the b****ed about the (extremely minimal) noise and were able to effectively shut it down.
Man, I still remember fondly going to see De Schmog, Sprawl, and Billy Goat at the Vatican. Good times.
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Thanks... I was simply trying to show the similarities between what Jeff sees happening in Houston now and what started really happening in Austin in the 1990s. I know the music scene is Austin is much different than it is in Houston (genius). I would venture to say the amount of douchebaggery in Austin (bars specifically) far exceeds that of Houston (especially per capita). The entirety of Sixth Street is one of the most Douchetastic places on the PLANET.
IMO 6th St. isn't douchey, it's ghetto. Washington Ave. is douchey. And when it's not the hot spot anymore, it will become ghetto.
I was at the Porch Swing last Saturday(sorry Jeff) and my brother's friend wanted to check that place out because he had seen it during the day. When we got there there was a line of people and limos outside. Was that the grand opening or something? I couldn't believe how many people were trying to get into a "sports bar." I also saw a large formal party exiting the Rockefeller.
just as andre benjamin said "now the question is every n**** with dreads for the cause? is every n**** with gold for the fall? naw, so dont get caught up in appearance..." just cause they dress like a douch doesnt make them a douch and just cause they dont dress like a douche doesnt mean they are not
All it means is that the property taxes and lack of parking for ONE CLUB forced it to relocate. There is no greater meaning to be deciphered. I, for one, think Washington Avenue is fine as it is now. It keeps the douches out of Montrose. And I've been to a few of the bars on that strip, they aren't the worst in town. Why we should pile on Washington while giving the Village and Midtown a pass is beyond me.
Great blog, nice memories. My quick thoughts: – I think generally, clubs have a half-life of about 5 years. They're like bands. Some persevere. But its a tough business, and when key people leave - and like bands, clubs usually have one or two personalities holding the place together, which burns good people out quickly - they get cute with cutting corners, making more money, adding a gimmick, etc. Considering the drugs, alcohol and mayhem surrounding bars, it is always a dicey gig to take unless you are super resilient. – Jeff did not mention one great thing about the Satellite in the mid-1990s that I think is worth mentioning; pre-sobriety Rudy T. was around constantly. Even though I am so happy he is sober and healthy, and want him to lead a long healthy life with a happy family and so forth.. man, it was a buzz when he showed up. Remember, the Rockets were winning titles in the 90s, and Rudy was just plain around. And even at late hours, he was a total gentleman, patient, kind, and generous. Very nice guy, very approachable, very present, and it kind of electrified random weeknights at the Satellite (and s____holes like Savages, or wherever he was). Billy Gibbons was also a fixture at the Satellite. – Rockefellers was incredible. It was a strange room, it felt like the stage was in the middle of the dance floor, it was always a little disconcerting to have people above and behind you when you played, bands rarely play directly upwards. But it was a really nicely done club, and houston has ever replaced it. Like, where else would you see people like Nick Lowe, Leo Kottke, NRBQ... big name niche acts. It was a music venue that served drinks, not a bar with bands, which is what most turn out to be, even good ones. – I have to mention my ex-bandmate and lifelong friend David Beebe when reading this; he (an insanely talented musician himself) helped run the Satellite in the mid-late 1990s with Keith Coit (RIP), and they really did a great job of making it work many nights of the week with very little bullcrap going on. Good ownership too. The baton-passing to the Continental Club (to the equally shrewd Pete Gordon) is all David; I would argue that he brought what he could of the austin scene (continental, hole in the wall, black cat and even friggin mercado carribe) to the satellite before the houston continental opened. The acts, the economy of that experience, the respect for non-blockbuster good roots rock bands, the attention to houstons unique musical history unrelated to austin ( herchel berry / jimmy raycraft / road kings / grady gaines) was unique, and is still practiced at the continental as far as i can tell. he set the stage for the continental to do what it has done, in a lot of ways, i dont think the houston scene could have digested the continental without the satellite. It would be great to have rockefellers still around, that was 1980s houston at its best.
And this is flat out bull****. At least the part about walking. HPD DWI Task Force is on Washington and Center like flies on ****. They've also been handing out PI's to people who do try to walk and avoid the DWI. So you cab and walk it between bars and still risk jail. Wonderful. Oh, and the city is supposedly stralling or preventing rickshaws from operating on nthe street to move people between bars. Guess too much revenue from DWI & PI violations....
