Remembering Liberty Hall - Concert venue on Chenevert in downtown Houston

[homas]

^{I recall Frannie and Francis washing dishes at the Hand until they got busted at the Brazos House,}

 

[homas]

Yeah I hung out with Frannie when he was with Sonja. I think the guy I followed as dishwasher was named George.

[Jabbo]

Icepickphil and all others, I very much remember Liberty Hall... my first trip there was with the wonderful woman who would become my wife and the mother of our children. Also on this -gifted trip, thanks to some 'scored tickets'- were two dear life friends, both of whom have now passed.

 

This would be late 1973~74... venue would have, to me at least, ONE standout... Mr. Leon Redbone. Awesome.

 

Just this evening, I'd pulled up "Without My Walkin' Stick" on the steer-e-o; close my eyes and I could see, smell, hear, almost touch that evening so long ago in Houston, Texas at a divey kind'a place called "Liberty Hall".

 

Yep, I wuz there...

 

Jabbo
 

[GEM]

   !!

[Gayle]

I was a regular at Liberty Hall back in the day. To see this post brings back so many memories.i was a girlfriend of Townes Van Zandt during that time and frequented The Old Quarter every night. 

I miss those days. : (

so many many stories.....

[Gayle]

On January 26, 2014 at 1:02 AM, tomcat said:

FYI - The original vintage Liberty Hall t-shirts brand were "screen star basics". Mike C. had a few t-shirts made up a few years back, for a Friends of Liberty Hall event those were "Gildan", but oroginal artwork, by the way great get togeather about 30 liberty hall posters on display and good turnout. I was hoping to see Roberto G. but he was unable to attend. I was sad to hear he died, it must have shortly after Mikes event.

I made some great memories at Liberty Hall. We loved life and good music, althoigh Mike & Robert were occationly intence.

I built, owned & ran the sound system w/Mark Speck (now a dds.) The bands I remember working with were: Goose Creek Sym., David Bromderg. Michel Murphy, Lightening Hopkins, B.J. Thomas, Jerry Jeff Waller, Dr. John, Bonnie Rayet, Asleep at the Wheel.

Great times,

Tommy Ray

Edited September 26, 2016 by Gayle
Replied in wrong place.

[Gayle]

I remember Lightening well. I lived off truxillo St in a group of 4-plexes, garage apts and a big house. ZZ-Top lived there, Dale Soffar and Rex Bell (old quarter)... The music was always flowing. 

Jerry Jeff spent part of his 40th birthday at my place visiting with Townes. There used to be an old hobo named Sinbad. Townes would let him hang out, buy him some wine and he'd cooks for everyone. 

 

 

[jbird]

1966-68..remember being a little nervous the first time...wasn't sure how safe this location would be...

but a great venue...Robert Klein, Lightning Hopkins etc

RE: Sand Mountain maybe 1965? just before high grad....it was on Richmond believe..very plain,small and "cozy" coffee house

saw a folk singer...Jimmy???...this was a first date ...remember very clearly the singer asking for "all virgins..please raise your hands"

 

[Earlydays]

.....my wife and I saw Townes Van Zandt at Sand Mountain on a date in 1965. It was on Richmond, just a few blocks west of Montrose.

[DWah]

On 2/14/2007 at 6:45 AM, Frank M said:

I saw Billy Cobham/Eric Johnson & The Electromagnets there, and took some great pictures I'll have to dig up. Great show!

 

 

Same here. 1977 or 1978

[Bash]

My girlfriend then (and now still my lovely bride 45 years later) saw a number of shows at Liberty Hall in the '73-'75 era.  First one was Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris alongside; a spectacular show with Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids (they were also in the movie 'American Graffiti'); Marshall Tucker;  the Wet Willie Band;  and my favorites:  Little Feat a couple of times - once with Bonnie Raitt and her fretless bass player Freebo (great, great shows).  When Bonnie won all those Grammys in the early 90s and mentioned something about being a '20-year overnite success', I felt like I understood where she was coming from.   I know there were other shows we saw, but those are ones I still remember something about.  I was relatively new to Houston then and the Hall became one of my favorite venues.

[MomOfAggies]

I worked there for tips (and free music). Saw a lot of great musicians. One group in particular that really floored me was El Chicano. 

[jcdenton]

Not only did the Velvet Underground perform at Liberty Hall, but that's where they played their final show which included any of the original members, since Sterling Morrison quit the band that night (at IAH): 

"By August 21, 1971, mainstay guitarist Sterling Morrison was burned out, bitter and angry. He’d finally gotten his undergraduate degree in English and was looking for a quieter life. After the second night of the band’s two-night engagement at downtown’s late, lamented Liberty Hall, Morrison grabbed his suitcase and accompanied the band to the airport to catch the flight back to New York. At the gate, Morrison told them he wouldn’t be getting on the plane. In fact, he was quitting the band, he said. They asked about his suitcase. It was empty, he told them."

https://www.houstoniamag.com/arts-and-culture/2013/10/velvet-bayou-october-2013

Edited March 3 by jcdenton

[jcdenton]

BTW does anyone know where exactly on the lot the Liberty Hall structure was located? From looking at tomlaf's photo above, it looks like it was at the corner of Chenevert and Leeland, i.e. the eastern corner; is that right? Or was it closer to the middle between Chenevert and Pease?

[hindesky]

1 hour ago, jcdenton said:

BTW does anyone know where exactly on the lot the Liberty Hall structure was located? From looking at tomlaf's photo above, it looks like it was at the corner of Chenevert and Leeland, i.e. the eastern corner; is that right? Or was it closer to the middle between Chenevert and Pease?

This shows it at 1610 Chenevert.

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Liberty_Hall_(Houston,_Texas)

A list of all the artist that played there. Incredible list of bands. I didn't move here till Sept,'78 otherwise I would have gone there.

https://www.rockinhouston.com/venues/liberty-hall/59/

 

[jcdenton]

Thanks hindesky,

I saw that, but wasn't sure if Google Maps was just arbitrarily marking the address on the middle of the block, or if that really reflected the precise location. And when I checked it out on Google Streetview, it seemed that 1610 was closer to the eastern corner of the block.

HOWEVER, looking a bit closer again at tomlaf's photo, I see from the positions of the telephone poles (assuming they haven't been moved), it does indeed look like the building was originally located in that middle area, which also matches up with the foundation being right there in that spot as it appears in the photo (though it has since been converted to a parking lot).