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Gone Dancing


Guest Marty

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Does anyone remember a club on Main almost under the elevated section of 59? It was close to where Wendys is now I think. It was a slam-dance kind of place. I'm pretty sure that was the location, but my memory may be fuzzy on it. :blush:

The Island (aka Rock Island)? That was THE place for punk in Houston back in the day. I was trying to find a photo of it online, but struck out just now with Google.

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Power Tools - that was a funny place. ^_^

Does anyone remember a club on Main almost under the elevated section of 59? It was close to where Wendys is now I think. It was a slam-dance kind of place. I'm pretty sure that was the location, but my memory may be fuzzy on it. :blush:

Yeah, Rock Island was at 4700 Main. I didn't ever go there (too young, I'm guessing), but did make it a couple of times to the last of the three incarnations of Cabaret Voltaire, another good punk club, right before it closed (they were probably letting anyone in at that point). There's a lot of good information/photos/flyers at Houston Punk Archives. I gathered a bunch of information about 80's clubs in Houston once a while ago, in a fit of nostalgia, and will see if I can find it. Those were fun days (nights).

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Looks like I didn't get too far in my '80's club list before I got distracted looking at old flyers. But here are some from my list:

6400 - ~1987-89 - 6400 Richmond

The Agora - ~1985 - Windsor Plaza

Apocalypse Monster Club (AMC) - ~1987 - Near Ellington Field

Beejay's - 1984-86

Cabaret Voltaire I - ~1984 - 22 N. Chenevert

Cabaret Voltaire II - 1985-86

Cabaret Voltaire III - 1986 - 2524 McKinney - I think the space became the Axiom, then Catal Huyuk (93-94), then Harvey's

Caribana

Confetti

International Club - 200 block Westheimer - Black Flag played there in 1985

Maceba Theater - Husker Du, Butthole Surfers, New Order

NRG - ~1986-88

The Ocean Club

Omni - ~1982 - 1540 Westheimer - D.R.I. played there

Paragon

Phideaux - 5735 Westheimer - Husker Du played there in 1986

Power Tools - Franklin

Red Square

Rock Island - 4700 Main - Known as Paradise Island before it became Rock Island - Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys played there

Therapy

Visions - 1986-88

Xcess - 1988-89 - 5134 Richmond

I didn't get to go to most of these - I was lucky if I got to go to an all-ages show at Numbers. Thought others might remember some of them, though. The Maceba Theater sounded especially interesting from what little I read about it. There seemed to be confusion about where NRG was located.

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Looks like I didn't get too far in my '80's club list before I got distracted looking at old flyers. But here are some from my list:

6400 - ~1987-89 - 6400 Richmond

The Agora - ~1985 - Windsor Plaza

Apocalypse Monster Club (AMC) - ~1987 - Near Ellington Field

Beejay's - 1984-86

Cabaret Voltaire I - ~1984 - 22 N. Chenevert

Cabaret Voltaire II - 1985-86

Cabaret Voltaire III - 1986 - 2524 McKinney - I think the space became the Axiom, then Catal Huyuk (93-94), then Harvey's

Caribana

Confetti

International Club - 200 block Westheimer - Black Flag played there in 1985

Maceba Theater - Husker Du, Butthole Surfers, New Order

NRG - ~1986-88

The Ocean Club

Omni - ~1982 - 1540 Westheimer - D.R.I. played there

Paragon

Phideaux - 5735 Westheimer - Husker Du played there in 1986

Power Tools - Franklin

Red Square

Rock Island - 4700 Main - Known as Paradise Island before it became Rock Island - Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys played there

Therapy

Visions - 1986-88

Xcess - 1988-89 - 5134 Richmond

I didn't get to go to most of these - I was lucky if I got to go to an all-ages show at Numbers. Thought others might remember some of them, though. The Maceba Theater sounded especially interesting from what little I read about it. There seemed to be confusion about where NRG was located.

6400 was 1988-1989

Ocean Club was 1985-1990.

NRG was on N. Shepherd in the Kroger shopping center.

My 80s club experience

First club was Visions on Fondren only went once in 1986.

Numbers a few times starting in 86 also. I saw the Kraftwerk Music Non Stop video... freaked me out, it was the wierdest thing I ever saw. Saw Book of Love that night.

NRG also in 86 once. Very vague memory

Club 6400 late 88. I was there a couple of days before it burned down.

Netwerk, galleria location in 1989.

Im sure there are more just not thinking of it right now

Does ANYONE have pictures from 6400? Inside or out. I cant find anything online

Edited by djrage
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Caribana

Oh yeah, the late, lamented Caribana. It almost seems unreal now to think that at one time there was a reggae club smack dab in the middle of Rice Boulevard. Before Texas outlawed multiple-drink specials, they had insanely popular happy hours at which 3-for-1 well drinks were the order of the day, for the ridiculously low price of $2.50. If you were an impoverished college student, you could head down there with five bucks in your pocket on Friday afternoon, and get hammered in no time. :P

Another punk club to add to the list: the Consolidated Arts Warehouse, which stood where Chelsea Market is now on Montrose at 59. As its name suggests, it wasn't exclusively a music venue, but they hosted some great shows before the building burned down in, I think, 1983 or 1984 under vaguely suspicious circumstances. Within sight of it, under the lengthy portion of 59 that used to be elevated, was one of the more memorable pieces of Houston public art, Paul Kittleson's life-sized stegosaurus made of foam, rubber, and various other found materials. It lasted a while longer than the Warehouse, but I can't remember what happened to it, other than it was eventually removed from the site.

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The Island (aka Rock Island)? That was THE place for punk in Houston back in the day. I was trying to find a photo of it online, but struck out just now with Google.

That would have been it then, thanks!

Lol reading that list. Confetti and Ocean Club. Windsor Plaza was nothing but clubs. I remember having to park blocks away to get there.

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  • 1 month later...

A friend remembered the name of the place at Windsor Plaza I was trying to remember: Cooters. It was huge, but kind of scuzzy.

Anyone ever go to Boardwalk Beach Club on Washington? For a while they put sand on the floor for the complete beach experience. :D

Another club we couldn't remember the name of was in the strip center at the southwest corner of Chimney Rock and Westheimer. I believe it had a rep as a place for the suburban kids when they drove into the city.

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Confetti, Cooters, Boardwalk...did 'em all. My favorite club of all time was the Caribana, though. I tended bar at Dan & Nick's Sportsmarket, where Buffalo Wild Wings is now. We would walk over to the bana for the 3 for 1s. Total buzz for about 5 bucks. Great reggae bands, too. Sometimes we'd be the only white guys in the place, but no one cared. It was more of an international crowd.

In 1986, their lease ran out and they got kicked out. They moved to Earl Campbell's old place over off of 59. A couple of my cooks and I went to check it out. The Jamaican drug dealers had taken it over. I was having a drink and chillin when my buds rushed up and said we had to go. They overheard the drug dealers talking and they thought I was 5-0. It was about to get REAL ugly. These dudes were scared to death...and they were tough guys...one from Harlem, and the other from the Bronx...but they wanted nothing to do with the drug dealers. They thought I was about to die. As we left, we saw that the convenience store next door had been robbed and cops were everywhere. Last time I ever went to the bana. I've never been more disappointed.

Edited by RedScare
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  • 14 years later...
On 2/19/2007 at 1:33 AM, Subdude said:

Power Tools - that was a funny place. ^_^

Does anyone remember a club on Main almost under the elevated section of 59? It was close to where Wendys is now I think. It was a slam-dance kind of place. I'm pretty sure that was the location, but my memory may be fuzzy on it. :blush:

John Hanley's after-hours Club Therapy

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