Liberty Hall Concert Venue At 1610 Chenevert St.

[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, 2022 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).