930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: edbert on April 29, 2005, 11:50:00 am
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I walked past there on Sunday and it looks pretty coolio right now- the tall facade only from the old 930 ("Atlantic") building is being held in place by some elaborate scaffolding and from a distance it looks like a good wind would take it down. I forgot how elegant the front of the building was... very cool that they're keeping it
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When they started developing that into condos, I wanted to live there SO badly. How cool, to LIVE at 930 F??? Hot damn. But I think they'll be way too pricey. I would if I could.
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Just as long as they got rid of the rats and the smell. I'd be a little depressed imagining all those great shows and knowing that my living room was in the same space/area. I'll never forget seeing Paw when they set the drums and guitar on fire, or when Helmet played and people were stumbling away like they were coming out of battle.
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...or when lux interior exposed his manhood to the masses... (very impressive)
...or the night we got chased back to our car by 7-8 young black males...
...or the night the old fucker in a polyester suit pulled a gun on us because we wouldn't go back to his hotel with him...
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Or the night I was backstage and had to leave through the back and I was literally dodging rats. I stepped on 2 that were dead...I literally have never seen so many rats in my life. It reminded me of the scene from Raiders of the Lost Arc or whatever it was.
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<sniff> You guys are gettin' me all misty.
God I miss that place.
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I miss it too, and those are all GOOD memories (okay, maybe not the being chased down memory) and all the more reason I'd want to live there. God bless the smelly back bar! ;)
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I remember "3 Bands 3 Bucks"
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i went to the old club once when i was about 15...my friends and i took the metro in, got to the club about 6:30, went to popeyes (we thought the walk up window was cool), got into the club, had a soda..and then left around 830pm because my friend had a 930 weeknight curfew..haha..i think we saw like 2 songs from the opening act
my clothes smelled like ass the next day
but man did i think i was cool
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So, it's like fuck. I keep wondering to myself if this goddamned city is getting meaner, or if it's just me that's getting older. You see, I'm normally a pretty objective type of guy, or I like to think of myself that way anyhow, and I don't like to blame the world for my own problems. But I can't help wonder if things really have gotten worse.
I think perhaps it's a little of both. I think back to when I was fifteen, just a dumb suburban kid in the city for the first time. I knew nothing of it, but I was not scared; it seemed a whole new world to open up and explore. What was perhaps my first encounter with an entirely different culture was at the 9:30 club, which in those days nobody knew about. Well, maybe a few people. I still remember the bands that played. The Faith. Minor Threat. None of it sounded like music to me, because it was like nothing I had ever heard before. I had nothing to compare it to. That was the way a lot of things were to be that summer. I couldn't tell if I liked any of it, because I had nothing with which to compare it.
I can't remember which impressed me more - the bands, or the city outside. F Street seemed like fucking New York. Now that's something that's definitely changed. That's something I can't blame on myself. In those days, there were people everywhere, weird little shops everywhere, music coming from everywhere; boom boxes, stores, cars, everywhere, all massing into one incomprehensible jumble in which all was lost but the pounding heartbeat of a city very much alive, accented by jackhammers and car horns. Now there are more Oliver Carr signs than people. Until that time I had thought of Washington the way most outsiders see it: a fairly lame city with a few monuments and a lot of tourists. But one must be forgiving of ignorance.
I think I fell in love with the city that day. Yeah, that was the day. From the minute we parked in that graffiti-strewn parking lot on 9th Street. "Human Meat," said the wall in front of us. Love at first sight.
Then there was a little club on 9th Street, N.W. called Oscar's Eye. I saw a band there called Wurmbaby. So did a few other people. Not many. Not many remember Oscar's Eye, either - and those that do tend to think of it as a record album rather than a club. But I digress. In the middle of the room was a streetlamp, which seemed completely out of proportion both to the room and to what a streetlamp should be. Perhaps it would've looked better on a street. Anyway, I don't lose any sleep over that detail. Not any more, at least. Better than the lamp and the band (which was quite good) was the fact that in the back of the club, which was actually just a big room with a makeshift stage on one end of it, was a window, and outside the window was a fire escape. We ("we" being myself, Upchuck, and a couple of other folks) naturally climbed out the window, into the warm Washington night.
Now that's another thing I've always loved about this city. The way the summer nights just wrap themselves around you, sort of the same feeling as being smothered in the bosom of a well-endowed woman. Or perhaps being wrapped in a warm wet towel, but that's not nearly as much fun, is it? Oh, never mind. You know what I mean.
There I go again, off on a tangent. Anyway, up the fire escape we went, onto the rooftop of this building on 9th Street, N.W. I felt like a god as I surveyed the city around me, the Capitol to the east, all lit up, various parking lots below. A couple of people in the parking lot mistook us for drug dealers. "Yo man, send some down!" The whole roof, like any good roof should, possessed the heavenly smell of tar. Nothing like a rooftop in the summertime. Nothing. Anyway, so we talked up there for what seemed like hours, while the Capitol shimmered in the east and the stars twinkled in the sky. In due time someone found an old rusty paint can and we spray painted our thoughts up there on the crumbly limestone side of the building next door, for all the world to see ("Rick Springfield roolz"). Now I'm not usually the vandalism type, you understand, small stuff, OK, but not spraypainting. Not because of any ethical considerations, but because I was a little timid about getting caught. I didn't worry this time because I knew something special about the particular building in question and about the one we were on. But I'll get to that.
A girl recently told me she had sex on the roof of d.c. space amidst a lot of broken glass and scampering rats, and it sort of brought old memories back. Not of sex, just the rooftop.
Anyway, we came back in. End of that particular episode, except I had to drive a certain character who shall be named here only as the European Diskoman back home to suburbia, which is where I lived too, so it was cool. Here we were at two in the morning, and we got lost. I got the whole quadrant thing confused, and couldn't figure out which way to go. In our wanderings, we saw: hookers plying their trade ("need a girlfriend?" the Diskoman asked me); people roller skating; a 17th Street that looked like no 17th Street I had ever seen before; and countless other oddities. But we made it home. A week later, those buildings were demolished. That's what I was talking about with the graffiti thing. Pity. I think the parking lots are still there. It's right near the FBI Building, if you want to go look.
Also still there is a sad broken relic of that same time. Right around the corner, behind a chain link fence, was a vibrant green neon sculpture against a brick wall. It was some kind of PEPCO thing. Just a bright green squiggle, glowing in the night. No purpose other than to be there. I think that's what I liked about it... sort of the same appeal as a stoplight changing in the middle of the night when there's no traffic. Except even better than that. Anyway, just a few years later, I went by there, and although I had forgotten all about it, I suddenly remembered as I passed a chain link fence. "Isn't that where the neon sculpture was?" I thought. Yeah, it's still there. Broken now, though. You can barely see it, it blends in with the wall and is covered with weeds. So anyway, it seems that things like this just don't seem to happen as much anymore, or mean as much when they do. And I do think it's part me. You see, when you're 15 and when you're 25 are two different things entirely. At 15 you feel just enough independence to be tantalized by it, and the world seems to be waiting for you, and you can't stand it and you strain against all the things that are holding you back. And you can't wait to be free. By 25 you've realized that freedom is mostly an illusion. I hate to admit it. That's why I hated that song "I'm an Adult Now" so much. He was admitting it. I hate that. But anyway, it's for the most part too true.
Then there's the apple theory. You see a big red apple, and you can't wait to bite into it. There's nothing quite like the exquisite pleasure of sinking your teeth into its rosy perfection; to feel the resistance as your teeth press against the skin, and then to feel it give away as you press still harder, and you sink in - deeper, deeper - and the juice of the apple wells up into your mouth, bubbling around your teeth as you sink in deeper, and the first tantalizing drops hit your tongue. Your jaws clench, and you rip away at the flesh, tearing it away from the apple and into your mouth where you hungrily devour it, leaving a glistening green cavity in the formerly unbroken surface of the violated fruit. It's incredible, a culinary rush of epic proportions, but it's all downhill from there; the taste is still good, but from then on you're mostly eating just more and more green mush. The surface tension has been broken. Life is like that too. It has its good moments, and its bad, but there's nothing quite like the first few bites ever again.
So is it me, or is it the world? After all that, you'd think it's gotta be me. But F Street is being developed, the neon sculpture is broken, Oscar's Eye is gone. I feel like I fell in love, and then I got married. And now the doldrums have settled in. Is it time to work on this marriage, or find a new girl? A new apple?
Hell if I know.
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Great read.....and I could really relate to some of it. I moved to DC in 1985 aged 25. I liked the city from day one, but it never seemed as though it was a 'city' if you know what I mean. Whenever I mentioned that to people they would take it as a put down of DC, and it wasn't meant that way at all. Of course, I had never really ventured out of the main touristie bits, and Georgetown was the only place that was mentioned when I asked where to go for a night out in DC, although in hindsight I can now blame that on the preppie-yuppie crowd that was my then wifes circle of friends. Coming from Manchester it was just too clean and too, well, organized. There never seemed to be people buzzing around the typical 'greasy spoon' takeaway all trying to flag down the same taxi while all singing 'tainted love' at 3am etc.
One year, my then-wife and myself went to New York for a weekend just before christmas. It was my first time in New York. Looking back, that weekend was the beginning of the end of my marraige to that woman. It was that weekend that I realized I was losing my identity in that marraige and within her circle of friends. I felt more comfortable and at home in New York after two hours than I had in suburban Maryland after three years.
In 1989 I went to see The Who at RFK with a couple of friends (English, not the yuppies)...great show, even though I wouldn't consider myself a Who fan. As always, the metro was a complete clusterfuck at RFK so we decided to walk up the road to the next metro stop. For the first time I saw the 'city' part of DC...Benning Road. As we were walking up Benning Road a Jeep Cherokee pulled up besides us. The occupant was a very large muscular black bloke. He flashed his badge .... NYPD ... and said "get in" I looked at his tags and they were NY tags so I asked to see his badge again and he passed it to me. When I was comfortable he was who he said he was we did as he asked being law abiding citizens, and the first thing he said to us was, "What the fuck are you doing in this part of town?" We explained about the metro situation and just said, "Look, I'm here visiting my sister for the weekend. I don't walk around here at night, even I don't belong and they know it" For good or bad, it was then I realized that DC is a real city after all. Our saviour drove us all the way to Foggy Bottom to get our train.
It was after that incident that I began to head into DC often and explore the other parts of town that my ex had always put out of bounds, because that's were "the blacks" hang out. She was born and bred in Silver Spring and I had seen more of DC in 5 years than she had in her lifetime.
I became good friends with a bloke I worked with. He was a black (his color is relevant to my story)fellow from Newark NJ. We would usually go out on Fridays after work and hang out at his locals, seeing as he was living in town and not the burbs like myself. It was then that I was subject to racism in America. There would be many times my face was the only white face in the bar. It didn't bother me as much as it bothered some of the other patrons. Reggie would just tell me to ignore them, I'm with him so they'll get over it, but some didn't. Some would even say to him in my presence, stuff like, "what you doing bringing whitey in here" One time I asked why he had a problem with me being in the bar and was told, "It's starts with just one" (Haven't we heard that elsewhere?) Anyway, Reggie moved back to Newark and that was the end of that.
I don't believe in racism in the typical sense of the word.....it's more "unfamilarism" if you ask me. and has very little to do with skin colour. It's seems society takes an instant dislike to unfamiliar people moving into their 'territory' for want of a better word. I've been in Ireland now for about 7 months and have been subjected to "racism" on numerous occasions in the workplace, especially out here in the country. Foreigners are moving to Ireland in droves, and 'racism' is becoming quite a problem. They hate the English because we're English, and the black & tans back in 1928 or whenever the hell it was. They hate the Polish and Turks because they're taking all the labouring jobs (that the Irish don't want during the Celtic tiger anyway) they hate the Romanians because they come over and spend all day begging on the streets, and they hate the Nigerians because they come over illegally then don't respect Irish laws when they get here. Now, out of all those nationalities the Irish seem to dislike, only one set have black faces, but they seem to dislike them equally. They resent all these foreigners coming over now the economy and way of life is great and they want it all to themselves. When I remind them that when things were terrible in Ireland, the Irish were moving to foreign lands in their droves so it's just payback time, and they could be gracious hosts, unlike their hosts in years gone by. It's just human nature though....no, not human nature, nature. Can you imagine a pack of wolves welcoming a labrador into their pack? Or a pigeon letting a sparrow share it's nest? The whole animal kingdom is racist.
After 7 months I don't miss American one iota. (and it doesn't miss me I know) because when all said and done, Cork may as well be DC in many respects. It's the people that make a city what it is. You could put as many skyscrapers in DC as you want, but would it become another NY? Not a chance. It's NY'ers that make NY what it is, and DC people aren't NY people. Not better, not worse...just different. I can tell a Dub (Dubiner) already....and I mean apart from the accent, which is not unlike the sound of finger nails scraping down a blackboard. They have that air of 'my shit doesn't stink' like natives of just about any capital city. London, Paris, DC, Dublin.....
Back to the old 930 F St. The old club is becoming condo's, the demolition crews are only destroying bricks and mortar, not memories, but that's just progress............or is it?
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Mankie, I was at that show at RFK in 1989. That was a great show... afterwards, my girlfrind stole a guard's chair at one of the gates with a Who logo on it. We did the same thing with the Metro, although we walked west along East Capitol Street, a decidedly less risky endeavour.
I wonder if the 930 building condos will be filled with ex punksters who've gotten rich and complacent... or will it be people who know nothing of that place's history?
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Originally posted by Doctor Doom:
I wonder if the 930 building condos will be filled with ex punksters who've gotten rich and complacent... or will it be people who know nothing of that place's history?
Sadly, I fear the latter. :(
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Originally posted by O'Mankie:
[/qb]
Sadly, I fear the latter. :( [/b][/QUOTE]
Like Bags, I'd be sorely tempted to live there if not for the likely price. But that's sort of like trying to buy a memory, the building and everything else around it has totally changed.
Beyond the club, the whole building was cool... I used to work as a bike courier, and to get to the upstairs offices you had to take this huge old elevator which required an elevator operator; to call the elevator you'd ring a bell!
And next door was a single-room occupancy tenement building... there was an art gallery there which lasted about a week, and later an equally short-lived, and probably illegal, club called Botswana hosted obscure bands such as New Carrolton which would never get gigs next door.
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Originally posted by Dr. Doom:(:
So is it me, or is it the world? After all that, you'd think it's gotta be me. But F Street is being developed, the neon sculpture is broken, Oscar's Eye is gone. I feel like I fell in love, and then I got married. And now the doldrums have settled in. Is it time to work on this marriage, or find a new girl? A new apple?
Hell if I know.
It's you. If you were 15 today, the world would seem fresh again, with your entire future in front of you.
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Very nice posts, gentlemen.
I'm not feeling very literary today so I'll save my little vingette for another time.
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Originally posted by green door:
It's you. If you were 15 today, the world would seem fresh again, with your entire future in front of you.
yeah I know. :p That was kind of a rhetorical question. And, of course, if I were 15 again I'd also still have zits and feel totally insecure in my own skin. Actually, I wrote that whole thing when I was 25, which at this point was quite a long time ago. This thread just inspired me to dig it up.
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F Street Memory:
The genesis of FROZEN BLUE THING
downstairs at...... Atlantis
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I know why the facade looks better now- didn't it used to be covered with iron fire escapes?. And in the mid 1980s the City Paper did a cover story on Bags' idol Tommy Keene, and all of the accompanying photos were of him standing out on it, to suggest metaphorically that he was escaping the DC music scene
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a nice summary of the last 10 years of demographic changes in Ireland mankie - yes, the irish are racist, although very few will admit it
I've been in Ireland now for about 7 months and have been subjected to "racism" on numerous occasions in the workplace, especially out here in the country. Foreigners are moving to Ireland in droves, and 'racism' is becoming quite a problem. They hate the English because we're English, and the black & tans back in 1928 or whenever the hell it was. They hate the Polish and Turks because they're taking all the labouring jobs (that the Irish don't want during the Celtic tiger anyway) they hate the Romanians because they come over and spend all day begging on the streets, and they hate the Nigerians because they come over illegally then don't respect Irish laws when they get here. Now, out of all those nationalities the Irish seem to dislike, only one set have black faces, but they seem to dislike them equally. They resent all these foreigners coming over now the economy and way of life is great and they want it all to themselves. When I remind them that when things were terrible in Ireland, the Irish were moving to foreign lands in their droves so it's just payback time, and they could be gracious hosts, unlike their hosts in years gone by. It's just human nature though....no, not human nature, nature. Can you imagine a pack of wolves welcoming a labrador into their pack? Or a pigeon letting a sparrow share it's nest? The whole animal kingdom is racist.
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I was at that Who show at RFK in 1989 - up in the nosebleed seats. The poor kids who could only afford lower priced tickets somehow had the best pot - and shared it with everyone in the vicinity. Not one security guard ever showed up. I've never been so stoned in my life; so I don't remember the details of getting out of the neighborhood afterward, but I do remember it was a beautiful evening - not too hot...and the music was just fine... ;)
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here's the 9:30 facade as it looks today (literally, today!)
And sorry Bags, it's going to be an office building, not condos. Maybe you can get a job there. :)
<img src="http://photos10.flickr.com/12820678_e887f1eaf4.jpg" alt=" - " />
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For good measure, here's the new club. Why doesn't it say "9:30 Club" on it anywhere?
<img src="http://photos11.flickr.com/12821849_9fe8a53926.jpg" alt=" - " />
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Aaah, thanks Doom. I think 930 F was slated for condos a couple years ago, but perhaps plans changed. Actually I'm kind of glad I don't need to be envious of whomever might have owned a place at that glorious and historic address. I'm evil, I know... :cool:
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here's another view of the old 9:30 club's ass... uh, I mean... rear.
<img src="http://photos9.flickr.com/12843151_5b11b6ccf4.jpg" alt=" - " />
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Has there been a thread about this yet?
Silverdocs showing 9:30 F Street Documentary (http://www.silverdocs.com/2005/films/930fs.aspx)
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That documentary would be great...I wonder how difficult it is to get tickets....
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how about if we show it for free this sunday for our 25th anniversary
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This coming Sunday? That would be fantastic! The SilverDocs showing is on Fathers Day, making it a bit difficult to attend.
Hooray for Seth! :)
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Originally posted by Seth Hurwitz:
how about if we show it for free this sunday for our 25th anniversary
Uuummmmm......YES. I would be there, no doubt with friends in tow. I'll even spend lots of money on booze!
PS, Seth -- I do that a lot. ;)
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The Slickee Boys are going to be at the 25th Anniversary Party, that is just too much fun not to miss and drink lots!! Great job Seth!!
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Pardon my confusion ... but is the show Sunday first come, first served ... or are there free tickets available somewhere? If it's the former, what time do you imagine I'd have to show up and get in line in order to get in? I'd love to attend. Thanks for the information, and my apologies if it's posted boldly somewhere and I'm missing it.
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I never heard anything about tickets. I assume it's just first-come/first-served.
I can't imagine there's going to be a big line of people waiting to get in. The last time the Slickees played the club it may have been half-full. As for the movie, the short notice and the fact that it's a holiday weekend will probably keep the crowd smaller than it otherwise might be.
I'm so freakin' excited for this. :)
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fess up they interviewed you for it...
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25 Years Later, It's Still 9:30
By Richard Harrington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 27, 2005; WE06
ON MAY 30, 1980, the post-punk jazz Lounge Lizards and local new wave band Tiny Desk Unit headlined the opening of the 9:30 club, then located at the downtown address that gave it its name, 930 F St. NW.
Seth Hurwitz, who owns the 9:30 and the I.M.P. concert producing company with long-time partner Richard Heinecke, thought it would be fun to book the Lizards for this weekend's twin 25th anniversary celebrations of the now internationally renowned rock club and I.M.P., but the John Lurie-led group doesn't seem to exist anymore and Lurie could not be reached.
Next, Hurwitz turned to psychobilly rockers the Cramps, the first act I.M.P. booked at the now-defunct Ontario Theater in Adams Morgan on a 1980 bill with the Slickee Boys and the Washington premiere of "The Punk Rock Movie." While the Cramps never showed up (though they later played the club many times), the show went on with the movie, the Slickees and roots/rockabilly act Tex Rubinowitz.
Hurwitz wanted to do the Cramps at the 1980 ticket price -- $7 -- but they couldn't be located either. Now Sunday's now-free celebration will feature the always-ready-to-reunite-for-a-good-party Slickee Boys and the first public screening of "930 F Street," an 87-minute documentary by local filmmakers Tarik Dahir and Jeff Gaul (doors open at 6, film at 7, Slickees at 9).
As its title suggests, the film, more than two years in the making, is really mostly about the original club (in the currently-being-remodeled Atlantic Building) and the vibrant subculture of musicians, artists and fans that coalesced around it in the '80s.
"The 9:30 club played a big role in our lives as we were growing up," says Dahir, who like Gaul, came of age in Northern Virginia; both 32, they have been friends since high school.
"We were the typical suburbanite kids going to the deep dark city," adds Gaul, who recalls sneaking into the club at age 12 to catch the Connells, a band his brother had become friends with while going to college in North Carolina. "It was a different animal -- a small club where you could go see big bands -- and there's nothing like that around here or any place I've been, like New York or L.A."
Dahir concedes that "the story we're going to be telling isn't necessarily the one everybody remembers." The film focuses on Washington's punk and new wave scenes, the emergence and impact of the Dischord label and such topics as all-ages shows and the straight-edge scene. The wider range of music presented at the 9:30 is mostly noticeable in the camera's frequent pans across the club's fabled calendar fliers and ads. "930 F Street" honors their creator, graphic designer Mark Holmes, who died in 1990. Holmes's work is widely recognized as helping establish the club's identity, something particularly important to Gaul, who does graphic design for an advertising firm.
"When I was younger, and more impressionable, that was one of the things that was really visceral," he says of Holmes's gritty Xerox/cut-and-paste style designs.
According to Dahir, "The film started out as a chronological history, but the interviews shaped the structure." He and Gaul ended up talking to more than two dozen people, including the ever-insightful Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat/Embrace/Fugazi/Dischord), a becalmed H.R. of Bad Brains, Peter Buck of R.E.M. (which played the club 18 times) and members of Clutch, Rollins Band, Lucy Brown, Beefeater and other local groups, as well as Hurwitz, Heinecke, 9:30 booker Lisa White, "ambiance director" Chad Housenick and other 9:30 stalwarts, including original owner Dody DiSanto.
There are some vintage performances (many courtesy of Dischord), but tales of classic shows recorded from the crow's-nest in the corner of the old club never panned out. There are plenty of photos of the old 9:30 and some nonperformance footage; thankfully, John Waters was not asked to provide a Smell-o-Vision soundtrack, though there is a very funny segment about the original club's notorious (and for some, still pungent) scent. The current location gets its props, but it's the original 9:30 that is being honored here.
Gaul and Dahir, who works for a software solutions company, worked on "930 F Street" full time for 18 months and part time for six more; the credits include "Funding provided by Tarik's checkbook, Jeff's pockets and Jay's Xmas Gift Certificates" ("our buddy and B-camera man"). They are looking for a distribution deal, as well as funding for another project. Their first venture will receive its world premiere June 19 at the AFI SilverDocs Festival at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring.
In the late '70s, the Atlantic Building, at 930 F St. NW, was home to the Atlantis club, but a lengthy battle between that venue's owner and local musicians sank its prospects. Local real estate developer and arts supporter John Bowers then bought the building and turned its ground-level space over to his then wife, DiSanto. For six years, DiSanto operated the club and shared booking responsibilities with several groups, including I.M.P. (for It's My Party), which rose to prominence with the concurrent arrival of punk, new wave, reggae and roots rock, "alternative" genres that established club and concert promoters were slow to recognize.
DiSanto, who now runs the Center for Movement Theatre and operates the Center, a health and fitness facility at Tenley Circle, sold the 9:30 to I.M.P. in 1986, but for seven years the club was the only inhabitant of the eight-story Atlantic Building. I.M.P. had been booking acts into the WUST Radio Music Hall at 915 V St. NW for a few years, and in 1995, it purchased that venue. After extensive remodeling, it opened Jan. 5, 1996, as the 9:30, with a show by Smashing Pumpkins; the group's former lead singer, Billy Corgan, performs at the 9:30 club June 24 to promote his first solo album.
And in what Hurwitz says is "absolutely sheer coincidence," Kraftwerk -- the first show I.M.P. booked outside the Ontario Theater (it played the Warner in 1981) -- will celebrate the release of its first live album with Monday and Tuesday performances at the club (not free).
Since moving to its current location, the 9:30 has been awarded Nightclub of the Year honors four times by Pollstar, the concert industry trade journal. And for most of that time, it has also been Pollstar's top ticket-selling club: Last year, the 9:30 sold 236,112 tickets. The next five clubs were all House of Blues franchises; the closest competitor was HoB's Chicago location with 219,392 tickets sold.
"It's one of the most active clubs in the country in terms of touring," says Pollstar publisher and editor Gary Bongiovanni. "Whoever is booking has a very good ear because they get acts on the front edge of the curve." That would be Hurwitz and White, though both say they get a lot of input from fellow workers. Heinecke handles market research, and there is a cadre of longtime employees at both the 9:30 and I.M.P., which has been operating the revived Merriweather Post Pavilion for the past three years.
In the first quarter of 2005, the 9:30 was supplanted as top ticket-selling venue by the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, which has a huge advantage in capacity (3,600 compared with the 9:30's 1,000) but has a long way to go before it touches the Washington club's reputation.
"The staff takes this stuff pretty seriously," says White of Pollstar honors and national word-of-mouth. "We like knowing that we're really good at what we do, and that goes from our administrative people to those who work the door and those who take care of the trash."
According to Hurwitz, the topic of franchising the 9:30 nationally has come up on occasion, usually to be quickly shot down. "It's not a formula, not a method, it's an accumulation of personalities and values and attitudes that you cannot replicate somewhere else," he insists.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052600673_2.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052600673_2.html)
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Nah. Nothing like that. The unexpected Slickees show is what has me all excited. I'm sure the movie will be cool, but the Slickee Boys were my band back in the day. I can't wait to see them again.
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Okay, I'm reassessing my night. I've committed to a BBQ and Avalanche at Zucchabar. I think I'll skip the movie Sunday (I got tickets to see it at AFI anyhow), but definitely be there for the Slickee Boys if I can get in! Then over to Avalanche to close out the evening....
Area for forum gatherings (we could say -- "meet at left-hand bar by the water pitcher every hour on the hour..." for folks who don't know other folks yet)
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Originally posted by Bags:
Area for forum gatherings (we could say -- "meet at left-hand bar by the water pitcher every hour on the hour..." for folks who don't know other folks yet)
left hand bar as you face the stage? sounds good!
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Originally posted by xcanuck:
Originally posted by Bags:
Area for forum gatherings (we could say -- "meet at left-hand bar by the water pitcher every hour on the hour..." for folks who don't know other folks yet)
left hand bar as you face the stage? sounds good! [/b]
Yup. I'll wear my 9:30 Club pin! (Oh shit, I gave it away to my friend in Portland who was the first to take me there back in '90...)
I'll wear a green foo fighters pin!
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
25 Years Later, It's Still 9:30
According to Hurwitz, the topic of franchising the 9:30 nationally has come up on occasion, usually to be quickly shot down. "It's not a formula, not a method, it's an accumulation of personalities and values and attitudes that you cannot replicate somewhere else," he insists.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052600673_2.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052600673_2.html)
Amen to that!!
and that Who show was pretty good.
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Originally posted by ChampionshipVinyl:
Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
25 Years Later, It's Still 9:30
According to Hurwitz, the topic of franchising the 9:30 nationally has come up on occasion, usually to be quickly shot down. "It's not a formula, not a method, it's an accumulation of personalities and values and attitudes that you cannot replicate somewhere else," he insists.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052600673_2.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052600673_2.html)
Amen to that!!
and that Who show was pretty good. [/b]
Yeah. You go Seth.
Bags - what pin?
I'm there btw.
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I'm so bummed I'm going to miss this.
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I'm gonna wear a green foo fighters pin so folks know who I am...for those who don't. I'll have a drink in my hand, that'll be a hint.
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Originally posted by Bags:
I'm gonna wear a green foo fighters pin so folks know who I am...for those who don't. I'll have a drink in my hand, that'll be a hint.
got that...what 9:30 pin?
you mean a drink in each hand right? ;)
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Originally posted by abulum:
...what 9:30 pin?
you mean a drink in each hand right? ;)
Oops, sorry. I had a pin with the 9:30 Club logo on it -- black pin with white letters (numbers, really). Think I got it last summer at Merriweather, at Club 9:32.
You have such high hopes for me, abulum. Not sure I'll be double-fisting at that juncture, but anything can happen (I'll probably be the driver for the suburban BBQ, so may be trying to catch up!).
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Okay -- so it's first come, first served ... do you cats really think it'll be a snap to get in? I'd imagined there would be a line snaking around the city starting early in the day. Tips on how early I should get there if I want to get in?
SOOO excited they interviewed members of Lucy Brown for the documentary ... they were so freakin' amazing.
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Originally posted by ahava:
Okay -- so it's first come, first served ... do you cats really think it'll be a snap to get in? I'd imagined there would be a line snaking around the city starting early in the day. Tips on how early I should get there if I want to get in?
as of 6am, when i left, there are exactly zero people in line.
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Originally posted by ahava:
Okay -- so it's first come, first served ... do you cats really think it'll be a snap to get in? I'd imagined there would be a line snaking around the city starting early in the day. Tips on how early I should get there if I want to get in?
SOOO excited they interviewed members of Lucy Brown for the documentary ... they were so freakin' amazing.
you're kidding right?
Mainstream HFSrock = line around the block
cool homage to a key part of DC music history = 50-100 geezers
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well there were more than 50-100 geezers, but should have been a much better turnout!
thanks for the cool 9:30:25 t-shirt!
the documentary was very well done. had only been to the 9:30 F street once to see X acoustic so was interested in learning more about it's history..
http://www.930fstreet.com/ (http://www.930fstreet.com/)
the slickee boys were a ace way to cap the evening off... another band in their 40s putting the youngin's in their place.
the special guest on drums was a nice suprise...
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I thought the movie was very well done. Onlt saw three shows at the old club, but i do remember entering that long hall-way my freshman year of colelge, having never really been to see a concert in the "big city." It was a very cool experience for me. I think I saw Edsel. Could have been worse I suppose.
The Slickees in their 40's. No way, must be older than that. I missed the guest drummer, do tell!
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
well there were more than 50-100 geezers, but should have been a much better turnout!
thanks for the cool 9:30:25 t-shirt!
the documentary was very well done. had only been to the 9:30 F street once to see X acoustic so was interested in learning more about it's history..
http://www.930fstreet.com/ (http://www.930fstreet.com/)
the slickee boys were a ace way to cap the evening off... another band in their 40s putting the youngin's in their place.
the special guest on drums was a nice suprise...
:(
I'm incredibly sad...a friend had a BBQ, it was her first in her new place, I was an 'anchor' person for her, I couldn't leave her hanging...I never got by the club (though I'm on my way out to Avalanche now...). I WANNA t-shirt! I went to the old club about 100 times.... Okay, no more crying for me. Though I DO NOT want to know who the special guest drummer was......I know I woulda had a blast, just enjoying the club and the vibe and the fun.....
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If I weren't in a galaxy far, far away, I would have been there come high water or hell!
I don't often say this, but sometimes I wish I were just a bit older so that I could've more fully experienced the club in its true heydey. I have fond memories of hanging out there as a teenager, with a mostly straight-edge crowd, but it was really more of a place to see bands and then leave. Being a couple of years older and hanging out with all the artists, junkies, poseurs, and ne'er-do-wells at the back bar would've been a much more interesting experience.
My Blog (http://www.alex.to/blogs)
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Thanks to Seth, the film makers, The Slickees and everyone involved. What a fun night. The t-shirts were a great surprise. The Slickee Boys were the party they always are. It was great to see so many geezers dancing by the end of the night. Kudos to the guest drummer. He should play out more often. :D And congrats to thatguy, who probably got the biggest round of applause when he turned up in the movie.
My apologies to Jaguar for not immediately recognizing her at the end of the evening. I was more than a bit drunk by that point. Good seeing kosmo, as always.
Happy Anniversary 9:30.
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Thanks 9:30!!! Loved the movie and rock night at the club. Thanks for the t-shirt! Everyone was having a great time. Love the film - brought back some memories...the hall, the smell (so that's what it was!), the POLE. Thanks again to the best damn club around.
I looked for you Bags...Nice to see you Kosmo...it was dark so I didn't see you redsock, but didn't know to look for you.
I guessed there might be an appearance from a special drummer...sorry I missed it...I headed off to Iota mid-way through Slickee's...Caught Richard Buckner - very cool show.
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who was the guest drummer. I missed that part.
great night indeed.
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I'd love to see the DJ list from last night. I heard lots of good stuff...Gray Matter, 9353, Made For TV... I don't think I've heard that "I'm Afraid of the Russians" song in over 15 years. Well done.
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Hey Seth, great party!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed myself and danced my little ass off through the entire Slickee set. It was so good seeing them again after all of these years and them sounding as good as ever.
Loved the film, the DJ set, the Slickees, the t-shirt, the crowd,.....everything! Everyone was so attentive and just the right amount of open enthusaism and consideration all the way around. Even the young moshers, who probably weren't even a glimmer in their parents' eyes 25 years ago (who really kind of surprised and delighted me by being there), were the gentlest and most considerate moshers I've ever encountered in my life. I didn't even care that I was right there with them.
Seth, I'm fully convinced that the Fates were watching out for you concerning the band. You couldn't have booked a better or more appropriate band for this event! Damn, but they rock!!! The newbies who didn't bother have no clue whatsoever what they missed.
Seth, thanks not only for last night but the past 25 fucking fantastic years! :D
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So was it a sellout...did it sell out quickly if so, etc., etc.
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Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:
I'd love to see the DJ list from last night. I heard lots of good stuff...Gray Matter, 9353, Made For TV... I don't think I've heard that "I'm Afraid of the Russians" song in over 15 years. Well done.
oh man...
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no sellout the club was only about 1/3 full... and i see evil kosmo is sneaking things in again... Seth sat in on drums for one song. his vagueness was intentional and i will buy bags a drink for any stress caused. i was kinda hoping based on the turnout that a very special "suprise at the club" would appear, but knowing my luck it would have been coldplay or interpol :D
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I'm extremely sad about missing the night. But glad all had fun, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY 9:30 CLUB -- THE GREATEST CLUB ON EARTH!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:
I'd love to see the DJ list from last night. I heard lots of good stuff...Gray Matter, 9353, Made For TV... I don't think I've heard that "I'm Afraid of the Russians" song in over 15 years. Well done.
me too
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like this? (http://www.930.com/cgi-bin/ubb-cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000124)
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
no sellout the club was only about 1/3 full
Actually we reached 50% of capacity, a great turnout for a last-minute event on a holiday weekend. There was some coming & going between the film and the Slickees though.
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I had a great time and was thoroughly impressed by the Slickees (and guest drummer). First time I've ever seen them since I didn't move to the area until about four months before the old club's demise.
The movie was really cool and made you feel like you were part of something special (both the old and new club). And, of course, the t-shirt was an especially nice touch. Typical of the class that the club exudes.
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The show was great fun. The movie was a great trip down memory lane and the Slickee Boys were the icing on the cake, as they were the first band I saw at the old club.
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I wanted to thank everyone who came out to see our "sneak preview" of "9:30 F Street" on Sunday. I'm glad to read that so many people enjoyed it. Thanks for your support!
Jeff Gaul
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Originally posted by 930fstreet:
I wanted to thank everyone who came out to see our "sneak preview" of "9:30 F Street" on Sunday. I'm glad to read that so many people enjoyed it. Thanks for your support!
Jeff Gaul
While I missed the big 9:30:25 night, I do have tickets to catch the flick at the AFI showing. YEAH!
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Great movie...when and where can I buy a DVD of this cool flick ?
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Originally posted by MAXX44:
Great movie...when and where can I buy a DVD of this cool flick ?
Yes, I've been wondering the same thing. Seems it should soon be a staple at the 9:30 merch stand.
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I was going to ask as well.. figure it would be available after the filmfest?
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We are currently working out the details of getting the film duplicated. To be honest, we weren't sure if anyone would be interested in buying a copy, and thus were a little unprepared. For anyone who is interested in buying a copy, send us an email to info@930fstreet, or keep an eye on the website for more details.
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I wish I had kept some of those postcards/schedule of events. I held onto them for a bit then lost in a move.
I believe my brother was on the list, then I was. Some shown in the film I remember receiving.
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Originally posted by 930fstreet:
info@930fstreet
.com
eh?
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DR. DOOM!!!
Who the hell are you? and what were you doing ferrying about the European Diskoman?
Hasn't he headed back to the Hague?
Have you seen Mao lately?
I pose for you, for I am a Poseur!!
Yr. Not Dick Steak, by any chance?
Colin Sears?
Great to hear more about the documentary. I used to drive the elevator at the Lincoln Building arond the corner from the club, and on one occasion, I got to drive the elevator in the Atlantic Building!!!
I even got to take Frederick Hart up to his studio. He's the sculptor who made the statue of the soldiers that was added to the Vietnam Veterans memorial, and he designed it upstairs at the Atlantic Building.
God that place brings back memories!!!
I got married on that old stage. (then the damn place goes and closes 6 weeks later!!)
I really wanted my ashes rubbed into the carpet on the stage. But, I guess it's OK the building died before I did, right?
Good to hear about Oscar's Eye again. If I'm not mistaken, they moved to 6th & K, and they're still going strong.
Cheers all!!
Tommy B
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Reminder that this Sunday is the show at AFI...I'll be there!
Posted at 11:49 AM ET, 06/15/2005
Silverdocs Kicks Off
What I love most about the annual Silverdocs festival, a celebration of documentary film, are the moments when counterculture and suburban culture clash. Last year it happened during the outdoor screening of a doc about punk rock legend Joe Strummer, which was followed by an energetic performance from indie rocker Ted Leo. This terrific celebration of anti-establishment music took place in downtown Silver Spring in front of ... an Ann Taylor Loft. It didn't diminish the quality of the event, but it definitely made me laugh.
Last night's kick-off to this year's Silverdocs, at the AFI Silver Theatre now through Sunday, overflowed with similar moments. The entire event was themed around the opening night film, "Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream." Consequently, at the after-party held at nearby Discovery Channel headquarters, I had the mind-blowing experience of seeing Montgomery County officials like Doug Duncan mingling as footage of Divine performing lewd sexual acts in John Waters's "Pink Flamingos" played on a screen nearby. Actors dressed as Divine, Dr. Frank N. Furter from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and a zombie from "Night of the Living Dead" -- all movies that were featured in Stuart Samuels's entertaining documentary -- also paraded through the proceedings at the pre-screening cocktail reception and the post-party. Really, you haven't lived until you've seen Maryland Sen. Ida Rubin in the same room with a sweet transvestite.
Wondering which of the 89 documentaries you should try to catch over the next five days? Weekend film critic Desson Thomson highlighted a number of worthwhile films in this article. In particular, I recommend "Murderball," a fascinating, often moving documentary about players for the U.S. Paralympic Rugby Team; it screens Friday at 7:15 p.m. If you love bawdy humor, you also won't want to miss the "God Love the Dirty Joke" event on Saturday, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Round House Theatre with a screening of "The Comedians of Comedy," followed by a panel discussion at 8 p.m. (the genius Fred Willard is one of the comics participating) and a screening of the much-buzzed-about "Aristocrats" at the Silver Theatre at 10 p.m. Lastly, if you miss the old 9:30 Club (and who doesn't miss trying to watch a show from behind a huge wooden post?), you should catch "9:30 F Street," a doc about the history of the beloved venue that screens Sunday at 8 p.m.
Silverdocs is truly a great festival, so carve out as much time as you can to explore the many worthwhile screenings. And if you need to take a break for some shopping, Ann Taylor Loft is conveniently located nearby.
-- Jen
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http://movies.ustreet-dc.org/location/
July 26 (rain date July 28)
Short: Howard Theatre: A Century in Song
Feature: 930 F Street
http://www.meetup.com/indiemusic-134/events/19947161/
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I drove by 930 F street for the first time in years when I was down that way to see Neil Gaiman talk.....man, how that area has changed