Post your "Club's Last Night" gig stories..

unbasslichkeit · #1 10-12-2007, 10:40 AM

Here in MD a club which has been in business since 1956 (CHick Hall's Surf Club) is closing this week. Been a country bar for years though lately it was leaning to blues and roots rock, had some damn good acts in there. Victim of the changing demographic, I suppose.

Anyway, this Saturday they'll be having bands from 3 pm till 3 am; we're scheduled to do a half-hour at 10:30 pm.

Ever play the last night a club was open for business? What was it like for you, and the crowd?

jive1 · #2 10-12-2007, 10:52 AM

I played at a gig in Colorado where the owner commited suicide.

We show up at the gig, and the staff there was surprised to see us. They told us that they weren't having bands anymore, and apologized for not notifying us. The owner's wife told us that her husband committed suicide. They were struggling to stay open until they could figure out what to do with the place, and the whole bar was pretty much still in shock.

We offered to play for free, and one of the regulars offered to work as doorman and collect a cover. We told he didn't need to do that, just sit back and enjoy the show. The bar took a collection to pay us, and we promptly gave it to the owner's wife. They told us it was the most lively it has been in weeks. I don't believe in free gigs, but this is one time where we made an exception.

Shortly thereafter they closed, and we were the last band to play there.

Phalex · #3 10-12-2007, 11:04 AM

We played a club maybe 15 years ago that was over 100 years old. It was a landmark, but the electrical was not very up to date. We played one weekend, and came back to tear down on a Monday. That very night the place burned to the ground. I'm not sure if we jiggled a wire when we unplugged stuff or what, but that very night the place burned to the ground. I'm just really happy we got the PA out first!

Jonyak · #4 10-12-2007, 11:27 AM

I have a similar one to the guy above me. We had a weekly gig and used to leave our equipment at this place, anyways the one nigth we all decided to take our stuff home so we could do some recording the place burnt down. We were the last people to play there. I am glad I got my stuff out.

invader3k · #5 10-12-2007, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jive1

I played at a gig in Colorado where the owner commited suicide.
...
Shortly thereafter they closed, and we were the last band to play there.

That's pretty classy. Good for you guys, giving those people a nice moment in what certainly was a tough time for them.

Chris M · #6 10-13-2007, 11:16 PM

Hey Jive, what was the name of the club? Just wondering if I've ever heard of it.

ProgRapture · #7 10-13-2007, 11:41 PM

This was a while back, but we were just playing at a local coffee shop, and we had a pretty decent crowd due to some great local bands. Anyways, the band that played right after us put on a phenomenal show, and as they were taking their gear down, the drummer went into cardiac arrest and died on the spot.

The closing band wasn't able to play (due to obvious circumstances), but two days later played an amazing show to which all proceeds went to the family.

I later played a more recent show to help them get their recording out (it was finished, but they didn't have the money to get it produced).

They were good friends of ours, and it was an honor to play a show with them before tragedy struck.

patrickj · #8 10-14-2007, 10:34 PM

Also in MD.. my last band debuted at the House of Rock. Some months later we played on the last real rock show night held at the same venue. I think it's a hip hop joint now.