OBITUARY:
CBGB’s, 33.
“The Palace of Punk” Dies Young and Rebellious as Ever.
CBGB’s, the hallowed and venerable punk rock club, has died at the age of 33. CBGB’s, a pillar of the New York City underworld community formerly resided at 315 Bowery in New York City. CBGB’s was euthanized by the Bowery Residents Committee.
CBGB’s is survived by no children but is beloved by an outside family of the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Lou Reed, Television, Patti Smith, Sonic Youth and thousands of sweaty, tattered and beaten down punks, roustabouts and artist-types.
Arguably the most famous venue in New York City for over three decades, CBGB’s hosted loud and thunderous music each and every night for its entire career. Along with its cousins, The Village Vanguard and Studio 54, CBGB’s helped create the cultural, artistic and musical history of New York City while bolstering the NYC underground.
A beloved hotspot for tourists, hipsters, artists, bohemians and generally sketchy Machiavellians, CBGB’s was the pulse of NYC’s punk rock movement of the 1970s. In the 1980s the club invigorated the underground with art rock and hardcore shows of epic proportions. The 1990s and early naught decade saw the club remain a vital epicenter for underground culture in the city. Its last fifteen years saw the club decline in health but expand musically with the advent of noisecore, grunge and indie rock.
Until its death on October 15th, 2006 CBGB’s remained a treasure both for New York City and the millions of lost youth who passed through its hallowed doors.
Following a memorial service by friends and singer Patti Smith, the body of CBGB’s will be taken to Las Vegas, Nevada for embalming and public display.
