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Videos: "The Silence After" documents last days of CBGB

Contributed by aubin. Posted by adam on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 6:40 PM (EST)

UN:ART:IG, the videographer who recently brought you footage of Hot Water Music's reunion performance in Sayreville, NJ has a feature online looking at the last days of CBGB's in New York. You can find all eight parts of "The Silence After" on YouTube or check out the first clip in the series, featuring Bad Brains and Avail, by clicking below. The filmmaker had this to say about the project:

Before CBGB's doors finally closed for good on October 15th 2006 a number of farewell shows graced the legendary club for a very last time. Dinosaurs mankind had believed to be extinct found their way back home from Jurassic Punk, onto a stage they hadn't set foot on in ages. Some of these performances were sensational, others outrageously pathetic and insulting. No matter what category one might file them under, they all had one thing in common. A sold out madhouse atmosphere with a distinct vibe of nostalgia and last supper feasting. Talk about a good time… "THE SILENCE AFTER" presents the highs and lows of these unforgettable moments.

You can find more on the film here.

CBGB (36 comments)

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. Seriously.

ourownwar (February 9, 2008)

Sounds Good

spec (February 9, 2008)

Avail is such a good live band.

AndyPonch (February 9, 2008)

Great film idea and from what I've seen already, it's very cool.

lobst3rman (February 9, 2008)

What's Avail's best album, I want to give them a listen.

7+ Replies

RedScare (February 9, 2008)

I would say Over The James followed closely by 4am Friday. Listen to those before Dixie, no matter what anyone tells you. I like One Wrench okay too. It wasn't the big Fat debut some thought it might be, but it's solid.

DrGunn (February 9, 2008)

i'm gonna disagree with the guy above me. dixie has always for me stood head and shoulders above the rest of their discography.

the_problem_with_fire (February 10, 2008)

Over the James

GlassPipeMurder (February 10, 2008)

Over the James because it has "Scuffle Town"

joeg (February 10, 2008)

pver teh james.

IRuinEverything (February 10, 2008)

Definitely Over the James with Front Porch Stories in a close second place. Trust me.

kneel (February 11, 2008)

i listen to over the james and front porch stories the most but 4am friday and dixie are probably the best albums.

and go see them live. jeezus christ its a great show. and generally a great crowd. people that are avail fans tend to be really awesome people. avail pits are consistently awesome.

the_other_scott (February 9, 2008)

biggest regret ever.

wanted to go to a bad brains show, went to buy tix, they were $45. to me that was reason enough to skip the show. they sold out. the bouncing souls and avail were added the next day.

still though, $45? isn't that the antihesis of what that cbgbs scene was all about?

went down the last night just to see it, it was pretty gnarly. lots of "older" people, really, really sad.

and yeah, i've seen the bad brains a few times in case you're wondering.

9+ Replies

RedScare (February 9, 2008)

Apparently none of the bands got paid either. At least none that I know of. I know it was a benefit and all, but I think they knew it was leaving NYC and were going for a cash grab.

Rastid (February 10, 2008)

bad brains definitely got paid. the reason tickets were that much money was that was what they were demanding to reunite. at least according to the cb's dudes i talked to...

Shindo (adam) (February 9, 2008)

Is that the antithesis of the CBGB's scene? Maybe not. It's really easy for us to embrue idealized versions of the past with our morals, but that's not necessarily true to what was going on.

...gotta watch that...

-adam

the_other_scott (February 10, 2008)

maybe antithesis is the wrong word. as far as everything i've ever read or seen, the CBGB scene was a collective scene where anybody could play and you didn't need to spend all your money to have a good time.

DrGunn (February 9, 2008)

you really didn't miss much as far as the brains were concerned. i saw them a few months ago and they fucking ate shit (unfortunately not literally). shame about avail and the souls though.

LookingForCorpses (February 9, 2008)

Why do you seem to think the CBs scene was "about" anything?? There were no "punk ethics" in that scene.

the_other_scott (February 10, 2008)

it wasn't about ethics. it was about kids who could'nt afford to pay $45 to see a show.

skaboom (February 9, 2008)

I don't think it was the antithesis of the CBGB's scene.

If I remember correctly (disclaimer: I'm probably not) the promoter for that venue in it's heyday was this schrewd old lady who had no real interest in punk, and only saw it from a commercial perspective. I think punknews actually had an in memorandum about her when she died a year or so ago. I think they were always about the money, unfortunately. That doesn't discredit the scene the venue spawned, just the owners.

the_other_scott (February 10, 2008)

it was a dude. hilly crystal. and you're right, he didn't like punk. but there was certainly no financial gain from booking a punk rock show in the bowery in the 70s.

Rastid (February 10, 2008)

hilly kristal was the owner, not the promoter. and there was certainly financial gain from booking a punk rock show on the bowery in the 70s, though no one was getting super rich

DeadMilkMan (February 9, 2008)

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j226/alkalineskibafan656/Jesus withDinosaurcopy.jpg

dontwantaname (February 9, 2008)

Looks like we're gonna have to wait another hour or two for Navel Gazing to be posted. : (

2+ Replies

Adlai_E_Stevenson (February 9, 2008)

It's only Saturday.

skaboom (February 9, 2008)

Bad news: No navel gazing tonight.
Good news: Because it's Saturday. You got another whole day of weekend, bro.

skaboom (February 10, 2008)

Did CBGB's ever relocate to Las Vegas? I thought that was their original plan, but I haven't heard anything from them since.

2+ Replies

Banal242 (February 10, 2008)

I think CB's is just a t-shirt selling empire now.

CBSrocksteady (February 10, 2008)

Yeah theres a CBGB merchandise store in the same building as Mcdonalds and shit. They're all over Manhattan. Its a shame how many kids wear CBGBs shirts and dont even know what the venue looks like.

Rastid (February 10, 2008)

wow, i was at a bunch of those shows. maybe i'll be world famous!

davebrave4 (February 10, 2008)

yeah; the last true show at the CBGB was The Business, Bad Brains, and Rat Citty Riot. Was anyone else there that night?

jibber (February 10, 2008)

What were some of the pathetic and insulting shows?

2+ Replies

Rastid (February 10, 2008)

might be talking about that first bad brains show. i didn't mind it so much, but hr was pretty out of it, and he was using a barely functional microphone for the first half of the set.

CBSrocksteady (February 10, 2008)

yeah i like his finger conducting during I against I.

CBSrocksteady (February 10, 2008)

This film is awesome. Great quality of such an awesome thing.

blackmarketbaby (February 10, 2008)

My first and only show at CBs: Strike Anywhere/Ignite/A Global Threat/Modern Life Is War.

I wonder why they never followed through with the move to LV or the massive auction??

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