RIP Maxwells Hoboken NJ (Gutted)

RIP Maxwells Hoboken NJ (Gutted)

RIP Maxwells Hoboken

Photo by Steve Fallon


Well it’s official; Maxwells as we all knew it is being ripped apart from the inside out. Today on the facebook Maxwells group Steve Fallon one of the former owner posted the “execution” photo of his and our beloved music club. Time to cry a little. There are too many bands to list that played there over the past three and 1/2 decades! To try this task would be completely feutal. Anywhose, there is some action at the White Eagle building in Jersey City which is supposed to be the new location where the owners are going to open up shop one day. Which can not come soon enough! Leave a comment about your favorite experience at Maxwells if you want.

White Eagle? Photo by Mike Sylvia from Killing Horse Records

White Eagle? Photo by Mike Sylvia from Killing Horse Records

In the clubs honor we found a bunch of videos on the youtubes and converted some of the “best” sounding tracks and made this quick playlist for you. Thanks youtubers!

Live at Maxwell’s:
…And You Will know us by the trail of dead –And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead MP3 (2012)
Black Lips –Raw Meat MP3 (2010)
Crooked Fingers –Disappear MP3 (2003)
Dahlia Seed –Punch and Get Out MP3 (1996)
Liz Phair –Help Me, Mary MP3 (2010)
The Muffs –A Little Luxury MP3 (2013)
The Replacements –Can’t Hardly Wait (1988)
Freedy Johnston –This Perfect World MP3 (2010)
The Raveonettes –Hallucinations MP3 (2008)
Screaming Females –adult army MP3 (2011)
Shades Apart –Tainted Love (Soft Cell Cover) MP3 (2012)
Unrest –So Sick b/w Suki MP3 (2010 Teen-Beat Records Anniversary
Tom Tom Club –Time to Bounce MP3
Thurston Moore –Pretty Bad
Yo La Tengo –Pretty in Pink (Psychedelic Furs Cover) MP3 (2010)
Zeke –Holly 750 MP3 NJ (7/21/12)

GOVERNMENT ISSUE (1988)

NIRVANA (1989)

PUSSY GALORE

RELATED:
Final Moments at Maxwel by DJ Antone That Summer Concert Feeling

That Summer Concert Feeling

That Summer Concert Feeling

Summer Concerts Hoboken - Maxwells

I’m guest blogging for the review stalker while he’s away on vacation.  My summer holiday has consisted of me sending my son off to sleep away camp which gave me the opportunity to see more rock shows since he was born 13 years ago!  The season has offered the usual summer touring from bands from now and then with many noteworthy free shows all over the New York City area.

Many of the nights have been spent reliving several harmonious music memories seeing mostly older acts and hearing songs from my youth.  Over a 6 week period I took in performances from The Zombies, She & Him, Camera Obscura, The Rascals, Leon Russell,Cheap Trick, B.B King, James Hunter Six, New Order, NRBQ,  Bob Dylan, Wilco (w/ special guest Ian Hunter) and a tribute to Big Star.  Combined these acts performed a myriad of unforgettable classic songs including “She’s Not There”, “Sunday Girl’, “People Got To Be Free”, “The Letter”, “September Gurls”, “Delta Lady”, “Surrender”, ‘Blue Monday”, “All The Young Dudes” and so many more.

The Letter from the Big Star Tribute in Central Park on June 30

The Dylan/Wilco show was billed as the AmericanaramA fest and went down on the Hoboken pier on July 26.  That was appropriate since days later and blocks away, the home of American music Maxwell’s was closing their doors.

All The Young Dudes-Wilco w/ Ian Hunter, James Mastro, Warren Haynes & My Morning Jacket on Hoboken Pier on July 26

I was fortunate enough to have had the venue be a big part of my life throughout some of my formative years in the mid-‘80s where I attended more shows there during that period then any other rock club.  I hadn’t had the chance to make it back throughout the month for the final shows so it was imperative that I venture back to Hoboken one last time for the closing festivities on July 31.

The celebration started off with a block party that had 11 street closed off with beer and food stands. Raucous party tunes blared throughout the street as various DJs from the club’s 30 plus years (Guy Ewald, Charles Charas, Gaylord Fields, Vince Brnicevic, Billy Miller, Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan) took turns spinning records while the crowd built up throughout the evening to pay their respects to the club. Hundreds of people were packed into the bar spilling onto the street.  Both the Individuals and the Bongos were booked to close the back room.  I was lucky enough to pick up tickets for the earlier set from the Individuals.  The band was in fine form and had a blast playing as one of the final bands on the Maxwell’s stage.  They brilliantly recreated the sound of the early ‘80s NYC rock club scene.  I stood there and realized, this is the sound that’s categorized as post-punk.  I flash backed to watching bands in that same room and other NYC area clubs in the ‘80s.   I realized after seeing so many remarkable bands, hearing various legendary songs and reliving magical music moments over this summer season this tiny back room of a bar/restaurant was where so much of ’80s music was born influencing me and so many others.

It reminded me that there were so many punk and new wave spin-offs incubated and championed at Maxwell’s.  Alt-country, grunge, power pop, roots rock, college rock, garage, paisley underground, shoe gazing and the most peculiar named genre, indie rock were all heralded there.  That ubiquitous tag came from the countless acts that recorded for scores of independent record companies.  Twin Tone, SST, Slash, Homestead, Enigma, Dolphin, Frontier, K Records, Ace of Hearts and Hoboken’s own Coyote and Bar/None were just some of the bigger players in the growing soon to be coined “alternative” music business.

Adding to the sounds and styles were cities and towns the labels and music originated from.  Musicians arrived from all over the USA.  They piled in vans and drove miles to play at the club.  Some performed at Maxwell’s numerous times over several years.  They traveled from Los Angeles, Portland, Minneapolis, Athens, Boston, Seattle, Chapel Hill and many other American regions.  The list of acts I’d seen (or heard from the front bar!) is endless and in no particular order.

The Replacements, The dbs, Husker Du, X, Alex Chilton, Meat Puppets, Long Ryders, Pylon, Dreams So Real, Tommy Keene, Young Fresh Fellows, Redd Kross, Gun Club, The Three O Clock, Jason and the Scorchers, The Dream Syndicate. Dumptruck, Miracle Legion, Del Fuegos, EIEIO, Soul Asylum, The Chesterfield Kings, Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, Game Theory, Let’s Active, The Neats, Ben Vaughn Combo, Leaving Trains, Guadalcanal Diary. The Minutemen, Rain Parade, Green on Red, The Wipers, Daniel Johnston, Camper Van Beethoven, The Bodeans, 10,000 Maniacs, Beat Happening, Rank and File, The Lyres, Dinosaur Jr, Galaxie 500, The Morrells, True Believers, Fetchin’ Bones, Big Black, Southern Culture On The Skids, House of Freaks, Naked Raygun, Salem 66, Big Dipper, The Dead Milkmen, The Dogmatics, Swimming Pool Qs, Drivin’ N Cryin’, Green River, The Flies, Pontiac Brothers, Giant Sand, Scruffy The Cat and many others.

Some bands traveled from overseas: Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians, The Go-Betweens, Hoodoo Gurus, The Lime Spiders, The Fall, The Mekons to name a few.

And then there were those from the NY/NJ metro area that kept the venue thriving as opening acts for many out of town bands or headlining the club and packing it with their family, friends and fans:

Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, The Feelies, Mofungo, Syd Straw, The Nightmares, The Raunch Hands, The Wygals, The Clintons, Pianosaurus, Laura Cantrell, The Scene is Now, Deep Six, The Last Round Up, World Famous Blue Jays, Beat Rodeo, Gutbank, The Vacant Lot, Fleshtones, Das Damen  Del-Lords, Hugo Largo,  The Raybeats, The Golden Palominos, Phantom Tollbooth, The A-Bones, Crazy Sunday, Chris Stamey Group, Soul Attack, The Ambivalent Brothers, House of Usher, Leap of Faith, Fish & Roses, Winter Hours were just some of the local names that kept the scene and spirit alive.

There isn’t one room in the NY metro area that could boast all of these accomplishments showcasing quality music with integrity for over three decades.

It was a space and a moment in time that will never be recreated.  I feel lucky to have been there when both the club and I were coming of age.  It’s bittersweet that Maxwell’s is gone but its legacy will continue to live on through the music and the influence it had on a vast group of music fans that sometimes fit into a small room with a legal capacity of 200 people.

VIA NJ.COMClosing song at Maxwells-Thank You Friends (Big Star) with the Bongos and friends

Eastern Anchors – Long live Indie Rock Maxwells 3.23

Eastern Anchors – Long live Indie Rock Maxwells 3.23

Maxwells Shows

Friday March 23rd, 2012

This Friday Maxwells in Hoboken will host the indie rock by Eastern Anchors, Roadside Graves, The Brixton Riot and Lieder. We think you should go to this show and make it your night. Because Friday Night’s are meant for dancing…

00 Keep It Like A Secret MP3 by The Brixton Riot [BUY IT]

Mix tape: If you like music like this…
01 Upon Viewing Oregon’s Landscape MP3 by Titus Andronicus from Mixtape Vol.1
02 Territorial Pissings(cover) MP3 by Surfer Blood
03 This Machine MP3 By The Wrens from Abbott 1135
04 Public Witness Program MP3 by Fuigazi from In on the Kill Taker [Albini Demos]
05 The Vicelords MP3 By Boston Spaceships from Let it Beard
06 Pentagram Ring MP3 By Chavez from Gone Glimmering (1995)
07 How Does It Feel to Feel MP3 by The Creation from We Are Painterman (1966)
08 Old Haunts MP3 by The Gaslight Anthem from American Slang
09 Terms Of Psychic Warfare MP3 by Hüsker Dü from New Day Rising (1985)
10 Mouth Breather MP3 by The Jesus Lizard from Goat (1991)
11 perfect shot MP3 by Lync from These Are Not Fall Colors (1994)
12 Whirlpool MP3 by My Dad is Dead from The Taller You Are the Shorter You Get (1989)

Related Articles:
Album Review: The Brixton Riot – Palace Amusements

Project Matters Benefit Maxwells – Kick out the jams

Project Matters Benefit Maxwells – Kick out the jams

charles bissell the wrens live

The Project Matters Benefit w/ Charles Bissell + music by Green Arrows


BENEFIT SHOW: From what I can gather the Project Matters Organization will help fund and give good advise to young musicians under 21 who aspire to play music. Sort of a PAL for kids who maybe went to School of Rock but maybe just need some good legal advise. Which I think is great. I wish this sort resource was available to guide me as I figured out the music scene landscape.

TPM’S goal is to empower and encourage these young musicians to reach their creative potential.

TPM sounds benevolent enough and they are looking for young bands and mentors so get in touch. Back in the day at Westfield, Highschool in Jersey we had the Radical Rock Reactionaries where we took matter into our own hands with a actual club designed to put on shows. Was also a place where some misfits happened to gather and rally around music. The jocks had their sports we had R.R.R. This organization honors a kid named Ben High who was recording a record for his band Green Arrows and Cymbols Eat Guitar with Charles Bissell from the Wrens when he passed away. This show is in effect postumous record release as he and Cymbals Eat Guitars, Escape Directors, and singer Carah Faye Charnow of the band Versant will be playing a song from the record at Maxwells, Jan 23rd,2011 (TOMORROW!). The interesting thing about Charles Bissell solo is that it’s pretty dynamic sounding and trilly at times. The sounds go right up your spine. Meaning if you check out the couple live solo tracks below he’s full electric as if the wrens were behind him filling the space with guitar squealing effects and a subtle groove all around you. We’ll see what he does for this coming show. Lord knows the fans are starving for some new wrens music so maybe he’ll play one (that is if they’ve written any) I’m not sure the 10 years are up since the meadowlands was released. Other than that never heard of these other groups but here’s a couple track reviews. There’s a pretty good backstory on the wrens site for his benefit and that goes into the Cymbals Eat Guitars connection.

DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN:
1. Heartbeats by Versant s/t features Carah Faye Charnow. Think a modern rock version of ABBA with some keyboards whipping around your ears. [BUY]
2. Car Crash by Escape Directors from their release Ladders. There’s a nice balled on her called “Take Me on Home” alla goo goo dolls. The hit “Chicago” is lyrically up there with Gaslight Anthem in it’s narrative form but a little bit more modern rock mid-western. Over-all really good stuff for such young band. One to watch for sure! [ GET THEIR RECORD FREE ]
3. Indiana by Cymbals Eat Guitars from Why There Are Mountains. This is outstanding rock guitar record and totally makes sense the wrens were involved somehow. This track is spooky and spacey which actually sounds like a happy drive through the state of Indiana. [BUY]
4. Everyone Choose Sides Charles Bissell Live at Maxwells 09/26/2004
5. This Boy Is Exhausted Live at Schubas 08/19/2004