It's only natural that we take time to reflect, as we reach the end of the decade. In the last ten years, we pretty much said goodbye to the cathode ray tube TV, the cassette tape, lickable stamps, and the Rolodex. Those were a few of the items on a list compiled by New York Magazine.
That got me thinking about what's disappeared in Madison since the year 2000.
O'Cayz Corral: Every one from Nirvana to the White Stripes played this bar on East Wilson Street. It burned down New Year's Day, 2001. There's still an empty lot where the bar, and its neighbor, The Comic Strip once stood. I'm kinda bummed that I never saw a show there.
Luther's Blues: I saw a lot of bands at this bar that closed a couple of years ago, on University Avenue. The loudest show I ever saw in my life was at Luther's. It was Los Lonely Boys, opening for John Eddie. Great show, but really, really LOUD.
The Madison Blues Festival: It was a great chance to see legendary artists, from B.B. King to Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck to Little Richard. Some excellent performers graced the Triple M Stage too--including Sue Foley, and Jackie Greene, among others. So what if all the artists weren't technically blues artists. I really miss this event.
The Oscar Mayer Theatre at the Madison Civic Center: I know part of the theatre survives inside the Overture Center, but it's just not the same. Some of the artists I've seen at the Oscar Mayer Theatre included the Indigo Girls, Dave Brubeck, the Bodeans, John Prine, Melissa Etheridge, and Hootie and the Blowfish. (Yeah....I saw Hootie. I'm not ashamed).
Also disappearing in the last decade from Madison--the daily print edition of the Capital Times, Madison K-Marts, and smoky bars. I can't really say I miss the last two items on that list.
Nice list. I especially miss Luther's (great club, terrible location) and the Blues Festival. And my whole life is different now that I don't have an afternoon paper.
12/16/2009 3:12PM
Colleen Brabender
Nice post of the past. I miss The Madison Blues Festival the most. Olin Park was a great location for sound and view. How can we work together to get it back?
It's a miracle that both Jonathan and KItty wanted to hear Barry Manilow this morning. They were not alone. Plenty of Fanilow's called in to vote yes. One caller claimed to have seen Manilow in concert 25 times!
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it is another gorgeous Monday, fit for another great show at the Crystal Corner tonight.
Through locking ourselves in the barn on Irish Lane, tossing some ideas around, as well as a few choice beverages to...
Hey everybody, we were thrown for a loop by the twist this week, but were able to make one of our "oldie but a goldie" songs fit the mold.
We have a few songs that we have played consistently over the years, and we are very happy that we will be...
We just received word of what this weeks twist is, and...oh boy. We need to take our "signature song" and cut it to only 2:30 without going over. Amberstein does not simply play 2:30 versions of our songs...so this could be interesting.
Last...
In 1984, Rockwell rose to number 2 for 3 weeks in 1984 with "Somebody's Watching Me." The backup singer for the song was Michael Jackson. How did Rockwell get Jackson to help him? Well, Rockwell's real name is Kennedy William Gordy and he...
Have you heard the song "Rumble and Sway" yet on Triple M?
The singer sounds like a raspy blues dude who's definitely been around the block a few times....but surprisingly, Jamie N. Commons is only 23 years old!
He was born in England, but...
Last week, I decided I would try one new, healthy food a week, and asked my facebook friends to make some suggestions.
The first thing I tried was mango. I'm sure I've had other mango flavored things, and mango as part of something else, but...
There's only one thing that might be worse than the Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And that's Jonathan Suttin doing his best crooning...doing both parts. Most unpleasant.
A lot of people liked this song...
It's a miracle that both Jonathan and KItty wanted to hear Barry Manilow this morning. They were not alone. Plenty of Fanilow's called in to vote yes. One caller claimed to have seen Manilow in concert 25 times!
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it is another gorgeous Monday, fit for another great show at the Crystal Corner tonight.
Through locking ourselves in the barn on Irish Lane, tossing some ideas around, as well as a few choice beverages to...
Hey everybody, we were thrown for a loop by the twist this week, but were able to make one of our "oldie but a goldie" songs fit the mold.
We have a few songs that we have played consistently over the years, and we are very happy that we will be...
We just received word of what this weeks twist is, and...oh boy. We need to take our "signature song" and cut it to only 2:30 without going over. Amberstein does not simply play 2:30 versions of our songs...so this could be interesting.
Last...
In 1984, Rockwell rose to number 2 for 3 weeks in 1984 with "Somebody's Watching Me." The backup singer for the song was Michael Jackson. How did Rockwell get Jackson to help him? Well, Rockwell's real name is Kennedy William Gordy and he...
Have you heard the song "Rumble and Sway" yet on Triple M?
The singer sounds like a raspy blues dude who's definitely been around the block a few times....but surprisingly, Jamie N. Commons is only 23 years old!
He was born in England, but...
Last week, I decided I would try one new, healthy food a week, and asked my facebook friends to make some suggestions.
The first thing I tried was mango. I'm sure I've had other mango flavored things, and mango as part of something else, but...
There's only one thing that might be worse than the Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And that's Jonathan Suttin doing his best crooning...doing both parts. Most unpleasant.
A lot of people liked this song...
It's only natural that we take time to reflect, as we reach the end of the decade. In the last ten years, we pretty much said goodbye to the cathode ray tube TV, the cassette tape, lickable stamps, and the Rolodex. Those were a few of the items on a list compiled by 
