OPEN BARS (2)
Irving Plaza
New York, United States
A historic ballroom-style venue with capacity of ~1,200. Irving Plaza has served many identities: a 1940s ballroom, a Polish community center, and from the late '70s onward, a crucial rock concert hall. Known for hosting diverse genres – punk, new wave, metal, alternative, pop – over different eras.
Webster Hall
New York, United States
A historic large nightclub and concert venue in the East Village. Webster Hall was originally built in 1886 as a ballroom. In rock history, it's famed for its 1980s stint as The Ritz, one of NYC's top rock clubs. Today, Webster Hall (capacity ~1,400) remains a prime venue for live music and dance nights.
CLOSED BARS (8)
The Rock Garden
London, United Kingdom
Peppermint Lounge
New York, United States
Reopened 1960s discotheque as rock-bar in Midtown.
CBGB
New York, United States
The most famous punk rock club in the world. Located at 315 Bowery in the East Village, CBGB (Country, BlueGrass & Blues) ironically became the epicenter of punk and New Wave in the 1970s. A dim, grungy bar with infamous bathrooms, CBGB nurtured bands like the Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie, Television, and many more. Its policy of featuring only bands with original music (no covers) gave countless innovators a start.
Cathay de Grande
Los Angeles, United States
A subterranean punk/New Wave club that operated in the 1980s beneath a Chinese restaurant in Hollywood. The Cathay de Grande was a hotbed for the early hardcore punk scene and the burgeoning alternative rock movement in L.A. Its mix of musical styles and notorious reputation (it was in a sketchy basement) made it both beloved and infamous.
Madame Wong's
Los Angeles, United States
Chinese-restaurant-turned-rock bar that booked The Police, Oingo Boingo and The Go-Go's before they hit arenas.
Gossips
London, United Kingdom
Gossips (formerly Billys) was a basement club at 69 Dean Street known for its influential goth nights, most famously The Batcave, which opened in July 1982. The Batcave was the "birthplace of the Southern English goth subculture". It featured a dark, cobweb-strewn decor, a coffin-shaped entrance, and played new wave, glam rock, and then increasingly gothic rock. The club operated seven nights a week with different subcultures each night.
The Starwood
Los Angeles, United States
A notorious nightclub and live rock venue on Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood. The Starwood was active in the mid-to-late 1970s and was a key venue bridging the glam, hard rock, and early punk scenes in L.A. It was known for wild nights and for the criminal exploits of its owner, Eddie Nash, as much as for the music.
Max's Kansas City
New York, United States
A combined restaurant, bar, and music club. Max's Kansas City was the hangout for the glam rock and art crowd in the late '60s and early '70s. Famed for its back-room scene of artists (Warhol's Factory regulars) and rock stars, Max's also had an upstairs music venue where numerous pivotal shows took place.