Today is special. It's been exactly five years since the Shim Sham Club in New Orleans closed it's doors. For those of you who know it, this post will be a trip down memory lane. For those of you who didn't, well, it might be informative, but it won't capture what really happened there.
I've re-written this paragraph five times now because I don't know how to begin telling you about it. There are certain clubs (or places, or people, or food, or whatever) that become more than etched in your memory. They take on a certain bit of magic, a glow. Personally, I've had some of the best and worst experiences in my life in nightclubs, so naturally, they're important to me. There's a short list of really mystical ones, and the Shim Sham Club is at the top of that list.
I could regurgitate shows I've seen there (X, Daniel Ash, Dead Kennedy's, the list is long) or the girls I've met there (I won't list any of them here - you know who you are). But that can be said of almost any club. What separated the Shim Sham Club from so many others was the feeling of family. It almost always felt like the regulars outnumbered the tourists. The employees were always regulars, and quite often, vice versa.
It was a place you could go to on any night of the week and see a familiar face, share a story, catch up with old friends, and sure, see a good show. There were burlesque shows, 80s nights(not to mention just about every other genre out there besides top 40), theater (including a long running version of Hedwig and the Angry Inch), even a porn night. But it was all couched in friendship and community.
I was fortunate enough to be a regular DJ there, for their 80s nights, and it's given me some of the better memories of my life. Two really stand out. The first was closing night. Five years ago. The AC's had gone bust and everyone got progressively more naked as the place heated up and the drinks flowed. It was an 80s night and there were three of us DJ'ing, taking turns. At one point, I'm guessing around 1am, I took a break and walked outside for some fresh air. The line to get in the club went well around the block. I knew then, that we were at the end of something really special. I think I got home around 7 am that night.
The second standout was of my wedding reception. Morgan Night, who was the owner, and I'm proud to still call friend, was kind enough to let us use the main room of the club on a Tuesday night for my wedding reception. That's the kind of place the Shim Sham Club was.
I'm sad that those glory days are over, but things are as they should be. The best things in life aren't supposed to last, and the Shim Sham burned hot and fast. When I look back now, it's not with longing, but with happiness. I can't really say I'm able to observe any silence (this is a written blog, after all), but I can say, out of love and respect, this will be my only post today.
I encourage any and all of you who remember the Shim Sham Club fondly to post your memories, photos or videos here. And cheers to Morgan, all the Shim Sham employees, and all those people in New Orleans I miss dearly.
(You can also visit Morgan's site, which has some Shim Sham stuff at Devils Night )
Both of these videos were shot at the Shim Sham.
the best laid plans
8 months ago
10 comments:
one of MANY memories...some goth chick dancing while smoking a clove and READING A BOOK ON THE DANCEFLOOR.
i'll think of more
LOL I think I might know who that is!!! Too funny!
I think I could write a book about my and my friends' experiences in that club, in that particular incarnation. (Hi. Todd here, ex-Shim-Sham-webmaster.)
How can it have been five years? It seems like last week. Oh god. That closing night. Izzo, Morgan and Aria in the beer cooler. It was all so beautiful.
Here are some pix I took five years ago today. Thanks for rekindling the memories.
where to begin?
I went to the Shim Sham the third night after I had moved to NOLA. It was my birthday - I met Joey (and all) and went home with him for ice cream. all my nights with Ambrosia; meeting you and our time; rhoades, all of the many live shows including the Impotent Sea Snakes night that ended with people fucking on stage, off stage - all around... the Shim Sham was my home, our home. Late nights debating with Churchy, all the Laura Bora shots, upsetting Veronica when she discovered I fully supported punk and porno night (but GAWD Deannas taste)... le sigh
i am going to go post some pics in my LJ
This is a lovely post written tribute. I have so many good memories that surfaced and flitted through my mind's eye while I read it.
(It makes me wonder bemusedly about the things I can't remember b/c of, well, you know, too much indulgence!)
Every now and again, I'll hear a song, not necessarily from the Eighties, and it will take me right back to a moment in time at the Shim Sham. And then it is a nostalgic moment both pleasurable and melancholy.
Elizabeth M.
It's great to see so many people remember it as fondly as I do. Now I'm getting all misty again :-)
The day the Shim Sham closed was the second first time Dave and I met (the first first time was extremely brief - I got him comp tickets to a play Ashe & I were working on that Veronica was in and he thanked me afterwards). I met him that afternoon so he could show me his old apartment (I was apartment hunting and he was moving out of a place with two roommates to a place on his own). He was totally hitting on me and I was totally oblivious and already had plans to meet another guy at the Shim Sham that night. Other guy and I hung out for a good part of the night and he ended up being a lousy kisser.
It's so bittersweet... I remember having some great times at the Shim Sham too, though I was only around a little at the end, but the end of the Shim Sham sort of marks the beginning of Dave and I.
What separated the Shim Sham Club from so many others was the feeling of family.
It was a place you could go to on any night of the week and see a familiar face, share a story, catch up with old friends, and sure, see a good show.
Really well stated. I think of it fondly. I still have my (very worn out) Get In Anytime I Want card!
Ah, yes, the Shim Sham is one of a few clubs that I am thankful to have been a part of. I spent many a night there dancing to the wee hours. There was a certain sense of magic and intrigue to that place.
Closing night, I remember well. Yes, the dance floor was packed, the air was broken, and we were drenched in sweat. But we weren't stopping until the sun came up and the doors closed down for the last time.
Variety of chicks I hooked up with. Fun f'in late nights. Awesome burlesque shows. Waiting in line an hour and a half to get in and not regretting it for a second. I still have my Shim Sham Club membership card they gave out at the club's last weeks.
Post a Comment