RJN ARCHIVE: THE RITZ, THE PIER & CITY GARDENS

Time: 1984-1988

The Ritz, The Pier & City Gardens

During the 1980’s, when I was a college student living in the New Jersey suburbs, a good part of my social life revolved around attending rock shows at various venues in the New York City metropolitan area. The Ritz was a club on East 11th Street in Manhattan, where I spent many a night watching my favorite artists perform. The Pier was literally a pier on the Hudson River where summer concerts were held and City Gardens was a semi-grungy club in a semi-grungy neighborhood in Trenton, New Jersey (the state capital for those of you not familiar with the Garden State). With my good friends Celine and Adrienne, who shared my enthusiasm for bands who dressed in black, teased out their hair and wrote songs about the dark side of life, I got to see some of the artists that defined the alternative rock scene of the ’80’s (I think it is safe to state that New Order, the Smiths, Nina Hagen, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Peter Murphy definitely fit into this hallowed category).

Some memorable moments:

*

I was a huge Smiths fan, so when the opening chords of "How Soon is Now?" signaled the beginning of their show on the Pier in 1986, it was hard to control my enthusiasm (but I did…)

*

Meeting Peter Murphy. My friend Adrienne had a knack for being at the right place at the right time and also for becoming friends with security personnel, which sometimes allowed her access to the artists. After his February 1987 performance at the Ritz, we were able to speak with Peter Murphy briefly and get his autograph, thanks to Adrienne’s perseverance. Although we did have to wait outside the stage door in absolutely freezing weather for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time, it was worth it.

*

The Ritz had no seats, so for every show it was standing room only. At one of the Mission UK shows (I know we went to at least two), it was an absolute packed house and my friends and I were right up front, literally pressed up against the stage. When the lights went down to signal the beginning of the show, a girl standing next to me just passed out cold. A bunch of us tried to revive her, but she was still out. So we passed her from person to person in the crowd until she made it to the bar, where she was revived by one of the bartenders. The band then came on stage and began the show. Looking back, I don’t know how I was able to endure being part of such a large crowd, where my movement was literally dictated by multitudes of others. Now I can hardly get on a bus without feeling claustrophobic.

*

Surveying the sold out crowd at a 1985 Thompson Twins concert in Madison Square Garden, I remember thinking how I had never before witnessed such a sea of black clothes and teased out hair. (This observation would be repeated at the Siouxsie and the Bansees show at Radio City Music Hall). Right before the show started, Adrienne was caught by security guards attempting to occupy seats affording her a better view, as her original seats just didn’t cut it. She was promptly taken backstage while security tried to figure out her ‘punishment’. While they discussed it, Alannah Currie and some of the other band members stood just a few feet away from her. As she began her walk towards Alannah, a nearby guard authoritatively stated, "Don’t even think about it." After spending half the show a few feet from the band on stage, the rent-a-cops let her go back to her seat.

*

Nina Hagen put on an incredible show, making her stage entrance wearing a ripped wedding dress and sporting a Mohawk.

Above is the autograph I got from Peter Murphy. I wasn't expecting to get any autographs that evening, so as the New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles document shows, I just grabbed the first piece of paper I could find in my glove compartment when I found out we were about to meet the King of Goth.

A FEW OF THE SHOWS I’VE SEEN (As evidenced by ticket stubs I have kept. Those listed without dates are shows that were memorable, but for which I unfortunately lost my ticket stub.)

05.13.84	Laurie Anderson	Beacon Theatre, New York
08.06.84	Cyndi Lauper	Garden State Arts Center
08.28.85	Power Station/OMD	Meadowlands Arena
12.13.85	Thompson Twins/OMD	Madison Square Garden
06.13.86	Depeche Mode/Book of Love	Jones Beach, Long Island
07.08.86	The Cure/10,000 Maniacs	The Pier
08.06.86	The Smiths/Phranc	The Pier
10.31.86	Gene Loves Jezebel	City Gardens
11.07.86	Love and Rockets	City Gardens
11.21.86	The Bolshoi/The Toll	The Ritz
02.14.87	Peter Murphy	The Ritz
02.13.87	Peter Murphy	City Gardens
03.06.87	Flesh For Lulu	The Ritz
04.24.87	The Mission UK	The Ritz
07.29.87	Nina Hagen	The Ritz
08.25.87	Echo & the Bunnymen/New Order/Gene Loves Jezebel	The Pier
11.06.87	The Jesus & Mary Chain	The Ritz
04.22.88	Peter Murphy	The Ritz
	Siouxsie & the Banshees	Radio City Music Hall
	Ministry	City Gardens
	The Damned	The Ritz
	Shriekback	The Ritz

*	I was a huge Smiths fan, so when the opening chords of "How Soon is Now?" signaled the beginning of their show on the Pier in 1986, it was hard to control my enthusiasm (but I did…)

*	Meeting Peter Murphy. My friend Adrienne had a knack for being at the right place at the right time and also for becoming friends with security personnel, which sometimes allowed her access to the artists. After his February 1987 performance at the Ritz, we were able to speak with Peter Murphy briefly and get his autograph, thanks to Adrienne’s perseverance. Although we did have to wait outside the stage door in absolutely freezing weather for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time, it was worth it.

*	The Ritz had no seats, so for every show it was standing room only. At one of the Mission UK shows (I know we went to at least two), it was an absolute packed house and my friends and I were right up front, literally pressed up against the stage. When the lights went down to signal the beginning of the show, a girl standing next to me just passed out cold. A bunch of us tried to revive her, but she was still out. So we passed her from person to person in the crowd until she made it to the bar, where she was revived by one of the bartenders. The band then came on stage and began the show. Looking back, I don’t know how I was able to endure being part of such a large crowd, where my movement was literally dictated by multitudes of others. Now I can hardly get on a bus without feeling claustrophobic.

*	Surveying the sold out crowd at a 1985 Thompson Twins concert in Madison Square Garden, I remember thinking how I had never before witnessed such a sea of black clothes and teased out hair. (This observation would be repeated at the Siouxsie and the Bansees show at Radio City Music Hall). Right before the show started, Adrienne was caught by security guards attempting to occupy seats affording her a better view, as her original seats just didn’t cut it. She was promptly taken backstage while security tried to figure out her ‘punishment’. While they discussed it, Alannah Currie and some of the other band members stood just a few feet away from her. As she began her walk towards Alannah, a nearby guard authoritatively stated, "Don’t even think about it." After spending half the show a few feet from the band on stage, the rent-a-cops let her go back to her seat.

*	Nina Hagen put on an incredible show, making her stage entrance wearing a ripped wedding dress and sporting a Mohawk.