Pullin’ ‘Tubes: Let’s Go To Cafe au Go Go

When you talk about the venues that played a pivotal role in shaping New York City’s rock scene, certain ones come to mind immediately. The Fillmore East, CBGB’s and The Wetlands all left their mark, with both those that played gigs there, as well as those that frequented them, some almost on a nightly basis. Seemingly overlooked in this discussion was the importance of the Cafe au Go Go, a tiny club, with notoriously bad sight lines, located in the basement of 152 Bleecker Street, which from the period of 1964 to 1969 hosted every important and influential rock, folk, blues, jazz act and subversive comedian of the time.

Opened in February of 1964, it was the first venue that the Grateful Dead played when they came to New York City, and more famously the place that Lenny Bruce was arrested on obscenity charges in 1964, just two days into his scheduled six week residency at the club. The now famous six month trial over first amendment rights helped put the au Go Go on the map as the hippest place to be in New York City. Now some fifty years later, the story of this seminal club is finally being told through a new documentary entitled Seven Years Underground: A ’60s Tale. The film, which was put together by the children of the Cafe au Go Go’s owner Howard Salomon, features a treasure trove of 35 Millimeter film, reel to reel audio tapes, posters, handbills and press clippings from the club’s hey day.

Let’s check out the trailer…

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