Astor Park: The drinks
were
overpriced and the bathrooms were always flooded, but Astor Park was
the
big rock club in the city in the early 1980s and host to many national
and international touring bands. It was eventually demolished.
Peak Astor Park memory: Seeing
a
very young U2 in 1980. After playing all the songs from their
first
album, the band was out of material and had to repeat "I Will Follow"
as
their encore.
(from: "20
Clubs
that came and went", Leah Greenblatt and James Bush, Seattle Weekly
News
Wednesday, May 2, 2001)
I remember seeing X play with The
Cowboys
at Astor Park in November 1981. The gig may have been on
November
21, 1981. There was a third band besides X and The Cowboys,
but don't remember if it was The Subhumans or someone else.
Rod Zerr, February 2014
I was the drummer in the Dick
Fisher Variety Show, working at the Trojan Horse when it was ruined by
an arson fire in the spring of 1975.
We had scheduled a rehearsal for a
Saturday
morning to go over new material for that night's show. I was
driving
in from my home in Bothell when I heard about the fire on the radio.
I took a bunch of photos when I got
there
– the place was a wreck, soot and smoke everywhere. I ran to the
stage to check out my prized Rogers kit – this one is the most
memorable.
Fred Taylor, April 2014
www.fredtaylormusic.com
I saw B.B. King perform at the
Trojan Horse in the mid-1970s. I’ve seen him since at larger
venues,
but the Trojan Horse was fairly small and although we were seated on
the
side toward the back, it was like watching a concert in your own living
room.
I remember the place being smoky, had
rotten
service, and the staff had some real street attitude, but they really
brought
in some great acts.
I wasn’t legal drinking age yet and
they
kindly acted like they really believed I forgot my ID (rolled their
eyes)
and let me in anyway. I will always have fond memories of the
place.
Linda Olson, July 2014
