Farewell to CBGB

Past week I finally got to go to CBGB proper. I had been to the neighbor 313 space a few times before, but hadn't seen the main space. What a dive it is! A lot smaller than I expected, basically it's just a converted ground floor of a basic NYC townhouse, 25' wide and 100-150' long. So the space wasn't originally conceived as a performance space. Now the stage is under 20' wide, in the back. To go to 'backstage' and bathrooms you have to pass the stage. The upside of the size is the intimacy and athmosphere. There were no fences 6' from the stage, like in so many places today. This allowed Fishbone's Angelo to stagedive repeatedly. I remember back in Nosturi, a few years ago, he had to climb over the fence first, somewhat precariously :) Anyway, the gigs were great: Outernational had a good ska going, but Fishbone really blew the bank. It was pandemonium, in a good way! Too bad CBGB will close for good this month, it'll be missed.

In other news, it'll be 6 months since the knee surgery, this week. I'll have my last physiotherapy session :) The knee's maybe 80-85% healed. I can jog, but it does get achy when I jog for 25-30min or more. So ultimate-style full running, turning and jumping is still ways off, but getting there.

Keep it kool!
mb