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Past Events – 1996
New
Romantics tribute night - Trocadero, February 20, 1996 Our special love-sponsor was the Guardian Personals (of the SF Bay Guardian) who offered free personal ads and free calling cards to respond to ads, designed so that New Wave City fans could find their own "new romantic."
I.R.S.
tribute night - Trocadero, March 30, 1996 The club was plastered with huge black & white posters of the famous I.R.S. man with the slogan "Who Needs Pants When You've Got a Nice Hat," also the title of their CD release of new bands on the label which we gave away. But the real exciting items were giveaways for the new CD's of the Buzzcocks "French," with recently recorded live versions of their best rockin' tunes, and Concrete Blonde's "Recollection," a greatest hits package. New Wave City Theatre's performance was a lipsynch organized by Skip of that fave "Don't You Want Me."
Synth
night - Trocadero, April 20, 1996
Ska Night - Trocadero, May 18, 1996
It was time to skank... The last New Wave City on May 18 featured a salute to ska. It was great pulling deep into catalogs of favorites like Madness, English Beat, Specials and Selector, as well as lesser-played names like Bodysnatchers, Bad Manners, and original 60's ska from Marley, Toots and others. It was a rude boy's and rude girl's delight! At midnight a pair of professional dance instructors from the Metronome taught everyone how to "Jamaica Ska," while the video of the song with Annette Funicello from "Back to the Beach" played behind them. Even though it was time for finals, many gave themselves a break from the books for a New Wave fix, and I hope we satisfied their jones-in'! Video Night - Trocadero, June 15, 1996 This was our chance to play lots of music videos on the big screen at the Troc so dancers could see, hear and dance to classic, innovative and lesser-known video of the period. Damon from the underground TV show Potpourri handled the VJ duties. Our giveaways tied with the theme: Rhino's new compilation from "VH1-The Big 80's," and a cool, new book from Running Press called "MTV: The Making of a Revolution." As a special surprise, we played early MTV promos ("I want my MTV") followed by footage taken earlier that night of our very own customers chanting the new mantra: "I want my New Wave City!" Scottish
Night - 435 Broadway, July 20, 1996
Berlin concert and New Wave City - The Fillmore, August
9, 1996
Pistols
& Punk - 435 Broadway, August 24, 1996
After four years of events exclusively in San Francisco, we really roamed this time for our first ever event in Southern California. When finding himself working for the summer in L.A., DJ and promoter Shindog joined up with local co-host and promoter Carlos to bring our rockin' club to L.A. We started out at the hip, intimate club The Garage, raved about in the Sunday LA Times as one of the highlights of the burgeoning musical and cultural scene of the Silver Lake district. We scored some ska giveaways for this event from one of the top bands of the New Wave ska revival, still recording and performing today: The Selector. We gave away copies of their new CD "Back In the Streets" from Triple X, and tickets to their concert at the Troubador. We surveyed our first Los Angeles customers on "What New Waver would you choose to rule the world?" Here's a sampling of their responses:
Four Year Anniversary Party - 435 Broadway, September 14, 1996Incredibly enogh, this event actually ushered in our fifth year in carrying the New Wave banner, after thirteen different venues, now including Los Angeles. Following our own tradition, we kicked off with an early VIP party, where the champagne flowed, and gourmet munchies were munched. The party kicked into gear thanks to the wonderful gang of regulars, with one newcomer couple coming from as far away as Brisbane, Australia. Now we know that New Wave still rules Down Under! At midnight, those fortunate enough to grab one of our lucky "99 Luftballoons" dropped from the balcony, got a special anniversary prize.Los Angeles "Preview" night - The Garage, September 20, 1996This was our second event in Southern California, held at the very cool, cozy dance-bar The Garage, described in an article on Silver Lake, as a megahip, underground nightspot catering to a diverse crowd and the who's who of clubsters. What a perfect joint to "preview" new Wave City to Angelenos! The place was packed, which bodes well for more NWC's in LA. It was particularly great to find all the folks who were veterans of New Wave City up north, and who came out to welcome us the second they saw we were in town! Thanks to the co-host of New Wave City south, the suave Carlos, and our new helpers and very cool kittens Jennifer and Lisa.
Los Angeles "Debut" night and Smiths salute - The Martini Lounge, September 28, 1996After our first two preview nights earlier in the month at The Garage, this night marked our official debut for New Wave City in Southern California. The Martini Lounge is on famous Melrose Avenue, a ways east of the well-known retail strip of Melrose, and a couple blocks away from the Paramount Pictures studio lot. Our Smiths salute included giveaways of the new release by Johnny Marr's current band (with Bernard Sumner) Electronic "Raise the Pressure." Dozens of fans wore their Smiths-related t-shirts for a chance to win CD's and posters. San Francisco NWC regulars Deborah and Erin flew down just for the night - where were the rest of you?!
Adam Ant salute - 836 Mission, October 12, 1996We held out four years before paying tribute to Antmusic and its creator: Stuart Goddard, aka Adam Ant. We played special Ant-sets, and played his outrageous videos on the multiple screens in the club. Our Adam Ant costume contest brought the Ant-fans out of the closet. Ruffle shirts, pirate eye-patches, and the trademark white stripes under the eyes bounded through the club, with the best outfits getting packages of Adam Ant music and prizes from new movies.
Salute night to Duran Duran/Simon Le Bon's Birthday party - The Martini Lounge, October 25, 1996In honor of the 38th birthday of Duran's lead singer, we served up extra portions of the New Romantic pop darlings, and featured giveaways from the new Maverick release of the NEUROTIC OUTSIDERS, the supergroup featuring John Taylor of Duran Duran. Organizers of the upcoming Duran Duran fan convention scheduled for Jan. '97 in L.A. came by to pump up the Duran-fan quota and to share info. on their event. If you missed it, you missed some great New Romantic outfits on Skip & Shindog!
Halloween Dead Man's Party - Studio 435, San Francisco, October 31, 1996Our first-ever Halloween event was named after the Oingo Boingo song - the band known for its Halloween concerts and its "Day of the Dead" imagery. Our costume contest was geared to 80's icons, with 80 prizes awarded including Oingo Boingo's "Farewell," the final concert appearance of the band recorded on CD and video, movie giveaways from "William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet" and "Stephen King's Thinner," and a grand prize of $200 cash! The finalists included Beetlejuice, Rubic's cube, Adam Ant, Carmen Miranda (OK, not really 80's,) Chris Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys in a pointy hat, and our grand prize winner: Speed Racer! Unofficial runner-up: Skip as Cindy Wilson of the B-52's in an orange polka dot dress showing off beautifully shaved legs!
Pet Shop Boys Salute - Big Heart City, November 16, 1996Our return to South of Market was marked with another New Wave City tradition: holding an event the same night as the first rainstorm of the season! Still, a few hundred of you braved the weather for this night highlighted by giveaways of Pet Shop Boys release Bilingual on Atlantic, and special sets of their vintage eighties music.
New Wave City L.A. - Martini Lounge, November 23, 1996Our prodigal return to Southern California brought New Wavers from out of the woodwork, from around the corner in Hollywood, to Santa Barbara to the foursome from Montreal, Canada!... as well as old friends Matt and Francesca from San Francisco. As a special treat, the night opened with a powerful live set by Michael Aston, formerly of Gene Loves Jezebel, who performed with his new band.
Smiths Salute - Trocadero, December 14, 1996We returned to our most popular venue, the Trocadero Transfer, as we returned to one of our most popular artist salutes, one of the most influential acts of the eighties: The Smiths. Along with special sets of their music, the night was marked with a Morrissey lipsynch contest. Winning out over runners-up Bob "Morrissey" and Dina "Morrissey" was none other than.. you guessed it: Steven "Morrissey"! Our winner had it down right to the government issued black spectacles, the pompadour, the slinky moves and the dour expression, and was awarded the 3-CD series "Hang the DJ" from Rhino.
New Wave City L.A. - Martini Lounge, December 28, 1996Our monthly event in the Southland was plum in the middle of Christmas and New Year's, and was highlighted by giveaways of the Oglio CD collection Hit That Perfect Beat, Vol. 2 - '80s Dance Hits.
New Wave Eve 1979 - CW Saloon, December 31, 1996While the rest of the world welcomed 1997, New Wave City went back to 1979, with a special focus on music and happenings from that year. The walls of the CW Saloon's dance room were transformed to a 1979 gallery of album covers and graffiti. New Year's revellers got a variety of gifts on arrival, including a limited edition New Wave City button, a variety of music CD's and cassettes, and silly hats to adorn their domes. Midnight came and went, complimentary champagne was consumed, the balloons came down (eventually), and U2 sang "New Year's Day."
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