2009 Brought The Biggest Melody Bar Reunion Yet
...and you missed it, didn't you? Actually, from the crowd I saw, that's not likely - there were so many people packed into the New Brunswick Elks' Lodge for The 2009 Melody Bar Reunion that the line extended out the door and around the corner of the block.
<snark> And once you got in, it was HOT, it was CROWDED, and one of the toilets had overflowed, so really, it was just like the Melody, wasn't it? </snark>
In truth, it looked like more people were having a great time that the Melody could have physically held on any one night, so it's good that the dance floor at the Elks' is so huge. Stiffy Biceptz' slideshow of classic images ran on autopilot throughout the night, providing at least a glimpse of Matt Pinfield (who we hear is still on the way.) Matt was kind enough to call Ed Wong and I (and likely the rest of our crew, including Pat Pierson, Lisa Uber, Pete Santiago and Andrew Prescott) heroes on his show yesterday morning, so we've got that going for us. Which is good.
Once again, Dramarama's "Anything, Anything" tore the roof off the place - though I believe we managed not to play Happy Mondays' "Step On" twice (or even once.) No issue - with so many classics to play, you can't fit 'em all in every time. I managed to do an almost exclusively vinyl-based set, at least 'til Stiffy wanted to hear "I Want To Be A Flintstone" from Screaming Blue Messiahs, which I luckily had on my iPod. (We're a resourceful group, us DJs. We were pretty much ready for any format, except perhaps 8-track.)
We drank the place dry by midnight, and we still carried on 'til they kicked us out at 1AM (a deal's a deal.) A few die-hards (myself included) staggered out to R/Syn NextUnderground at the Corner Tavern (which, unlike the Melody Reunion, will be there next Saturday and for the foreseeable future) to keep the lights on, and I'm sure there was an afterparty somewhere. Me, I had to get my stuff back to the Hyatt first, and trust me, the vinyl doesn't get any lighter with age.
Facebook users who know me will see lots of shots taken by Laura Schneider and Pat Austin, who were only two of the many ad-hoc paparazzi lurking about. Stiffy just danced (though I do him a disservice by using the word "just".)
We'll be putting it all up for your enjoyment all day on Saturday, March 6, assuming our capture of it comes out successfully (I should know how good it sounds tonight.)
In the meantime, check out Altrok's Daily Retro for today (11:30am-1:30pm Eastern) when we'll have a number of Melody Bar tracks inevitably in the mix - then stay tuned, because it gets even better when you hear the new stuff we've picked afterward. (Though we're biased.)
<snark> And once you got in, it was HOT, it was CROWDED, and one of the toilets had overflowed, so really, it was just like the Melody, wasn't it? </snark>
In truth, it looked like more people were having a great time that the Melody could have physically held on any one night, so it's good that the dance floor at the Elks' is so huge. Stiffy Biceptz' slideshow of classic images ran on autopilot throughout the night, providing at least a glimpse of Matt Pinfield (who we hear is still on the way.) Matt was kind enough to call Ed Wong and I (and likely the rest of our crew, including Pat Pierson, Lisa Uber, Pete Santiago and Andrew Prescott) heroes on his show yesterday morning, so we've got that going for us. Which is good.
Once again, Dramarama's "Anything, Anything" tore the roof off the place - though I believe we managed not to play Happy Mondays' "Step On" twice (or even once.) No issue - with so many classics to play, you can't fit 'em all in every time. I managed to do an almost exclusively vinyl-based set, at least 'til Stiffy wanted to hear "I Want To Be A Flintstone" from Screaming Blue Messiahs, which I luckily had on my iPod. (We're a resourceful group, us DJs. We were pretty much ready for any format, except perhaps 8-track.)
We drank the place dry by midnight, and we still carried on 'til they kicked us out at 1AM (a deal's a deal.) A few die-hards (myself included) staggered out to R/Syn NextUnderground at the Corner Tavern (which, unlike the Melody Reunion, will be there next Saturday and for the foreseeable future) to keep the lights on, and I'm sure there was an afterparty somewhere. Me, I had to get my stuff back to the Hyatt first, and trust me, the vinyl doesn't get any lighter with age.
Facebook users who know me will see lots of shots taken by Laura Schneider and Pat Austin, who were only two of the many ad-hoc paparazzi lurking about. Stiffy just danced (though I do him a disservice by using the word "just".)
We'll be putting it all up for your enjoyment all day on Saturday, March 6, assuming our capture of it comes out successfully (I should know how good it sounds tonight.)
In the meantime, check out Altrok's Daily Retro for today (11:30am-1:30pm Eastern) when we'll have a number of Melody Bar tracks inevitably in the mix - then stay tuned, because it gets even better when you hear the new stuff we've picked afterward. (Though we're biased.)
posted 2/24/2009 10:12:00 AM
1 Comments:
hey, I just found this article, thought you might enjoy:
Best, EG
Panache magazine (1986):
Club Mel
Rutgers’ University’s Most Exciting Nightspot
By Eric Gladstone
Rutgers University
Picture a place where jocks and punks mix, and where cracked plaster and neon grace the walls on which paintings from the nearby art school hang. A place where businessmen meet for a drink upstairs, while dancers work up an overwhelming sweat below.
A figment of the imagination? It exists, in the heart of New Brunswick, at the Melody Café. Alternatively known as The Melody or Club Mel, this watering hole has long since outlived its original name anyway: the kitchen has been converted to a DJ stand, the dining room is now a dance floor.
Its presence on the otherwise gray city block is announced not so much by the small neon sign as by the throbbing sounds emerging from within thestone exterior. Four years ago no one could have predicted this would be the hottest dance floor at Rutgers (students from nearby Princeton U. are no strangers either).
The Melody’s current status begun unpretentiously enough—a neighborhood bar where local radio DJ Matt Pinfield and friends would gather to play tapes of old Motown or then-avant garde New Wave from England. Since then it has grown to a two-level club packed to the rafters several nights a week with students from all walks: fraternity brothers, fashion plates and new wave hipsters can all be seen mixing at least semi-comfortably.
Perhaps what attracts such a diverse crowd is the eclectic selection of music. One can expect to hear anything from Bronski Beat to the Dead Kennedys on an average night, and DJs (including Pinfield, who still spins three nights a week) get requests for anything from War’s classic Low Rider to Lipps Inc’s Funkytown.
The Melody’s success is obviously rubbing off on its environs. The once-dilapidated French Street is experiencing a renewal of sorts; recently another neighborhood bar (across the street) has transformed itself into a full disco, and an all-night eatery has opened up three doors down. An after-hours vintage clothing store that was open for several months last year may have closed prematurely.
Some might think that the crowds that now gather would discourage the original trend-setters at the Melody. But until another spot emerges that can avoid the top-40 doldrums, they simply have no choice.
END
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