Oh my God, how do I get in there?!? That is a photographer’s paradise down there, and I’d love to do some model shoots down there.

Velvet Underground? That seems unlikely to me, as does David Bowie. I will add Dead Kennedys, MDC, Joan Jett,, X, Sonic Youth and SWANS to the list of bands that performed at the Pier.

There was a fire in Underground Atlanta at some point and fear of that liability, mixed with the clientele attracted by video arcades and live music venues, was the undoing of The Village Subway. Cameron Village security wasn’t keen on the crowd attracted by Black Flag and Dead Kennedys fans - they didn’t mesh well with the retail environment.

Great post. Thanks for the great photos!

I remember the Frog and Nightgown and the Pier very well. Both had great acts from New York nightclubs, jazz and popular. I remember fondly attending a couple of shows at the Frog and Nightgown for a little known Bette Midler and her unknown pianist, Barry Manilow. Those were great times.

I definitely remember it, except nobody used the term “Underground”. Everyone called it The Subway or The Village Subway. I liked Battlestations, the tucked away closet with about 15 video games.

Awesome post! Are those recent pictures? I’d long assumed that the space had been taken over for storage, etc

I went down there via the side door just past Johnson-Lambe back in 2000. They said, “go ahead, not much to see”, but to me it was very moving to be down there again. I saw bands down there at the various clubs from about ‘79 - ‘84. I went back in 2004 or so, but this time, I didn’t ask permission, I just walked in via the same door. That’s probably not recommended, but I did anyway. It looked pretty much 8 years ago and four years ago as the photos on this page. Thanks so much for documenting this. I didn’t have a camera either time I went.

You can add Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins to that list. They both played The Frog and Nightgown. By the way, Raleigh was more than just the home of punk and indie rock. The jazz scene in Raleigh has been on the map for a good 60 years at least, and Raleigh was always a stop on the “chitlin’ circuit” in the 50’s and 60’s by Motown, Stax, and jazz artisits alike.

Man - what memories! Add David Allen Coe, Chic Corea, Arlo Guthrie as well as local bands like Glass Moon and Lariet Sam. I remember (I think I remember) Wednesday nights at the Deja Vu was bluegrass night - hippies, rednecks, rock and rollers and even a few Hells Angels would all mix tgether to hear Roby Huffman and the Bluegrass Cutups! Mondays were Rock and Roll night at the Frog and Nightdown, showcasinfg local bands. Man, I’d like to get back in thee just to feel the vibe!!!

A friend told me about seeing Cold Chisel at the Pier. One of the only times they ever toured in America. If anyone knows who them, I will be shocked.

I frequented the area from mid 1982 until it closed. There was Soundhaus a stereo store, The Peir which had national acts and the biggest local bands, mostly original music such as The Fabulous Knobs, The Snap, X-teens, Rick Rock and others. I saw The Lords Of the New Church there, Chris Stamey> that I remember. And many others. I believe the Bad Brains played. I know a version of Stepenwolf played. The scene was happening. I believe I was at the the Cafe deja Vu when the Connells opened for someone and where mostly instrumental-maybe the first show. They may have opened for Johnny Quest. The Deja Vu had smaller bands and some rhythm-n blues. One of my favorites was Jimmy and the Jones and the alter ego Subliminal Surge-great. Another band of the time was Export A from Durham which later became Safehouse-Sonar & Terry McInturf. There was another bar there that was mainly just a bar. There was the Bear’s Den. They had some cover bands and a mixture- Mostly Rock. I did see Stever Morse of the then broken up Dixie Dregs play with Raleigh’s Jerry Peek and Doug Morgan from the great fusion band 3PM. I believe the x-teens opened. I saw Bryce Street there. There was Battlestations the arcade. It was FUN. There was an entrance from the Parking lot on the Library side and an entrance on the side of Woodburn next to where the Mandarin House was. I always knew of it as the Cameron Village Subway or the Subway. I never heard of it called the Underground. As I remember The Pier close first, later to reopen in Mision Valley for a short time, Then The Bears Den moved and lasted only briefly. The Deja Vu kept going for a little while after that. The seperations and the beginnings of local Punk and original music bands along with the New Wave style that was taking shape led to it dying. By this time The Culture Club on Morgan St. had opened and was taking alot of business away with original local bands and traveling national acts that weren’t that big yet. Also PC Goodtimes was letting punk bands and local original bands play- That later became the Brewery.

The list of people who MIGHT have played at the Underground is amazing. I think most of Bette and Barry’s gigs were at the old Frog & Nightgown on Medlin Drive - but Stan Getz crammed his big band in there in 1971-2. My rock solid memories: David Bromberg performing and sitting at the bar on break, being incredibly gracious with his conversations, Tom Waits growling out some of his classics, and Laura Nyro being sold out or a no-show - can’t remember which, just the disappointment. Cafe Deja Vu was the highlight of Raleigh’s 70’s culture - my best memory being listening to Chip Crawford bang out his jazz version of “I shot the Sherriff.” Great spots, great post and comments.

OOO - forgot. Taj Mahal also played the Pier.

Great memories and enjoyed reading them all. There’s a lot of history at Cameron Village and we need to protect what’s left. Are any of you aware of the 9 story apartment building proposed for the corner of Clark and Oberlin where the old Balantines used to be? Read up and get involved. I’m forming a webstie “Save Our Village” and should have it up by next week. Your comments will be welcome.

I saw Proctor and Bergman (of The Firesign Theatre) at the Pier in the late seventies.

I remember driving over from UNC to see Jimmy Buffett at least a couple of times - maybe at The Pier. It was just him and one other guy the first time, and I think he had a couple female backup singers the other time. I sure wish I could remember when it was other than “sometime between 1974-77.”

Enigma - I’ve talked with the current owners, and can confirm that they are interested in doing something with that space that has sat idle for so long. The space has been inspected and they are confident that it can be brought up to code and the egress and ingress can be worked out. The challenge is that in order to invest the necessary resources to do this, there has to be willing tenants who will come to the table.

The first thing that comes to my mind is King’s Barcade, but I have no idea if the former owners would even be remotely interested in such a venture. It also remains to be seen if the current owners are interested in any sort of traffic in that space that isn’t what Cameron Village has traditionally been associated with for the past 20 years.

I would think the history of that place alone would be enough collateral to bring forward potential tenants. Giiven the fact that the music scene of this area is especially thin with the relative age of the population and incredibly high growth rate, it seems like it would be a great opportunity for someone to take the risk.

The Pier , DeJaVu, Frog and Nightgown were home of some very special nights of great entertainment. I worked at the Pier (if you could call it work) and we were privileged to have so many great bands play all during the week. I remember Jimmy Buffett, Joan Jett, Huey Lewis, David Alan Coe, Warren Zevon, Truckers, 2 B’s Please, JJ Cale, Muddy Waters to name a few. We also loved having the local bands play like Tumbleweed, Lariat Sam, Super Grit, Glass Moon and Mike Cross. Seems like pitchers of beer were less than $3.00 and you could brown bag since we did not have mixed drinks. It’s a great joy to see this site that brings back so many great memories. We had a Pier Reunion 14 years ago. Wouldn’t it be great to have a Village Subway Reunion?
Deby1010@nc.rr.com

This isn’t “music”, but I know that Lily Tomlin did a comedy gig at the Frog & Nightgown one weekend in 1974; I was in 5th grade and my mother took me and a friend to the Sunday afternoon show, but she had not thought to get advance tickets and it was sold out. I remember being able to see a blurred image of her through thin yellow plastic “windows” and hear her, but not get in.

As for fact-checking what acts player there–it’s a task, but just get microfilm of old News & Observers and look through the entertainment pages. Just grab a reel and page through a week at a time, and you’ll find not only the acts, but the dates. That’s a task that could very easily be delegated out to a crew of dedicated folks with an interest in local history.

I hadn’t heard about this before… too bad I missed it! Sounds AMAZING.

I remember the underground very well. I was priveleged to play the Deja vu, Pier, The Frog and Nightgown, and the Bears Den with various groups such as Terra Nova, Glassmoon, The Steve Morse Band, and of course the band that change the dynamics of the North Carolina music scene, 3PM. The underground became a musicians collective the likes of which will never be repeated again. I am honored that I was a part of it from it’s inception to it’s demise and ro have met and played with some of the greatest musicians to ever be esembled under one roof.

OH , THAT IS SO FABULOUS — AND IT’S BEAUTIFUL — !!!I KNOW JUST HOW THAT PHOTOGRAPHER FEELS I’M A PAINTER -(AN ARTIST) AND I’D LOVE TO GET HOLD OF THOSE WALLS ….I HAVEN’T BEEN IN YOUR LOVELY TOWN FOR A LONG TIME …..I MUST MAKE TIME TO GO BACK…..
JUST LOOKING AT THOSE PICTURES JUST MADE ME BLOW UP INSIDE….I KNOW THAT SOUNDS SILLY ….BUT IT SO BEAUTIFUL IT MADE ME BREATHLESS

Peter -

regarding the possible inaccuracies of artists that did or did perform here, they were gleaned from first hand accounts. I did not live in Raleigh then, and had little else to go by. There were three performers disputed by those with direct knowledge (the error was on my part and not of my sources), and as such were struck through with a line.

If you read Sean’s comments on this post, you’ll see where he added names as well as called some into question. His parents ran the Pier, so I think he would have some authority on the list.

As everything was pointed out, it was addressed in the list. Instead of throwing out blanket statements about inaccuracies, why not provide specific citations that dispute the information listed here?

The Subway - I never, ever heard anyone call it the Underground - was a huge part of my life in the early to mid 1980s. I don’t think anyone has mentioned seeing Jim Carroll at the Pier. The basketball player/addict /songwriter. Google him if you don’t know who he is. I still own his album that included “People Who Died.”

Another band I recall seeing at the Pier is 4 out of 5 Doctors, very pop sound but not totally trite. And I’m not sure about the Nighthawks. I have an autographed copy of their album that I think I got when they played the Pier, but not sure.

Has anyone mentioned the Bear’s Den? It had a fraternity vibe, but I worked for Record Bar during the heyday of the Subway, and the Pier and Bear’s Den waived the cover charge for R Bar employees. The Bear’s Den appealed to me for that reason and for one other - backgammon tables.

I was quite the backgammon player back then, taught by the BEST player, my roommate Melissa. After I played well enough to beat her once in a great while, I began hustling the frat boys for free beers for the winner. I could have a great night after work without spending a dime, except for tipping - of course.

Even though I had to pay to get in, I went to Deja Vu a LOT, too. Deja Doug was the best bartender, and the club was my favorite of all because of its intimate cafe atmosphere and the fine bands who played there. One of my roommates, Lorraine, worked there for quite awhile. Deja Vu was hip and sophisticated in a bohemian way, and it’s the one Subway club that I’d love to see deja-vu itself.

LMAO that you’re getting attacked for ‘lying’ about who performed there. Thanks for the great photos; I wish I could get down there, too. I’d pay to be takien on a tour! I used to love the Pier and Deja Vu; unfortunately the F&N was before my time.

Queensryche at the Pier, 1986ish, Rage for Order tour. Amazing show.

Lots of interesting posts here. I grew up in Raleigh, & have fond remembrances of the Subway, mine ending in ‘78 when I moved away. My first cassette recorder (HiFi portable, battery powered) purchased from the stereo store there, early 1972. Briefly there was a fine book store in the Subway carrying lots of hip books heretofore only found on Franklin St.

Some was asking about the Cafe Deja Vu owner. It was originally opened by Frog & Nightgown owner Peter Ingram, who appears to have posted here on Nov 10 pointing out the musical inaccuracies - lol! Mr Ingram put the Raleigh music scene on the map with the F&N & Deja Vu. I can’t think of any other venues other than the Cat’s Cradle that did as much for local music in the 70’s.

But live music was the prime driver of the Subway. Sheryl mentioned the Cigaretz’ (god bless Byron McCay) and Sandy mentioned Steve Runkle (RIP), certainly the best songwriter I’ll ever know and with that beautiful voice. And lol, her 1st date is with Peter Eichenberger, who I knew as well (his dad a School of Design prof along with Musslewhite). Runk was also in a band called the Contenders - out of Nashville - that played the Deja Vu when in NC - 4 amazingly talented singer songwriters & a drummer. Contender Tommy Goldsmith is back in Raleigh writing for the News & Observer.

Another incredible local group & Deja Vu regulars was Jim Wann & Bland Simpson’s band, before they wrote Diamond Studs & became off- & on-Broadway darlings. In a similar vein was the big band with singer Beetle Barbour and pianist/arranger Ken Moore, regulars at Cafe Deja Vu & The Pier for several years, performing jazz & blues from the 30’s and 40’s. And I bet the New Deal String Band, or some form if it, played all 3 Subway clubs (F&N, Pier & Deja Vu ), tho I heard them so many times at so many places & parties.

Bill mentioned Rick Rock (Buddha-Buddha is a fine song), who went on to be know as Parthenon Huxley & big in the LA power-pop scene & even later in ELO Part II. Never knew him in NC but his LA performances were special.

Someone mentioned Jimmy Buffett. I think he grew sick of Let’s get Drunk & Screw” from his many week long Pier residences. I remember Steve Martin being a part of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band shows at the Pier. Also, Jerry Jeff Walker bringing down the house, again at the Pier.

I am glad to have seen Peter Ingram’s post on this site. Not only a fine drummer, he was one of the crucial elements in establishing a credible music scene in Raleigh. One must appreciate that while he helped in drawing the national jazz scene to Raleigh (and especially the Village Subway), he was also altruistic in helping new bands establishing a name for themselves through his venues, both local and national.

[...] R.E.M were regulars in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Greensboro from the band’s earliest days. The Pier was located in Cameron Village’s underground. [...]

Got nostalgic over the weekend when I accidentally ran across some ARROGANCE memorabelia on GOOGLE by accident. Then I spent the rest of the weekend GOOGLING and reminiscing.
My friends and I were there at the VILLAGE SUBWAY throughout most of the 70s. Any artists that played at either the PIER and sometimes DEJA VU I am sure that I heard at least once.
And of course when ARROGANCE played the PIER it was a no brainer as far as plans for the evening would go because the absolutely finest women in town would be there listening to the best music that the TRIANGLE had to offer.
It was a lot of fun in those days.

Thanks for the memories! Having always lived in Raleigh and having graduated from nearby Needham Broughton High School (class of ‘74), just a block or so away on Clark Avenue, I have many memories of the Subway too.

Some random thoughts about The Subway and the Raleigh scene in the 1970’s:

I remembered a picture of the Subway taken by my friend and classmate, Sam Kirby and just found it–it’s on page 163 of the ‘74 Broughton yearbook. It’s from near the base of the stairs that lead up the Clark Avenue entrance to the Subway–the stairway that others have already mentioned, in the middle of the parking lot, facing Clark Avenue. There’s a girl in the picture who knew Sam, but I can’t remember her name. I remember Sam’s brother too.

Early on, there was a camera store in The Subway–maybe an early incarnation of Sam Bass Camera, which is now Wolf Camera?

Soundhaus was a stereo store, one of several fine specialized audio stores in town then. I remember wanting all the ADS speakers and McIntosh and Nakamichi hardware there, as well as taking my turntable in for the free clinics.

I also remember a semi-hip clothing store in The Subway–would’ve been on your right, just before the Frog and Nightgown, if you walked in from the Clark Avenue entrance.

One thing I’ll add is that back in the 1970’s, you could buy beer and wine at age 18, which probably brought in the 18-to-21 crowd in in a profitable way to the Subway nightclubs and may have made the scene viable. My understanding from the late David Campbell (co-owner with Jerry Ellisberg of Raleigh’s Night Train nightclub, which had closed by the mid-1970’s) was that beer money is what makes it possible to profit from a bar.

I know you couldn’t buy liquor in bars in NC until that was voted in, county by county, sometime after 1983. Obviously, Wake County voted for that!

I’m guessing that a lot of the now-famous names that did play The Pier and the other Subway clubs did it because the performers got some financial support from the record labels.

Even with radio stations like WQDR, WKNC (NCSU and the sole survivor), and WDBS (Duke) catering to the rock crowd in the 1970’s, options for hearing new music and seeing new entertainers were pretty limited. News of interesting music was often by word of mouth or whatever you could glean from The Spectator (defunct local paper), Rolling Stone, Creem, etc. Hearing new music at stores like The Record Bar was a pretty important way to promote music and and I think that record labels were willing to sponsor tours to get bands out to places like The Subway so that local folks, people in record stores, radio staff, etc. could get hip to interesting music. Correct me if I’m wrong!

I remember that jazz pianist Marian McPartland, who played every year or so at the Frog & Nightgown, also used to do lunchtime shows at Broughton when she was in town–don’t know if Peter Ingram or anybody paid for her to do this, but I remember this fondly and it was probably the first exposure to live jazz for many people, including me. She was great and seemed to love being there.

Speaking of jazz and Chick Corea (who’s already been mentioned), I remember seeing Return to Forever at The Pier. RTF was a very hot jazz-rock band that included Corea on keyboards, bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Al DiMeola, and drummer (first name?) White (?).

I also remember seeing Warren Zevon (already mentioned) playing “Werewolves of London,” which was new at the time, at The Pier. I’ll add that his band included guitarist Waddy Wachtel and some other hot L.A. studio musicians of the time. (Wachtel was on David Letterman last week, playing with Adam Sandler. Wachtel still has the wire-rim glasses and long, wavy blonde hair.)

Country-rock was huge in the 1970’s and at least one person in the audience kept yelling for an older Zevon song, “Billy the Kid” (title?). Zevon clearly found this irritating, but finally said “All right! I’ll play it!” rather angrily. It’s the only time I’ve heard the song.

Hear’s a name that hasn’t been mentioned yet: Zevon’s opening act, Richard Belzer, who was trying standup comedy then. Belzer’s an actor now and a regular playing Detective Munch on TV, first on “Homicide: Life on the Street,” then reprising the same role on “Law & Order: SVU.”

Did Mother’s Finest ever play The Subway nightclubs? They were another big local band; they eventually got a record deal–can’t remember what label.

I don’t remember where The Ramones played locally, but I remember seeing them in The Record Bar in Cameron Village in 1978 or 1979, hanging out and promoting themselves, I guess. The Ramones were so pale that they looked like they’d never seen sunlight. Bands like The Ramones and punk bands were kind of an oddity back then. My limited experience with punk rock was that it could work well live–I saw Th’ Cigaretz do an awesome live show at an upstairs nightclub (name escapes me now; it was above DJ’s newstand) on Hillsborough Street once–but that punk rock didn’t seem to work well on record. Punk rock never reallygot big here in Raleigh.

Getting back to Broughton people, bassist Jerry Peek was a year or two ahead of me. I remember Jerry and Doug Morgan too, who made some incredible music. Jerry was in the pit band for an Ira David Wood play at Broughton; I loaned Jerry my Ampeg B-15 fliptop bass amp. I knew Jerry’s younger sister too–she was a year or so behind me. I remember Jerry in either Terra Nova or 3PM playing a cool version of The Guess Who’s jazzy “Undun” at NCSU’s School of Design in the mid-1970’s.

Guitarists John Wheless (sp?) (with Glass Moon?) and Tommy Goldsmith (then touring with The Contenders) were some other fine local folks who I saw at The Pier.

My friend/classmate Paul Rhudy was a bartender at The Pier for awhile too. I remember being in The Subway with many, many other Broughton folks or bumping into them there. In the late 1970’s, I lived a block or two away on Smallwood Drive, in the same apartment building as The Bargain Box, a charity store operated by the Junior League, so I was in the neighborhood and sometimes just walked through The Subway at night to hear a little of whoever was playing.

I don’t really know what caused the demise of The Subway; maybe Cameron Village management didn’t want to continue in that direction. By 1980 or so, there was another big competitor in the nightclub scene, namely discos, like the one that had several different names, including 2001, on Hodges Street. I think perhaps the fashion of going to The Subway for entertainment had passed.

By 1980 or so, people I knew seemed to have lost interest in The Subway or maybe just gotten older and less interested in going to nightclubs. Maybe the then-popular yuppie/preppy fashions and lifestyle, Reagan’s popularity, etc. seemed to make the whole longhaired-bands-in-nightclubs scene look old, perhaps.

R.E.M. fans are probably already aware that YouTube.com has video of the band at Meredith College in 1985. You can find that, Arrrogance, Marti Jones, Connells, Don Dixon, Pressure Boys, and more at YouTube.

Speaking of colleges, if anyone wants to expand further on the Raleigh music scene of the early ’70’s, we could discuss NCSU’s All Campus, a big annual outdoor show every spring that ran from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. Kind of like a rock festival.

Some of the folks who played there: The Byrds, Badfinger (awesome show–I later learned that lead guitarist was probably playing George Harrison’s Gibson SG Standard guitar; for even more trivia, bassist had Marshall amp and speaker from The Who), BB King, the late Nick Drake, John Hartford, Steve Miller Band, Blue Oyster Cult, Grin (band with Nils Lofgren and his brother too, I think), Goose Creek Symphony, Alice Cooper…that’s all I can remember now…I met BB King too–a wonderful, friendly guy…

Duke (Joe College) and UNC-CH (can’t remember the name) had comparable events too, all in the spring.

Sorry I’ve rambled on so long!

Hey, Tilla!

Merry Xmas and I hope you and your family are doing well. I think of you and your family fondly whenever I drive by your parents’ old house, which i live near now.

I seen a website where it had pictures of The Underground when it was open and it looked like a good place to check out.

Oh wow, someone mentioned Louise Ruth, who worked at Cafe Deja Vu. She was our next-door neighbor and our daughters are still buddies. Hard to believe she’s been gone for 15 years.
I saw Super Grit at Deja Vu once with a friend who was drunk and pissed off about something. She called the police and reported the bar was crowded beyond fire dept guidelines. Response, “So? Whaddya, want us to shut the place down on a Saturday night with a bunch of crazy drunk cowboys in there? We’d have a riot on our hands.” The Pier, F&N, and Deja Vu bring back many memories. I saw Weather Report either at the Pier or F&N, can’t remember which, but they’re not on the list of performers. And how about Beetle Barbour? Someone also mentioned Free Advice as being in Underground, but that was on Hillsborough St.

I remember sitting in my apartment after a night of studying, looking in the local paper and seeing Charlie Byrd was playing at Deja Vu. I rushed over and got a front row seat; it was during the week. He and his band put on a great concert. I also saw Doc and Merle Watson and Jonathan Edwards at the Pier. I even played at an open mic night at a place down there; I think it was called the Madi Gras. I missed the Underground and never knew why it closed until now.

i spent many a day down there. both good and bad. someone sent me this…..i did’nt know i would miss so. xoxoxodebknob

Thanks for this board. I was living in Raleigh and going to NCSU from 81-86, so I spent many nights and days down in the subway. Used to hang out in Battlestations some and saw PKM in one of their very first shows at the Pier. Oh those days were so great, Glassmoon, Arrogance, Let’s Active, The Connells, Luky Owens, etc. The subway was a magic place. Very sad to see it just sitting empty. Could the magic be recreated again with new clubs, who knows, but I kinda doubt it. Comboland was a great place to be. The stars were aligned perfectly.

I was fortunate to have witnessed many great shows at the Pier and Deja Vu, and also to have played both venues in a number of bands (Secret Service, Subliminal Surge/Jimmy and the Joneses). Secret Service was on stage playing the night Reagan won the presidency - we had a TV on stage with the returns during the show. The Surge opened for NRBQ there in maybe 84? What a treat (we opened for the Ramones the same year at the theater at N.C. State - where they hung a big banner out that said “N.C. State Welcomes the Ranmoes” ahahahaha. Also, saw young pre-Dexter/FDJ with the Kamikazees open for X at the Pier - he must have been about 12.
AND at the John Cale show at the Pier - Cale left the stage after about 20 minutes pleading illness - and the joint almost got torn apart!!
It was always a treat to play in Cameron Village!

It’s too bad they don’t capitalize on space like that now. That area is pretty dead at night and people don’t seem so unhappy with clientele these days like back then.

Having been to the Underground Mall in Atlanta, and it is NOT doing well, I hope they DON’T ever model that :)

What great memories…My husband’s band, Badge, played many times at the Pier. A scary sight was hundreds of inebriated people packed like sardines standing on chairs holding their lit BICS towards the ceiling (while Gayle’s folks were trying to get them down from the chairs..lol!) ..always made Gayle nervous but boy did they sell the beer! Shout out to Gayle,Sean and Doug M. - “hey” guys!
One name missing from the list of Pier performers is Delbert McClinton.

The Bear’s Den was the spot for a while. (one of the owners,Steve Miltsakakis - who we all called “The Greek”- could be seen years later as a regular bad guy on “Nash Bridges - catch the reruns)

When the drinking age was raised it killed a lot of business everywhere. Also back in those days club owners wanted bands to be loyal to their club. If you played the Pier they didn’t want you to play the Silver Bullet, if you played the Silver Bullet, don’t play The Switch…behind the scenes politics. Towards the end of the great club scene in Raleigh that policy fell away as everyone was trying to get business anyway they could.

To Rodney and David Knight- I am glad I’m still with us too. Very much alive. I live in Maui and have for 16 years. I “live” most of my days in the studio as opposed to our absolutely beautiful beaches and will be the Artist in Residence for the University of Hawaii in Maui this coming fall,so music is still my priority. Although I think of that great period in Raleigh’s history often, it is hard to miss Raleigh now….when living here. By the way, hope you are well Kathy.

i saw Gotham also, they were great, Adele Foster, a great solo singer,at deja vu. it always felt like a big city place. i remember hearing the term, you are a “subway rat”? great place, wish it would return, with restaurants and music venues.

Let’s bring it back!!! ..Raleigh unite! behind a purpose that will make us proud and show us a great time!.

wow,what great images from the past,I myself have driven around back wondering if it still looked the same inside the subway.I spent alot of time in this building and its darm rooms and hallways 1977-84 till it closed as a production tech in The Cafe Deja Vu,The Pier,and The Bears Den.What a lot of great memories,does anyone remember the night John Lennon was shot and all the local musicians just kinda showed up at the Pier and had an open jam session.Doug Morgan now has a myspace presence you can find him in my friends list.Gail and Randy at the Pier were wonderful promoters of music.Doug at the Cafe Deja Vu ran a variety of acts all week long and had a great lunch.Steve and Steve operated the Bears Den and brought alot of great shows in as well as coontinuing the club on western blvd a while.I remember playing with GlassMoon the last night and the crowd in the hallways that night what a shame it was to see it end.We were told it had something to do with Smedes York becoming mayor.
Thanks for the great photos.

I also have a lot of great memories of the Subway, spent many years working with bands there and enjoying other acts on my time off. The only band I don’t see listed is Iggy Pop, and I know I saw and met him at the Pier on my birthday, which is November 2nd, but I can’t remember what year it was! Great site, keep the great work up!

I played drums in a Rocky Mount band called “Triart”. We opened for the “Triangle Titans” at the Pier. The Titans consisted of Dave Adams, Doug Morgan, Rod Abernethy (Dash)…
I’ll never forget when we were introduced, I looked to my left, and our lead guitar player, Steve, was standing in the dressing room - pantless. Another great memory was playing one particular song where I had “invented” a few unique drum riffs. As I played I could see the drummers in the crowd strain to see what I was doing. I remember looking to my right, and I saw feet, and as I turned further, Doug Morgan was crouched behind me just grinning from ear to ear as I pounded the set, with knuckles steadily spewing blood. At first I was terrified, because - well, have you ever heard Doug play??? !!! The guy is quick as lightning! But when that song concluded, as the crowd roared, Doug yelled in my ear, “How did you do that?” Now THAT was an awesome feeling!

I can add The Producers as a popular band that played at the Pier. In fact, the sound guy told my band that we “blew the Producers off the stage”. Apparently they had played there a few nights before us, circa 1983. I also saw Count Basie there in 1974, when I was in high school.

I seriously doubt anyone remembers Triart, but we were featured on Rockin Ron’s “Premiers” radio show one night. I love those memories, but I do not miss my knuckles splitting open while playing, toting a drum kit every night, and my ears ringing for days.

Go Wolfpack!!!!! Jack in Dallas

Whoops,

I wrote Drumbeat and all of you will know it was Down Beat magazine.

I should have mentioned the two great first tier cooks (not called chef in those days). Tom Stephenson and Rheinhart. I learned a lot from those two.

Robin Ingram was the gracious mother hen and held the entire place together with her wit and charm.

One of the best jazz flautists, James Moody, used to barge into the kitchen, his wide smile always in place.

For the life of me, I cannot remember the name of the manequin at the bar. We had a lot of fun with her and watched many men try to pick her up with sloshing drinks in hand.

I would love to see Peter list the artists who played the Frog as well as a more complete list of the Pier.

The Romantics also played at The Pier ca. ‘82 or ‘83.

Buddy Rich, ah what a start to that nite!

First of all, no dressing room. The teeny-tiny office control room was it. Not even the size of a vanity bathroom in a 3.5 bedroom house.

Robin and Peter were not there, the door was locked and I did my Bruce Lee on the door.

Sound check did not go well and the food for Buddy was cold, per Buddy. Since I delivered all the food to the band, I moved out of the way knowing that Rich had a humongous temper. Plus, he was a martial arts freak of major proportions.

He has always been the ‘king of mood’ and things went downhill after that.

The band was awesome and all those players packed onto the far-too-small stage.

I always wanted to see Rich and Maynard Ferguson do a face off with their bands.

I will save my Ferguson story for another day. His Thundering Herd was always awesome.

Love the Buddy Rich story. I was at the Buddy show( at the old Frog and Nightgown) with my mom and dad, and their best freinds. During the break Buddy asked if the audience had any questions. My father’s balding friend asked him “Do you get hot play your drums underneath that toupee?” To which Buddy responded ” Yes, and I ought to take the son of bitch off and throw it at you.” He came to the table after the show and the five them had a great converstion. Buddy was cool

You are so correct. I forgot about that. I did not know Peter at that time (but soon enough). I figured Buddy was just pissed off at his drum roadie. Ouch! On another note,I had a gig you should have been at. Jerry Peek and I had a band prior to 3PM (Terra Nova) and we were so desperate to play so I booked us a gig at the Dorthea Dix Hospital playing for the mental patients. After opening with a King Crimson song( Larks Tongues in Aspic Pt. 2) , the patients stormed the stage in panic.We were shut down. Performance at mental institution, King Crimson, and being 18; Priceless. Ah, the memories of our youth. Jerry and I have brought that gig up [in conversation] from time to time. Jerry and I were always a little demented anyway.

Just a flashback to another Raleigh landmark during the late ’60s and early ’70s … does anyone remember big old purple house on Hillsboro that was in business as General Head Quarters? The place was owned and run by Tommy and “Bitsy” Honeycutt. There was a guy named Dan Breezley who also worked there and may have been a co-owner. I wonder what happened to them all?

In addition to seeing most of the other groups already listed, at The Pier I saw The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jr. Walker and All Stars (opening was the Fab Knobs, one great night!), Amazing Rhythm Aces (best show ever), Ricky Skaggs, and the Winters Brothers Band. Never saw Root Boy at the Pier,but say him at the Cat’s Cradle, also really liked Billy Price and the Keystone Rhythm Band at the Cradle. Most fun was anywhere the Knobs played, especially Deja Vu. Nighthawks at the Pier was tribal!

I am little too young to have gone to the nightclubs but my brother saw The B-52s at the Cafe Deja Vu.