Ration Reality

ROOTS - ROCK - REGGAE

 Sunday, November 25 witnessed the last concert event held at Winston-Salem, NC’s legendary venue, Ziggy’s. Christened “The Last Supper”, the club’s last show fittingly featured crusty Georgia jam band Perpetual Groove (a group that have played Ziggy’s dozens of times). It was a bittersweet sendoff to an establishment full of memories.

Started in the late 70s by some Wake Forest University fraternity brothers anxious to extend their college glory days, Ziggy’s began as a modest basement tavern in an unassuming single family home north of downtown. Originally, it bore the moniker “The White Horse Tavern”, but later changed to Ziggy’s, ostensibly after one of the owners’ nicknames. Occasionally, live acts would play for its patrons. As the bar changed hands, it moved to its final location, live music became more of a focus and the tavern gained a reputation among local bands. Soon, the back porch/backyard area of the club was enclosed and topped with a bright, tri-colored canvas roof and a stage. The latest owner, Jay Stephens, made it a point to bring in national touring acts, and Ziggy’s would go on to host Ziggy Marley, W.A.S.P., Phish, The Wailers, Nas, Insane Clown Posse, Marilyn Manson, The Dave Matthews Band, Chevelle, Ween, David Allan Coe, Slipknot,  Rusted Root, Far Too Jones and Hawthorne Heights, among many, many others.

Stuck Mojo stackin’ the crowd @ Ziggy’s

Ziggy’s was not an attractive, spacious or well-suited venue. From the outside, it still looked pretty much like a house. It was good for about 750-800 people, and this was approaching the very edge of safety for its size. It was located at the end of a dead-end street in a neighborhood where most businesses had bars on their windows. Bus drivers for touring artists had to navigate the sloping gravel parking lot almost always full to capacity on concert nights. Still, it was a place for which bookers and artists often clamored to secure for a show on their tours. The railings, supports and walls of the venue were plastered with stickers from the myriad bands that played there, leaving it impossible to see the wood beneath them at eye level. It had gotten to the point that musicians would cover others’ stickers after they played– ordinarily, an uncool move, but an understandable one. Almost every band wanted to be a part of that history. Likewise, most bands have a special memory of their time at Ziggy’s. Perhaps my favorite was recounted in the free weekly Triad Style by Clutch’s lead singer Neil Fallon who noted, “I once saw a raccoon climb the lighting track and go to sleep in the middle of our set.”

For me there are a few memories I’ll carry from within Ziggy’s grubby walls…like the time Stickboy and Sullivan congratulated me on my engagement from the stage. Then, there was the time when my wife and I got bombarded with fried chicken and banana pudding courtesy of Southern Culture on the Skids. (I believe that some of that pudding remains on the railing to this day.) I still remember Kenny Soule and Bobby Patterson from DAG  laying down the lowest, greasiest, funkiest groove this side of Curtis Mayfield on their “Apartment 635″ tour back in ‘98. I remember Messers Muir and Clark getting “Cyco” on everybody’s asses when Suicidal Tendencies ripped the place up a decade ago. I remember Great White using their infamous pyro at a February, 2003 show–3 days before the tragic “Station Fire” in Rhode Island! Then, of course, there was the most brutal onslaught of extreme metal I’ve ever witnessed when Hate Eternal, Nile and Arch Enemy played in Spring ‘02. (I seem to remember Arch Enemy’s sexy, yet demonically-voiced Angela Gossow hitting on female audience members in her heavy German accent at this very show. I also remember my friend Chris and myself catching guitarist Christopher Amott completely off guard in the parking lot.) I remember the final performances of Athenaeum, Heartscarved and Jump! Little Children. Finally, there was the one and only time Bagel and I moshed together. (It was at this same show that Andrew WK grabbed my arm and pulled himself over the barricade and into the crowd, then sang the rest of the song surfing above the pit!)

Jay “Don’t Call Me Ziggy” Stephens

The dive-bar aesthetics and high-caliber talent earned Ziggy’s the unofficial title of “The CBGB’s of the South”. Ironically, much like CBGB’s ultimately did, Ziggy’s will shut its doors this month and face the wrath of a demolition crew (which could be as simple as a fumigation to kill the termites that are currently holding hands to keep the dump intact). Wake Forest University has already purchased every property on the street and Jay Stephens has no desire to go to an early grave fighting for Ziggy’s current location, much like Hilly Kristal did for CBGB’s. His intention is to reopen Ziggy’s in a downtown location. Knowing Stephens, he will make certain that the new incarnation will be large, artist-friendly, and fully handicapped-accessible. (Stephens is a paraplegic and Ziggy’s was one of the few clubs in the city with a wide wheelchair access ramp.) I’m sure Ziggy’s, Mk. II will be a fine club, but capturing the personality and appeal of the original will be a huge challenge, indeed.

Links: Official Site - myspace

Perpetual Groove @ Ziggy’s

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