Lights Go Down on Last CBGB Concert

CBGB, the New York City club known as the birthplace of punk music, hosted its last concert on October 15, 2006. Owner Hilly Kristal named it as an acronym for the type of music he planned to present: country, bluegrass, and blues. However, it soon took a different direction, becoming the showcase venue for acts such as Patti Smith, The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Sonic Youth and Television. Smith, who first performed at CBGB in February of 1975, was on hand at the club's last concert, had this to say at a pre-show press conference: "CBGB is a state of mind. There’s new kids with new ideas all over the world. They’ll make their own places — it doesn’t matter whether it’s here or wherever it is." "Wherever it is" may turn out to be Las Vegas, Nevada, according to the National Ledger. Apparently, the plan is to recreate CBGB on the Vegas strip. Kristal has to be out of the NYC location by October 31, 2006, the result of the landlord's refusal to renew his lease.