Crib Notes

Sex Pistols at the Great Southeast Music Hall — Jan. 5, 1978
Delayed by visa troubles, the Pistols missed their New York tour dates, so they wound up playing their first U.S. show in Atlanta. They opened with “God Save the Queen,” after which Johnny Rotten told the crowd: “You can all stop staring at us now. We’re ugly and we know it.” Nine days later, the band was history.

Iggy Pop at 688 — 1980
The post-Stooges Iggy played at 688 every night for a week a few months after the club opened, forming a meaningful relationship with the metal pole in the middle of the stage. His set list, written on the wall, remained there for years afterward.

Ramones at the Agora Ballroom — early 1980s
Joey and the boys played Atlanta many times from the late ’70s through the mid-’90s (before they died), but are most fondly remembered from their shows at the Agora.

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(Courtesy 688 Club)

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In the early 1980s, the music world was beating a path to Athens, where bands such as the B-52’s, REM and Pylon were helping redefine underground pop. Although Atlanta produced no break-through acts like those during this same period, it was home to a rich assortment of local sounds and a tightly knit community of local bands and music fans.

Nowhere was that sense of community stronger than in the city’s active punk scene, which centered around two of Atlanta’s most celebrated music venues, 688 and the Metroplex. The two clubs offered an asylum for a generation of awkward, alienated teenagers wearing black eyeliner and studded collars who came to escape the drab reality of their suburban lives.

“The message of the music was, ‘We don’t care what people think about us,’ and that appealed to us,” recalls Jill Griffin, who haunted the clubs during the ’80s.

This Saturday, Oct. 4, the former owners of 688 and the Metroplex will throw a reunion party and concert aimed at bringing together some of the bands and fans from an era viewed now with fond nostalgia: Atlanta – the punk years.

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(Photo by Clark Brown)

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