Atlanta tornado no match for Lenny’s Bar and The Earl
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
RIDERS ON THE STORM: Lenny’s Bar sustained damage but reopened the next night. (photo provided by Bean Summer.)
It takes more than a tornado to silence this town.
Rumors of Lenny’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Although the seamy local punk and indie rock club at 486 Decatur St. in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward stood directly in the path of the tornado that struck downtown, Cabbagetown and East Atlanta on Friday, March 14 around 10 p.m., the club was open less than 24 hours later.
In the wake of the storm rumors spread that Lenny’s roof had been torn off and the club was closed. But according to Lenny’s booking agent Bean Summer the rumors were unfounded.
The Friday night line-up was to feature performances by local bands the Preakness and Sleep Therapy, as well as the St. Louis, Mo. psychedelic rock band, Wormwood Scrubs.
The first band had just started when the storm hit.
“I was in the office checking my e-mail and I thought a bomb had gone off downtown,†Summer recalls. “The air was sucked out of the room and I could hear a bunch of loud pops from things hitting the building.â€
Some roof tiles were blown off of the building, air conditioning units were knocked over, windows were broken, and a gas line ruptured but was repaired within a few hours.
Read more about this story at the Crib Notes post.
