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06/15/2004 Entry: "Adios Marrakech"

Marrakech to Close -- if permanent still uncertain.

The musicbar Marrakech, located on Rothenburger Strasse and across from Capito, will close its doors after tonight's last hurrah.

The Marraka$h Jam Session Orchestra will be onhand farking it up, and I was also asked to sing a song as well. Actually, I asked if I could sing a song as well, and they rolled their eyes and said okay. (Tee hee, thought I, I'll sing "Baby Blue" with an extra helping of chopped onions and make everyone cry.) But, they continued, only if I don't sing any sad songs about how "It's All Over Now", because they might open up again somewhere else. (Damn them, thought I, foiled again!)

Yes, that's true. The club will try to open up somewhere more favorable. The reason, as I've heard through the grapevine, is three-fold. The cost of rent is too high, the upstairs neighbors don't like all that racket, and the location doesn't help to draw in enough traffic turnover--even in the Neustadt.

It's a shame that they have to get out. The Neustadt has the neatest club scene I've ever seen, know what I mean jellybean? And unlike Broadway or Beale St. or Haight-Ashbury, there are thankfully still no chains present -- no Starbucks, no Taco Bell. East of Konigsbrückerstr, you'll not even find a single ATM machine until you get to the old Jewish cemetary (no, that wasn't a poorly-conceived, tasteless joke; I mean it).
But moreso, Marrakech has a sort of atmosphere which could be described as legendary. With its marble-tiled floors, marble columns, and exquisitely fine carved archways, it's like a little shangri-la packed into a tiny three-room apartment (which is exactly what it used to be, apparently).

My love affair with the joint, however, is, like most love affairs, a more selfish one. They have a lil' stage with a baby grand, drums, and a P/A. If there wasn't a concert that night, you could get up and just jam until two. That's how Dude Dude Chick cut its teeth. The beauty of it all is how almost everybody who played sucked, almost everybody knew it, and almost nobody cared. And if you play well and the crowd digs it, you might get a free drink or twelve.

It won't start kickin' 'til 'round ten. I'll head on down there (with axe in tow) 'round 'leven tonight, hopefully not for the last time.

Replies: 1 Comment

And now, the end is near, and so I face the final curtain. My friend, ... I did it my way.

This is the end, my only friend...

Time to say goodbye, su navi per mari...

Now this was tasteless. Please excuse.

Posted by Mabü @ 06/15/2004 04:48 PM CST