![]() He credits Pilot and industry veteran Joe Bamford with helping to fill the calendar in his early days, with local promoters and bands soon taking interest. Once we opened, the music was all that mattered.”Īs a talent booker, Petrungaro didn’t limit the El Mocambo to specific sounds. The renovations were extensive, expensive, and very necessary. ![]() This is where the bands would load-in their equipment. “We also built the staircase to the second floor at the back because the original one was condemned. “We tore down and rebuilt all the bars, complete with new draft lines and pumps, installed new flooring, central air conditioning, exposed all of the bricks, and thoroughly cleaned and painted the entire space. “We immediately moved the stage back to the middle of the room upstairs, then gutted and rebuilt the dressing rooms, washrooms, kitchen and offices,” recalls Petrungaro. Why 1989-2001 were important years at The El Mocambo: Encouraged by earlier El Mo owner Shaun Pilot, Enzo Petrungaro and a silent partner bought into the business at a point when the crowds weren’t coming. In between, there were successful stretches, many colourful characters, and a number of sudden closures. These transformative, albeit tumultuous, 12 years begin with the El Mo’s purchase by Petrungaro and end with its sale to Abbas Jahangiri. In light of the recent sale of both the El Mocambo Tavern’s building and business to Sam Grosso (owner of Cadillac Lounge) and Marco Petrucci (of 99 Sudbury), we examine a crucial turning point in the club’s history: the period of 1989 through 2001. Look past the club’s “glory years” of 1972 through the mid-’80s-when owners Michael Baird and Tom Kristenbrun worked mainly with in-house booker David Bluestein-and you’ll find a long list of subsequent owners and operators, some lasting less than a year. In the years that followed, the El Mo was at times considered a coveted, A-list club and, at other points, a shoddy spot to be avoided-a perception largely contingent on who owned it at the time. Stones fans know that the shows resulted in side three of the band’s Love You Live album. “It was probably the most talked-about club in the world during the days that followed, not only because of the scandals- the Prime Minister’s newly separated wife seen running around with the band, and Keith Richards’ subsequent bust at the hotel-but it was the first time in many years that The Stones played such an intimate venue. “The Rolling Stones’ shows in 1977 put The El Mocambo on the ‘world stage,’” says longtime local music booker Enzo Petrungaro, who co-owned the venue from 1989 to 1992. Charles Mingus, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Guess Who, Elvis Costello, Lou Reed, U2, Blondie, and The Ramones all played there, as did a certain British band that performed two nights under the pseudonym of The Cockroaches. While it’s never been fancy, the El Mo boasts an incredible rock, soul, jazz, and blues pedigree. ![]() The El Mocambo, complete with infamous palm-tree sign, opened in the 1940s as a two-floor live music venue, and was granted one of Toronto’s earliest liquor licences. The building itself is said to date back to 1850, and to have acted as a haven for escaped slaves in a part of the city that was long home to a sizable African-Canadian community. History: Arguably Toronto’s most illustrious live music venue, Spadina’s historic El Mocambo Tavern has meant many things to many people over the past 66 years: soul and blues hub, revered rock and roots venue, queer-punk hotbed. Here, I focus specifically on the era spanning 1989-2001. But in this edition of her nightlife-history series, Denise Benson looks back at the people and parties that kept this Toronto landmark alive during its leanest years.Ĭlub: The El Mocambo Tavern, 464 Spadina Ave. The legendary Spadina venue has just been sold for a reported $3 million, with its new owners promising to return the club to its late-‘70s glory days. Photo: Peter Power / Toronto Star.Īrticle originally published Augby The Grid online (). Dan Burke under the Neon Palm, circa 2001.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |