Ask anyone who came of age in New Jersey in the 1970s and 1980s about what bands they saw and what music venues they frequented.
Courtesy of Distejon Ask anyone who came of age in New Jersey in the 1970s and 1980s about what bands they saw and what music venues they frequented and you're sure to hear some great stories.
In those days, going to concerts meant much more than purchasing tickets for stadium or arena shows at places such as the Meadowlands, Madison Square Garden or the Spectrum; local venues were a big part of the picture.
Local bars and clubs were the places where people became regulars, where cover charges, if any, were cheap. And, while some of the big names of the period regularly played at these places and always drew crowds, you were also likely to experience some great music from local bands, which you then might follow around the state as they played the various venues included here.
People will share their memories of seeing Springsteen at the Stone Pony and the Wonder Bar before he hit it big; they will tell stories of revelry at The Dunes in Egg Harbor Township that stayed open until 6 a.m. leading to the T-shirts reading 'Dunes 'til Dawn.'
MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey
Questions like "Hey, did you ever go to Zaffy's to see Twisted Sister?" will be posed. For clarification, Zaffy's was a bowling alley in Piscataway that also staged concerts, and while I must have driven by that sign in Piscataway promoting 'the Sister' a couple of dozen times, I never went to see them in their pre-stardom days. My bad.
'Comps' weren't just for the casinos.
But any number of other venues will elicit tales of bands seen when they weren't famous, adventures had while clubbing at the numerous bars in Middlesex County or fond memories of concerts at the venerable Capitol Theatre in Passaic.
In putting together this gallery, I surprised even myself by locating a photo and then recalling for the first time in decades that I had actually gone to that place. Every section of New Jersey had its locations that could guarantee a night's entertainment without going into hock.
New Jersey is by no means unique in having had a large number of music venues to choose from to see a headline act or an up-and-coming one. Every state had its "go-to" places, but New Jersey sure had some great ones. And, certainly I haven't been able to cover every one. Just a partial list of venues that don't appear here includes Dirty Nelly's in Elmwood Park, Sundance in Wildwood, the Malibu in Scotch Plains, Big Man's West in Red Bank, Giulio's South in Asbury Park, The El Greco Rock Club in Brick, The Club Bene in South Amboy, the Union Jack Lounge in South River ... and on and on.
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Tommy Raw, who runs a blog titled "Tommy Raw ... No Way That Just Happened" and was an invaluable source of photos and information on the state's rock clubs. So with his help, here's a gallery of vintage clubs and music venues in New Jersey.
Can't get enough? You can see some more vintage photos of bands and artists performing in New Jersey here and here.
Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.