Hoboken Rock City - The Official Blog Of DJ Mike C.

They put a parking lot on a piece of land
Where the supermarket used to stand
Before that they put up a bowling alley
On the site that used to be the local palais
That's where the big bands used to come and play
My sister went there on a Saturday

Come dancing
All her boyfriends used to come and call
Why not come dancing
It's only natural


Most venues have a life cycle. For every Carnegie Hall or McSorley's, places that continue to thrive while barely changing after more than a century in business, countless more music halls and bars open up, do well for a while if they're lucky and they know what they're doing, and eventually close or evolve into something completely different.

The Goldhawk was both a bar and a live venue. After eight years in business, its reputation was firmly established on both counts. As a venue, it was home to the coziest, most inviting back room performance space and lounge that I've ever known, and I've been to a few. As a bar, it was Cheers to many regulars, with an eclectic crowd. Business was a little off during this time of economic downturn, as it has been at most places, but to most people who frequented the place and knew it well, it did not seem like The Goldhawk was done.

That's probably why the bar's closing hurts so much. When CBGB closed after more than thirty years, it was the end of an era, but the place was long past its prime. The club wisely prolonged its closing into a seemingly never-ending marketing event that both burnished its reputation and made them quite a bit of dough while they already had one foot out the door.

The Goldhawk Bar & Lounge did not at all seem to be on its last legs when it was announced on June 11 that it would close up shop in exactly thirty days. To the owners' credit, that month's notice was appreciated by all who were affected by the impending closing. Many of the key artists who had performed there often did farewell shows during the final weeks. The last several days were a blur: the weekly Tuesday open-mic night was jammed beyond capacity, the live bands had great crowds all week, and virtually every person I talked to there expressed a bit of sadness and disbelief that a place so vibrant and unique was about to disappear.

So the place lasted a hair more than eight years, and I was a resident DJ there for all but the first 10 months of that time. I'm proud to have been associated with such a special place for so long. I'm humbled that owners who really, really know their music entrusted me with the tunes for so many special occasions. Thank you Fran, Al, and Mike for the opportunity.

And I'm thankful I got to run the party at what may go down as the greatest event in the history of The Goldhawk, its closing night. Kerry, Butch, Justin, Andy, and especially Margaret kept the bar working smoothly all night long, despite an alcohol stock that was rapidly depleting. There was a fun but bittersweet vibe in the air. A little like New Year's Eve, except that the moment we were anxious about was not midnight, but last call.


The day they knocked down the palais
My sister stood and cried
The day they knocked down the palais
Part of my childhood died, just died


When last call came, I had time for two more songs. Of course I knew in advance what they would be. The Specials' "Enjoy Yourself" was one of the bar's unofficial theme songs from the start, and its advice to "Enjoy yourself--it's later than you think" was all too appropriate. To close it out, in the town of Frank Sinatra's birth, and the bar run by the singer of Skanatra, it was practically preordained that it had to end with "My Way."

There's more I want to write about the place, and hopefully soon I will have time to share some other memories. Keep a look out on my home page for future gigs at new and different venues. For now, enjoy the playlist. Goldhawk, we miss you already.


Saturday, July 11, 2009

9:00
Rock And Roll Music - THE BEATLES
You Only Live Once - THE STROKES
When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around - THE POLICE
My Ever-Changing Moods - THE STYLE COUNCIL
Cruel To Be Kind - NICK LOWE
Oliver's Army - ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS
Don't Do Me Like That - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
Don't Look Back - THE REMAINS
Good Times Bad Times - LED ZEPPELIN
Summertime Blues - THE WHO
Vehicle - IDES OF MARCH
Rockin' In The Free World - NEIL YOUNG
Salute Your Solution - THE RACONTEURS
4 Songs & A Fight - THE SOUNDS
We Are All Made Of Stars - MOBY
Take Me, I'm Yours - SQUEEZE
Roll With It - OASIS
Radiation Vibe - FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE

10:00
Pop Song 89 - R.E.M.
There's No Other Way - BLUR
Atomic - BLONDIE
Heads Will Roll - THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS
Head On - PIXIES
Good Enough - DODGY
Just Got Lucky - JOBOXERS
Sole Salvation - THE ENGLISH BEAT
Sherry Darling - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
The Bulrushes - THE BONGOS
Black And White - THE dB'S
Starry Eyes - THE RECORDS
Mr. Brightside - THE KILLERS
The '59 Sound - THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM
Alex Chilton - THE REPLACEMENTS
Way Down Now - WORLD PARTY
Sympathy For The Devil - THE ROLLING STONES

11:00
I'm A Man - THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP
Move On Up - CURTIS MAYFIELD
That Lady (Part 1 & 2) - THE ISLEY BROTHERS
Doing It To Death - JAMES BROWN
Don't Stop Till You Get Enough - MICHAEL JACKSON
1999 - PRINCE
Mercy - DUFFY
Girls & Boys - BLUR
Get Myself Into It - THE RAPTURE
Time To Pretend - MGMT
Daylight - MATT & KIM
Young Folks - PETER, BJORN & JOHN
Monday Morning - THE FUNDAMENTALS

12:00
Is It Any Wonder? - KEANE
Saturday Night (Is The Loneliest Night In The Week) - FRANK SINATRA
United States Of Whatever - LIAM LYNCH
Surrender - CHEAP TRICK
We're An American Band - GRAND FUNK RAILROAD
Roadrunner - MODERN LOVERS
Vacation - THE GO-GO'S
Sheena Is A Punk Rocker - RAMONES
This Charming Man - THE SMITHS
Inbetween Days - THE CURE
Don't You Want Me - THE HUMAN LEAGUE
Cruel Summer - BANANARAMA
The Look Of Love (Part 1) - ABC
DARE - GORILLAZ
The Seed (2.0) - THE ROOTS FEATURING CODY CHESNUTT
The Way You Move - OUTKAST (BIG BOI) FEATURING SLEEPY BROWN
Sir Duke - STEVIE WONDER
Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin) - SLY & THE FAMILY STONE

1:00
Twenty-Five Miles - EDWIN STARR
Love Child - SUPREMES
Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) - THE JACKSONS
Low Rider - WAR
Give It To Me Baby - RICK JAMES
Let's Go - THE CARS
Your Love - THE OUTFIELD
Rock The Casbah - THE CLASH
Faith - GEORGE MICHAEL
Breakout - SWING OUT SISTER
Surfin' Bird - THE TRASHMEN
You Never Can Tell - CHUCK BERRY
Burning Love - ELVIS PRESLEY
Right Back Where We Started From - MAXINE NIGHTINGALE
More Today Than Yesterday - SPIRAL STARECASE
Car Wash - CHRISTINA AGUILERA & MISSY ELLIOTT
SexyBack - JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

2:00
Changes - 2PAC
Regulate - WARREN G. FEATURING NATE DOGG
Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta - GETO BOYS
Superstition - STEVIE WONDER
Freedom 90 - GEORGE MICHAEL
* Matt Azzarto speech: "We raised the bar" *
Ooh La La - FACES
Baba O'Riley - THE WHO
Silly Love Songs - WINGS
Our House - MADNESS
Come Dancing - THE KINKS
Town Called Malice - THE JAM
Enjoy Yourself - THE SPECIALS
My Way - FRANK SINATRA

It was ten years plus one day since my first-ever public DJ gig--I add the word "public" because, hey, I'd been playing DJ at home since around age four--and I wanted to make sure the music was great.

Even for a good DJ, this can be harder than it sounds. For all your good intentions, so many factors can derail your plans: if you don't get your usual crowd, or it's more crowded than expected, or less crowded than expected, or equipment doesn't cooperate, or...anything. Spinning for a crowd is completely different than on the radio or the net, of course. In most live situations, the worst thing a DJ can do is plan a full set and stubbornly stick to it. The best way to DJ for a crowd is to go in with a plan, but to be ready to chuck that plan, or at least large portions of it, as needed.

I DJ all over the place, but for the past seven years, my home base has been my a tremendous local bar in my neighborhood, The Goldhawk. I've DJed more than 500 gigs--maybe closer to 600--and this comfy two-room bar/lounge run by true music lovers has been home to probably more than 50 percent of them. Yet each night brings something new in terms of crowd, vibe, and surprises. Though no dance parties broke out on this last Friday before Memorial Day weekend, many of those in attendance seemed enthusiastic about my choices.

I started an hour early, at 9 p.m., since my first gig ten years ago had also been a 9:00 start. This gave me an extra hour to get my ya-yas out, and in that first hour I didn't play anything newer than 1999, to approximate an hour of what could have been a set I'd played a decade ago. In that first hour and throughout the night, I sprinkled in some of my favorite segues I've ever come up with (I'll leave you all to guess which ones) and as many songs and artists that were important to me as I could.

Even with an extra hour, there was a lot I wish I'd gotten to in the course of the night. Really wanted to play "Praise You" because it was the biggest song going around the time I started DJing; it woulda fit in around midnight when I was playing the likes of Stereo MC's and Deee-Lite, but I didn't want people walking in at the peak of the night to think that we were playing a mix tape from 1999. Meant to throw on "Buffalo Stance" because I remember it being a hit at my first gig. Wanted to play Elvis Presley but didn't. The list goes on.

New stuff was pretty well represented, with Phoenix, Metric, Matt & Kim, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, White Lies, and a fine new Green Day album--less than a day old!--all supplying great energy toward the middle of the evening. Love T. Rex, but wouldn't have predicted they'd be the only band I'd play twice this particular night--there was a "Jeepster" request after 1 a.m. and even though I'd already played "20th Century Boy" a couple hours earlier, there was no reason to say no. (Sticklers will note that I played both New Order and Joy Division as well, also hours apart.) Wish I played The Stooges, but at least I got to The Dictators and The Damned; those who remember my Neat Neat Neat nights at Manitoba's a few years ago can connect the dots there. Didn't get into a proper '60s/'70s soul set either; James Brown, Sly, Stevie, and The Supremes all shoulda been in there. Oh well. As Steven Wright said: "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?"

Why did I close with "With A Little Help From My Friends" by Joe Cocker? So many reasons. Because in ten years of slinging discs, I'm pretty sure I'd never played it before. Because it was written and originated by my favorite band of all time, and in some ways echoes the nearly two years early on in my career when I closed nearly every night with "Hey Jude." Because it was lyrically and thematically appropriate. Because it was performed by a group of high-school kids in some sort of show during evening rush hour at the Port Authority Bus Terminal the day before, and their performance was good enough to make me stop in my tracks and listen. Oh, and because it kicks ass.

So this is how my second decade of DJing began. Many set lists don't look as good on paper as they sounded in person, but I couldn't be happier with the way this one sounded and how it looks.

Thanks to all the bartenders, barbacks, doormen, managers, owners, promoters, and everyone else in the nightclub world for so much support over the years. And of course, special thanks to anyone who's ever called themselves a fan. Lots more to come, of course. Upcoming dates at both The Goldhawk and NYC's Motor City Bar will be announced soon. Check the home page for details as they become available.



9:00
I'd Love To Change The World - TEN YEARS AFTER
A Hard Day's Night - THE BEATLES
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere - THE WHO
Local Girls - GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR
Girls Talk - DAVE EDMUNDS
All Of The Good Ones Are Taken - IAN HUNTER
Talk Of The Town - PRETENDERS
Regret - NEW ORDER
Awful - HOLE
The Emperor's New Clothes - SINEAD O'CONNOR
Ladyfingers - LUSCIOUS JACKSON
You Get What You Give - NEW RADICALS
A Girl Like You - EDWYN COLLINS
Babies - PULP
The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get - MORRISSEY
Becoming More Like Alfie - THE DIVINE COMEDY
I've Got A Flair - FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE

10:00
Better Things - THE KINKS
The Static Age - GREEN DAY
Them Kids - SAM ROBERTS
Every Summer (Remix) - U.S. ROYALTY
Island In The Sun - WEEZER
You Only Live Once - THE STROKES
Head On - PIXIES
Stay With Me - THE DICTATORS
Gates Of The West - THE CLASH
20th Century Boy - T. REX
Stay Positive - THE HOLD STEADY
The '59 Sound - THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM
Alex Chilton - THE REPLACEMENTS
Desire - U2
Cruel To Be Kind - NICK LOWE
Superman - R.E.M.
Use Somebody - KINGS OF LEON
Death - WHITE LIES

11:00
The Step And The Walk - THE DUKE SPIRIT
Lights Out - SANTOGOLD
I'm Shakin' - ROONEY
Vacation - THE GO-GO'S
Ever Fallen In Love? - THE BUZZCOCKS
Neat, Neat, Neat - THE DAMNED
Mirror In The Bathroom - THE ENGLISH BEAT
Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 - IAN DURY & THE BLOCKHEADS
Heaven For The Weather - THE STREETS
Crying - TV ON THE RADIO
Girlfriend - PHOENIX
Daylight - MATT & KIM
Sugalumps - FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS
Time To Pretend - MGMT
Sick Muse - METRIC
Heads Will Roll - YEAH YEAH YEAHS
The Look Of Love (Part 1) - ABC
Friday I'm In Love - THE CURE

12:00
1999 - PRINCE
Get Myself Into It - THE RAPTURE
Groove Is In The Heart - DEEE-LITE
Step It Up - STEREO MC'S
Lucid Dreams - FRANZ FERDINAND
Beggin' (Pilooski Edit) - THE FOUR SEASONS
Groovy Train - THE FARM
Only Love Can Break Your Heart - SAINT ETIENNE
Ms. Jackson - OUTKAST
Heartless - KANYE WEST
The Seed (2.0) - THE ROOTS FEAT. CODY CHESNUTT
Paper Planes - M.I.A.

1:00
That's Not My Name - THE TING TINGS
Love Will Tear Us Apart - JOY DIVISION
Don't You Want Me - THE HUMAN LEAGUE
Somebody Told Me - THE KILLERS
Crimson And Clover - JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS
Unchained - VAN HALEN
I Wanna Rock - TWISTED SISTER
Highway To Hell - AC/DC
Sympathy For The Devil - THE ROLLING STONES
Jeepster - T. REX
The Jean Genie - DAVID BOWIE
Rockaway Beach - RAMONES
United States Of Whatever - LIAM LYNCH
Any Way You Want It - JOURNEY
Surrender - CHEAP TRICK
Somebody To Shove - SOUL ASYLUM
Girlfriend - MATTHEW SWEET
Your Love - THE OUTFIELD

2:00
Heat Of The Moment - ASIA
867-5309/Jenny - TOMMY TUTONE
Jessie's Girl - RICK SPRINGFIELD
Steal My Sunshine - LEN
Cruel Summer - BANANARAMA
Touch Me - THE DOORS
Daydream Believer - THE MONKEES
Spirit In The Night (Live 1975-85 version) - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
With A Little Help From My Friends - JOE COCKER