The Warfield

[Drunk Monk]

The Warfield has been purchased again and the new owners are planning to shut it down by March of next year. It's breaking my heart. I've been working RM for the Warfield for almost two decades. I courted Stacy there, while Jerry played. When I was at AFS, I would stroll up to Market after work for almost every show. One year, we did the rehearsals for the Dead's Chinese New Parade there, and I snuck all the way to the top of the spiral staircase on stage and wrote my initials on the ceiling rafters. We had many grand private Holiday parties there when Bill Graham was still alive. The Warfield is an extraordinary, historic theater, a treasure of S.F. It was built to last, with amazing acoustics so even the nosebleed seat offer a great view and great sound. Charlie Chaplin performed on that stage. The basement is an old speakeasy with crazy art deco on the walls. When we first started working there, some of the old prohibition escape tunnels were still open. One tunnel that left from where the RM space is, went under Market street to a long sealed hatch in SOMA. It had been partially blocked by the Bart tunnel. I've seen so many acts there - more than I can count. I've probably seen Jerry alone there more times than all of the shows all of you have seen (deducting ED and LB - and LB seldom pays attention to who is playing). Many of my top musical experiences were there, like Dylan's show. I've seen everyone from Spinal Tap to GWAR there - I can't even count them (those AFS daze were pretty hazy and I didn't keep all my backstage passes).

It's been bought by House of Blues, which means it will probably be reopened as a concert venue, but that also means a completely new staff, and it's not likely that RM will be included within the transfer of power. I'm hoping beyond hope that there will be some last minute reprieve, but right now, things are looking very grim. Loosing the Warfield will be way up there for me personally - like when Jerry and Bill died - the end of an era.