Club Foot

Speaking of San Francisco, an eagle-eyed member of a certain mailing list I'm on mentioned the following story about an exhibition currently taking place in San Francisco.

1979 was quite a year for underground music & club history in the US. Not only was the Masque in Los Angeles winding down, but CBGB and the Mudd Club were in full swing in NYC. San Francisco made it's own contribution as well when Club Foot started gestating. Opened last week, and running through August 5, the San Francisco Library is presenting CLUB FOOT: Moving In The Direction Of History (Artifacts from SF's Art Punk Cabaret) to commemorate the club's 30th anniversary.



"It was 1979, punk rock was just reaching its peak in the Bay Area. The need for a not-for-profit performance space for aspiring Surrealists was absolutely clear.

For eight years in an old storefront on Third Street, Club Foot hosted a wide range of performances – from the heavy hardcore of Black Flag to avant-garde luminaries such as Diamanda Galás. But this was no commercial nightclub. Club Foot proposed that we are all consumers and producers alike, erasing the line between audience and stage. Bands were not booked to simply sell beer. Artists not only ran the show, they may have been living under the stairs. Do-It-Yourself by necessity.

This exhibition offers a rare glimpse into one of the Bay Area's longest running underground venues and unearths many oddities and relics from the private archives of JC Garrett and Cindy Buff. Never before seen in 30 years. Dig it."

For the address and hours of operation click here.



In a related event, on July 29 the SFPL will offer CLUB FOOT Presents: A Generous Illusion - Post-Punk SF (1978-82). See the description below, and note the inclusion of former downtown NY'ers Richard Edson and Karen Finley.

"The Sex Pistols' final concert at Winterland in '78 unofficially declared, "Punk is dead." Before MTV appropriated punk/new-wave fashion, San Francisco was home to some of the best emerging artists in the world. Mabuhay Gardens, Deaf Club, and Club Foot were just a few of places where it was going down. This special evening of films and live performance includes actor/musician Richard Edson, artist Karen Finley, Christian Marclay's Bachelors Even, Bruce Geduldig's "Childhood Prostitute" (starring JoJo Planteen from Inflatable Boy Clams) and much, much more. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition, CLUB FOOT: Moving in the Direction Of History - Artifacts from SF's Art Punk Cabaret, on view in the Art, Music and Recreation Center, Fourth Floor, Main Library, June 5-Aug. 5." For more info click here.

And lastly, back in February there was a Club Foot 30th anniversary show at Cafe Du Nord headlined by the infamous Club Foot Orchestra.

To relive the sounds of Club Foot, visit Subterranean for a free download of the 1981 compilation, Providing The Means To Escape The Life Not Worth Living, which featured a young Richard Edson on the cover, and music by the Longshoremen, the Alterboys, Naked City, Bay of Pigs, and the Club Foot Orchestra. While you're there you can also order a red vinyl reissue of the impossible-to-find album. Get it all here. Be sure to also visit Son of Club Foot which sort of sums up everything I've mentioned above.

Images courtesy of Kill Your Pet Puppy, except Club Foot storefront image - courtesy of the Club Foot facebook page.