Three Philly institutions celebrate their 20th anniversary this year: J.C. Dobbs, the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Theatre Company. Here's how they've been spending the last two decades.
In a city where clubs come and go, Dobbs has outlasted and outplayed them all. Celebrating their 20th anniversary this year as a rock venue, Dobbs is one of the only Philadelphia clubs that has always and only presented original music. It doesn't seem like an unusual concept, but when the nightclub/ bar opened in June 1975 it was a new idea. Until then, coffeehouses had been the only small venues to see original bands.
Before Dobbs came to life, the space at 304 South Street was a black R? bar called Wexler's. Dobbs owner Kathy James says the space has been a bar since 1933, but no one's sure how long it was Wexler's.
Dobbs' publicist Tom Sheehy shares some lore.
"You know the Mexican frescoes, downstairs?" he says, "Supposedly in the '30s or '40s an outlaw from the West lived in this building on the third floor and worked at Dobbs to earn his keep. He painted those Mexican frescoes."
Hmm — bar tales. Mutations of truth. There'll be much of that to come.
In the early '70s, the city had plans to knock South Street down and make an expressway. People who lived in the area were moving out in droves.
"But then that fell through," says James. "And a lot of artists moved in because the rents at that point were so cheap. Dobbs was a part of that."
Why has Dobbs lasted so long?
"I think it's the whole South Street vibe. We came at the time of the South Street Renaissance and we grew with South Street's growth. Also, we weren't just a venue that put on shows, we were also a neighborhood bar. People came here to hang out. We still have locals who drink here every week. The Chestnut Cabaret, the Bijou — those places lived and died by their attractions."
Of the eight to ten employees, several have been with Dobbs over ten years, some over 15. In the club business, that's fairly astounding.
"We're a small, long-term family," says James.
The big, bald (save for a long braid) and infamous host/ doorman, Shamause ("That's how he's spelling it this week"), has worked Dobbs for 15, and was the first waiter there. Tom Sheehy says the two questions the doorman gets asked most at the door are: "What's the cover?" and "Where's Shamause?"
The walls inside J.C. Dobbs are plastered, infamously, with a melange of band photos — some of those bands very famous, some once famous, some barely memorable. Once upon a time, little unknown bands — Soul Asylum, Nirvana, Mother Love Bone, Indigo Girls, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine, Green Day and The Offspring — all made their grand Philadelphia debut at Dobbs.
An eclectic group of national acts — Lucinda Willims, The Lemonheads, Shawn Colvin, The Chills, Uncle Tupelo, Ween, Yo La Tengo, Basehead, Pere Ubu, Freedy Johnston, Luscious Jackson, Bob Mould, Grant Hart, Robyn Hitchcock, The Jayhawks and Henry Rollins — have also graced Dobbs stage.
And localites like Robert Hazard, Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers The Ben Vaughn Combo, and the late Alan Mann were all regular giggers at Dobbs.
But not every band was thrilled to play the long narrow club with the tiny stage and the big glowing neon "D." (During a recent interview, Beck recalled, humorously, "Oh yeah, that club where we had to play in a line.")
New Model Army, a band used to playing big arenas in England, took one look at the stage and walked out. So did I Mother Earth and Mind Funk.
"First of all, all those bands sucked," said cook Gini Staudt-Loomis, who's worked there for 15 years. "And their egos wouldn't fit on the stage."
And, uh, who were those bands again?
What follows are a few stellar, monumental and wacky moments in Dobbs' long history.
Pardon the vague dates, but this is rock and roll — memories are clouded by, well, you know...
Sometime in June, 1975. Joe Garrison, a retired cop, and his business partner Al Cohen bought Wexler's. The duo hired John Travis, a young hippie type who knew music, to manage the club and and book the bands.
The group re-named the bar, probably during a late, vodka-soaked night (according to lore), and came up with a name by mistakenly merging two names together: The bandit D.B. Cooper who was famous for parachuting from a jet with stolen money in the '70s and Fred C. Dobbs, the Humphrey Bogart character from the Treasure of the Sierra Madre. No one knows where the "J" came from.
Sometime in the mid '70s. Muddy Waters' guitar player, Jimmy Rogers often played Dobbs. John Travis was a big fan of the blues and the club booked a lot of blues acts in the '70s and early '80s.
1976-77. George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers. Thorogood played his blend of roadhouse blues-rock during weekends at Dobbs. He'd play Saturday night and three sets on Sunday afternoon. Rather than return to his DE abode, Thorogood was known to sleep on Dobbs' second floor.
1977. James, a Temple sociology student, quit her waitressing job at La Terrasse and started working as a bartender at Dobbs in 1977. She fondly recalls the doorman Karl. He always had a big German shepherd by his side and used to say to customers, "If you're not fucking the help, it's time to get out..."
"I was young and naive," says James. "I fit right in here."
At this point, the bar was only one floor.
1979-80: Steak Tartare at Dobbs? John Travis, who also became a partner in the Dobbs business, decided to build a kitchen on the second floor. He built the bar upstairs out of railroad ties and old church pews. Travis virtually lived at Dobbs. Like his pal George, they say he used to pitch a hammock downstairs and sleep.
At first, Travis' menu consisted of hotdogs and Slim Jims, until James says she introduced avocado, swiss and mustard sandwiches.
Gini Staudt-Loomis, an employee with Dobbs for 15 years ("I did everything but book bands," she says), is currently the Dobbs cook. She was an original cast member for the popular all-nude theater fest, Let My People Come.
"I did 1,500 performances. But when I stopped doing that I realized I had no marketable skills... Kathy hired me as a hostess. We were infamous for our walk-outs [eats on the street]. We even served Steak Tartare!"
"There wasn't a whole lot on the street at that time — Jim's Steaks, Lickety, PhilaDeli and Famous [4th Street Deli] and ES Eddie's," she laughs, "Yeah, Eat Shit Eddie's."
When the bar closed at night there were legendary bowling parties.
"We'd bowl with a lemon or a lime and try to knock down a row of bottles," said Staudt-Loomis.
Around 1980: The Tom Cats. David Carroll, who ownedThe Hot Club (a rock venue in the early late '70s), managed the NYC/ Philly local band called Bloodless Pharaohs which happened to feature a guitarist named Brian Setzer. The Pharaohs, a new wave act, were utilized as a house band at The Hot Club, and played as an opening band anytime there wasn't support for a main act. Sunday night, however, The Hot Club was closed, and Setzer and his younger brother began hanging out at Dobbs and started a rockabilly night. Sunday nights Setzer and his brother played in an act called The Tom Cats. Tony Bidgood, a British bartender at Dobbs, told Setzer that if he took his act to England, where rockabilly was hot at the time, he could make a million quid. Eventually Bidgood became The Tom Cats' manager, took the band to England where Setzer ditched his brother, rustled up two other members and changed the band's name to The Stray Cats.
The band came back to Dobbs in the mid-'80s, giving the club their silver record for the single "Rock this Town." The record hangs on Dobbs' walls today.
Sometime in the early '80s. Donnie Tedesco, the doorman, bought into Dobbs as a partner. Cohen sold his share and James bought in. There were four partners. Soon, Garrison, in his 70s, retired and Travis retired to Hawaii. James and Tedesco ran the show.
1981: Robert Hazard. After the Rolling Stones'Tattoo You tour played here in 1981, Rolling Stone critic Kurt Loder, covering the show, went to Dobbs afterwards and caught a Robert Hazard and the Heroes gig. He wrote an unprecendented feature on the unsigned Hazard.
"When Robert got big, he always kept in touch," says Sheehy. "He'd always ask me if there were any good bands playing. I told him to come down one night to see Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers. He was having a barbecue later that weekend. After two songs he told me to bring Tommy to the barbecue. At the barbecue he brought out champagne and made a toast. I said, "What are we toasting?
November 1984. Donnie Tedesco passed away and the family didn't want his share of the business. James bought them out.
"As Travis had a vision to play original music," says Sheehy, "Kathy had a vision to bring Dobbs to a national perspective."
James said she educated herself about the music industry.
"I went to the New Music Seminars, I learned all about indie labels," she says.
"When we had Kathy," says Sheehy, "then Dobbs finally had lots of women bartending... Before that it was a real boys' club."
1985. The ten-year lease for the Dobbs building was up, and James bought the building and became sole owner of J.C. Dobbs.
March 1985. Tom Sheehy, then promotional director at WMMR and publicist at Emerald City, was hired as publicist at Dobbs.
"I was hired to put the 10th anniversary together. That was the first time Dobbs ever advertised."
Until the early-'80s: Would you believe people actually lived upstairs? Until James decided to use the third floor for band dressing rooms, renters still lived just above the clamor of music. Pete Baker, former member of The Stickmen, conveniently lived above the club he and his band frequented.
"An older man in his 70s, named Henry, lived upstairs for years," says Sheehy. "Every once in a while we'd see him at the bar, once or twice a year."
When Henry passed away, James decided not to rent the space anymore.
November 14, 1985. Zeitgeist. The first non-local band James booked was the Austin, Texas indie band, Zeitgeist. The band eventually became Reivers. The next month James booked Alex Chilton on December 17, 1985.
June 10 1985: Dobbs 10th Anniversary. A few bands that played that night: The Look, Separate Checks, Jack Quigley and his Only Friend, Radio Rodeo, Robert Hazard, Alan Mann, Waco Smith and Philly Gumbo.
"We had just gotten a new air conditioner and it broke down for the whole week," says James. "It was the hottest week in June. I've never made so much money in my life. And I never remember being so tired. We had three and a half weeks vacation after that. "
May 5 1986 Soul Asylum. Then an obscure, nappy-headed college band (remember when it wasn't "alternative," it was "college"?), Soul Asylum had their first Philadelphia appearance at Dobbs. They would play there two more times (12/9/86, 2/16/87). "It was before grunge became a term. These guys were just dirty because they couldn't afford much or didn't shower," said Sheehy. During a recent interview before they played The Mann, Soul Asylum's Dan Murphy mentioned how much the band used to enjoy playing Dobbs.
May 13, 1986: Dwight Yoakam. This show was symbolic of James branching out to big national acts.
"I told her what the show would cost," says Sheehy, "and she said 'We've never paid that much for an act.'"
But she paid it, and they sold out the night.
"At the end of the night I sat downstairs with Mo Healy, the bartender," recalls Sheehy, "... and Mo said, 'Goodnight Mr. Dwight. Oh, would you take your hat off for me.' When he lifted his hat, he was stone bald. She was stunned and I practically fell off my stool."
The show was marked the beginning of the progressive country trend. Later that year, on Sept. 22, 1986, Steve Earle showcased his Guitar Town tour at Dobbs.
"I think there were some people that resented me because I started doing bigger shows," says James. "Some people think I turned my back on the old acts. But you have to be competitive. The club business is a business of trends."
January 1987: The Last Minute Jam.
Started by George Manney, a Philadelphia drummer, The Last Minute Jam has to be one of Philadelphia's most prestigious open-mike nights. Always on Tuesday nights, you'll find musicians hanging out listening to other musicians and a room littered with guitar cases.
"Kathy will often do a show earlier that night, but she never cancels the Jam for anything."
Musicians who've spontaneously jammed: Suicidal Tendencies, Greg Kihn, Scott Henderson (Weather Report), members of Bon Jovi and Cinderella, Spencer Davis, the Psychedelic Furs.
May 13, 1987: Evan Johns and H Bombs. A raucous Philadelphia favorite. CP critic Frank Blank was always in the house for an Evan Johns show.
June 10, 1987: Bo Diddley, two shows both sold out.
September 21, 1989 Kenn Kweder's Elvis Show. Kweder, our own Dylan and the resident bard for years at Dobbs, was dared by Noelle Hoover, at the time the bass player for Pink Slip Daddy, now in the band Boss Hook-Up, to put on an Elvis show. He did it and the result was infamous. Bodyguards walked him in; he was wearing a custom-made Elvis suit. Klieg lights were installed outside. Kweder's various bands all played at Dobbs: The Rolling Blackouts, The Indian Guides, The Men From P.O.V.I.C.H., The Men From Kweder, Kenn Kweder and The Few, Kenn Kweder and his Enablers and The Secret Kidds. They say he practically invented flyering. Penn and Teller often thank him for his ingenious invention of flour mix.
January 1990: The First All-Ages Show. Electric Love Muffin, Napalm Sunday and Touchdown Jesus were one of the first all-ages shows for Dobbs.
When business was slow — when the new '90s sobriety replaced the spendthrift '80s — James decided to do all-ages shows. She was one of the first bar/ clubs, along with Revival, to do shows for kids under 21. She was cultivating the next crowd.
Feburary 15, 1989. River Phoenix and his sister Rain played Dobbs in the band Aleka's Attic. The same night River was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Running on Empty.
July 12, 1989. Nirvana, a small Seattle quartet (then they were four) plays their first of three significant appearances at Dobbs. This night they played material from Bleach and their ep Blew on Sup Pop.
April 30, 1990: Nirvana. Sheehy remembers bassist Krist Novoselic never wore shoes when the band played Dobbs.
"In a bar! They break glass in a bar," says Sheehy. "Krist was the one who sat at the bar and told me he was hopeful they were gonna cut a deal with Sony.in '90."
But then the Sub Pop/ Sony deal didn't go through and they were signed to DGC.
Early '90s: Poetry Slams. Hosted by Lauralyn Farwell, these evenings feature a vicious poetry contest that still continues and will start up again in the fall.
July 12, 1991: Pearl Jam. "Eddie Vedder was so nervous when he played here. I mondo-bonded with him," says Stout-Loomis. "I mondo-bonded with him, too," says James. "We sat outside and chatted for an hour about everything."
Members of Pearl Jam also played Dobbs in the band Mother Love Bone in April of 1989.
October 1, 1991Nirvana."This night was professionally and personally the greatest moment in Dobbs history," says Sheehy.
"We knew [Kurt Cobain] was sick. I remember they requested extra monitors for Kurt because of what we now know were his famous stomach pains... But he really perfomed. He left a piece of himself up there on that stage."
Exactly 90 days after Nirvana's October 1, 1991 gig, their album went #1 on the Billboard chart.
"We always say it's advantageous to play here," says Sheehy.
January 16, 1993: Green Day. The turnout was huge.
"Bigger than we had ever imagined," says James, "We had to turn people away."
July 31 1994: Lollapa-liquored up. The day before last year's Lollapalooza, the bands on the tour rolled into Philadelphia for a day off. They made a stop during the early evening at Dobbs' Poetry Slam for an infamous night of drinking and playing.
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins did a short reading. Courtney Love asked host Lauralyn Farwell if she could use Farwell's band equipment and play. She did three songs.
According to Sheehy, some members of The Breeders, Smashing Pumpkins and L7 were in the bar, "getting really drunk."
"Courtney Love had her feet up on the bar." (The same evening Love ran across the street to the CD store and threw Nirvana bootlegs on the ground, demanding the store not sell them.)
The Breeders' Kim Deal had bought several videos from the nearby video store, TLA, as well as several cartons of cigarettes
"She had told everybody she was trying to stop smoking," laughs Sheehy. "I think she was even wearing a patch."
Deal left all of her videos ("Nothing esoteric, Star Wars or something"), cigarettes, her wallet filled with credit cards, I.D. and everything sitting on the bar. The doorman, Joey Mahoney, returned it all to her trailer at Lollapalooza the next day.
January 27, 1995. Slash. The Guns 'n Roses guitarist was at Dobbs promoting his new record for his side project Slash's Snakepit at a "meet-and-greet" sponsored by Geffen. He liked the vibe so much that he ditched his bodyguards, sat at the bar for a while and ordered drinks. Then he asked if he could jam with the band scheduled for the evening — the local band Drop Zero — the band had only played Dobbs before at the Last Minute Jam. This was their first real gig! Yikes.
The Slash/ Drop combo played what else —"Johnny B. Good."
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