I remember Aldo's. It was one of only a handful of places in Northern NJ where you could go to hear New Order,The Smiths and Sisters Of Mercy and see a dark dancefloor filled with twentysomethings spinning around in wild abandon. The drinks were cheap, the decor was a mix of hipster chic and 60's Diner and everyone who went there could rattle off The Cure's discography at the drop of a hat. Choice selections from MTV's 120 Minutes would be flickering from television screens above the bar and the dancefloor. Maybe I'd be there to get in some heavy duty drinking with pals or maybe meet girls or maybe just hang at the balcony and watch everyone dance, all that mattered was that I had somewhere to go and more importantly somewhere to belong. Whatever happened to those crazy plans and schemes of my youth? Did I leave them beneath that giant Morrissey poster by the arcade game? I'd go back to retrieve them if I could but Aldo's left me in one giant blazing blink of an eye. Let's rebuild it right here and right now.
by Ghosty
by Ghosty
5 comments:
We keep starting new threads and not replying to older ones, so I'll see if we can't break that trend a little.
Hi, I'm Kitt. Nice to meet you! ^_^
I've always been an 'outsider' just a touch out of step with everyone for one reason or another. I tend to hang about the fringes of groups watching people having fun, joining in when I can, and retreating to the margins again if I find I have nothing to add to the conversation without sounding like an idiot. A benign lurker, I suppose. Not scary, but perhaps a touch odd.
If I'd had a chance to go to the NJ Aldo's, I would have been one of those dedicated wallflowers who watches the people singing, dancing, drinking, joking, meeting, and parting -- all of the pulse and tenor of a place designed for people to go and have fun -- and aren't those the best sort of places? It would have been a fun place for me, too, but secretly I'd have wished that one of those cute guys would come over and try to draw me out. I would have felt awkward and shy, but, a bit of interest, a bit of persistence, and a friendly smile would have gotten me out there -- and who knows what might have been?
So, I certainly like the virtual Aldo's. I can be found in the chatroom during Ghosty's show most nights. Since I went a different path with my musical tastes for a few years there, often I have nothing to say. That's one of the charms of That Modern Rock Show for me. It's the Cliff Notes I need for the music I missed. The chatroom gurus (you know who you are! ^_~) fonts of musical knowledge and trivia, help to put it all into context for me. And, of course, Ghosty's got the humor and grace under fire to create wonderful show after wonderful show week after week.
That's what I think the NJ Aldo's would have been for me, and what the TMRS Aldo's means to me now.
I've never been to Aldo's, but we all know our little hangouts.
I remember the Ranch Bowl in Omaha. It only held 300, so it was a good venue. Toad the Wet Sprocket called it one of their favorites so we went to see them three times (even though it was an hour away). You could bowl a few frames before and after the show, too.
What's there now? A Wal-Mart.
-Jeremy
I've just dug up a set list from one of our shows. Mind you, we played in Nebraska in the 1990s, but we still had some fun with it.
(Vertical Circus was our band)
-Jeremy
Vertical Circus - Set List
Alive Pearl Jam
Another Girl, Another Planet The Replacements
Back in Black AC/DC
Brent's Christian Song Vertical Circus
Cinderella Vertical Circus
Das Erdetagzusammenspielen Vertical Circus
Don't You Forget About Me Simple Minds
Down Monday Vertical Circus
Fresh Jam Vertical Circus
Goin' 'Round my Head Vertical Circus
Hello, I Love You The Doors
Hungry Like the Wolf Duran Duran
I Love Rock 'n Roll Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
I Will Follow U2
I'm Not Shy Vertical Circus
In My Soul Vertical Circus
Jumpin' Jack Flash The Rolling Stones
Just Like Heaven The Cure
Keep Your Hands to Yourself Georgia Satellites
Let's Be Real Vertical Circus
Long Way to Go Dan Reed Network
Molly's Lips The Vaselines
Mony Mony Billy Idol
Nearly Lost You Screaming Trees
New Girl Now Honeymoon Suite
Plush Stone Temple Pilots
Rebel Yell Billy Idol
Sex Type Thing Stone Temple Pilots
Should I Stay or Should I Go The Clash
Somebody to Shove Soul Asylum
Song A Vertical Circus
Steppin' Stone The Monkees
Substitute The Who
Surrender Cheap Trick
Torn Away Vertical Circus
Whip It Devo
The burner:
Back in Black AC/DC
All I want Toad the Wet Sprocket
Gimme 3 Steps Lynard Skynard
Wow Jeremy, talk about a set list! We should have a younger us night and you can have Ghosty play one of your favorites that your band used to play, Molly can pick one of the tunes she loved to spin as a DJ, Gerry can choose some 12inch from his wicked collection...ah the possibilities are endless!
Jen27
Hi, Gerry here. I went to the physical Aldo's once late in 1989. That was shortly after returning to the NYC metro area following six years in Europe, California and points in between. Alas, after all that Lyndhurst, NJ was a bit further than I wanted to drive for a night out. Fortunately there was a bar called the Deuce Coupe in Nanuet, NY that had "new wave" night on Mondays and Wednesdays. The virtual Aldo's brings me back to those halcyon days.
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