Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

When the Wave Was New

Twenty-eight years ago today (11/13/80), downtown’s California Theatre hosted a new-wave concert with 20/20 that was shut down by cops.

“I’ve seen more than my fair share of police harassment at the various new-wave clubs and rock concerts around San Diego,” patron Bart Cheever wrote to Kicks magazine (12/80), “and this time it looks like they’re out for blood.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“Armed in full riot gear, police systematically harassed and assaulted patrons.… You’re never going to see a cop choking some old lady at the San Diego Symphony. People were being arrested for crossing the street or asking for a refund or unlocking their cars or whatever else the police felt was illegal.… To the over-30 world, you’re just a punk who’s better off in jail. The police intimidate you, then they dehumanize you.”

At the same time, PB’s Roxy Theatre at 4642 Cass Street was closing its doors. Owner Scott Shore had bought the venue in 1977, planning to operate it as a movie theater until distributors refused or were unable to provide first-run films. The 629-seat venue was converted for concerts, booked by local promoter Marc Berman from summer 1978 through August 1979. Berman brought in Lou Reed, Blondie, Iggy Pop, Dire Straits, and a 5/16/79 Police concert broadcast on KGB 101.5 that became one of the band’s most well-regarded bootlegs.

After Berman departed for bigger ventures, the Roxy was leased to Concert Nite Productions through early 1980, whereupon owner Shore terminated the lease amidst allegations of unpaid rent and incomplete building improvements.

Local concert promoters Fahn and Silva Presents booked the Roxy occasionally from March through August 1980, and then the theater spent months screening the adults-only film Caligula, charging $6 per ticket.

In mid-November 1980, Shore reportedly sold the site for around one million dollars. The building was demolished to make way for a new post office, which opened in 1984.

– Jay Allen Sanford

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Hockey Dad brings UCSD vets and Australians to the Quartyard

Bending the stage barriers in East Village
Next Article

Bringing Order to the Christmas Chaos

There is a sense of grandeur in Messiah that period performance mavens miss.

Twenty-eight years ago today (11/13/80), downtown’s California Theatre hosted a new-wave concert with 20/20 that was shut down by cops.

“I’ve seen more than my fair share of police harassment at the various new-wave clubs and rock concerts around San Diego,” patron Bart Cheever wrote to Kicks magazine (12/80), “and this time it looks like they’re out for blood.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“Armed in full riot gear, police systematically harassed and assaulted patrons.… You’re never going to see a cop choking some old lady at the San Diego Symphony. People were being arrested for crossing the street or asking for a refund or unlocking their cars or whatever else the police felt was illegal.… To the over-30 world, you’re just a punk who’s better off in jail. The police intimidate you, then they dehumanize you.”

At the same time, PB’s Roxy Theatre at 4642 Cass Street was closing its doors. Owner Scott Shore had bought the venue in 1977, planning to operate it as a movie theater until distributors refused or were unable to provide first-run films. The 629-seat venue was converted for concerts, booked by local promoter Marc Berman from summer 1978 through August 1979. Berman brought in Lou Reed, Blondie, Iggy Pop, Dire Straits, and a 5/16/79 Police concert broadcast on KGB 101.5 that became one of the band’s most well-regarded bootlegs.

After Berman departed for bigger ventures, the Roxy was leased to Concert Nite Productions through early 1980, whereupon owner Shore terminated the lease amidst allegations of unpaid rent and incomplete building improvements.

Local concert promoters Fahn and Silva Presents booked the Roxy occasionally from March through August 1980, and then the theater spent months screening the adults-only film Caligula, charging $6 per ticket.

In mid-November 1980, Shore reportedly sold the site for around one million dollars. The building was demolished to make way for a new post office, which opened in 1984.

– Jay Allen Sanford

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Hockey Dad brings UCSD vets and Australians to the Quartyard

Bending the stage barriers in East Village
Next Article

Secrets of Resilience in May's Unforgettable Memoir

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader