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The Belly Up celebrates 50 years of Quonset hut concerts
Longtime booker recalls secret shows and shenanigans
1970s Original Sign
The Belly Up’s 50th Anniversary celebration starts up this July with a series of specially curated events. Current venue president Chris Goldsmith’s tenure at the venue stretches back (on and off) to 1988. Naturally, he’s seen a few shenanigans. “The wackiest thing has to be when Screamin’ Jay Hawkins played, and part of his deal was that he had to be carried out in a coffin — which, thankfully, he brought with him.”
Another time, “Buster from the band Bad Manners brought out a surfboard and literally surfed the crowd, before crowd surfing was a thing. Country Dick from the Beat Farmers used to make everyone sit down, then he’d shine a flashlight on his face and tell a campfire story before having everyone carry him to the bar for a shot. Blues legend Albert Collins would use a 200-foot cord to walk all the way out to the street in front, while the band was still playing onstage. Someone said, ‘Keep it down, he can’t hear the band.’ Albert smiled a huge smile and said, ‘I can’t hear nothing,’ and kept ripping away.”
Chris Goldsmith with Mainflow, and Steve Goldberg (owner of Belly Up) at Fiesta Del Sol
A San Diegan since age five, Goldsmith saw the Belly Up’s innards while he was still underage, when he was let in to gig with his bands The Executives and Borracho y Loco. “The very first band I saw there as a customer was Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaría. It was Cinco De Mayo, which was also my twenty-first birthday. Other early memories include shows from Curtis Mayfield, The Neville Brothers, George Clinton, Etta James, and an unknown band called The Red Hot Chili Peppers, who played for about 200 people and blew everyone’s mind.”
Goldsmith moved from San Diego to work for a San Francisco talent agency, but eventually came back to the Belly Up to stay. “For many years I was the Music Guidance Counselor, but a few years ago they made me grow up and say I’m President of Belly Up Entertainment.”
Fifty years ago, the Tavern was just one Quonset hut amongst other Quonset huts in Solana Beach. Then Dave Hodges had a vision. “I’m not sure how Dave found that property,” says Goldsmith, “but it was a great find.” (He owns all the Quonset huts on that block.) “Solana Beach wasn’t so fancy back then; it was a lot of trailer parks, a roller rink, and a bowling alley. There was no Design District.” Friends told Hodges he’d be “belly up” inside of a year. “He went with that name and never looked back. The Quonset huts were mostly workshops for construction folks, some artists, and a little manufacturing. I think Dave just wanted a place where he could drink with his buddies, and not have to go all the way up to the Saloon or Captain Keno’s. There was no stage at first, and it was much smaller, just basically the bar that you see when you walk in. Musicians would play at the end of the bar.” Hodges still owns the hut, but Steve Goldberg and Phil Berkovitz took over running the club around twenty years back.
Asked if anyone’s ever challenged him to a fight, Goldsmith flashes back to the Rolling Stones’ secret show. “Apparently, the closest I’ve ever been to a fight was at that show. I barely remember what happened, but I’m told that me and some knucklehead almost came to blows and had to be separated.” He recalls that night as “the most exciting show ever at the club. With lots of others tied for second.”
The Rolling Stones played a secret show at the club in 2015
The Stones aren’t the only big name to sneak onto the Belly Up stage for a secret show. “We had David Lee Roth play the club under the name the Yard Dogs. He booked it at the last minute, just wanted to play a bunch of old R&B covers like ‘Mustang Sally.’ Brought in some go-go dancers. Green Day also played as the Foxboro Hot Tubs, which was really wild. They weren’t doing Green Day tunes.”
The anniversary celebration runs from July through September. “One way we are celebrating is to create special co-bills of bands that normally might not play together, but also some artists who have outgrown the club, [who] want to come back and help us celebrate.”
Goldsmith’s favorite food and drink on the job? “A Pacifico, a Don Julio, and a bacon burger. We also have lots of other great food and cocktails at our restaurant next door, but we don’t have a blender.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
The Belly Up celebrates 50 years of Quonset hut concerts
Longtime booker recalls secret shows and shenanigans
The Belly Up celebrates 50 years of Quonset hut concerts
Longtime booker recalls secret shows and shenanigans
1970s Original Sign
The Belly Up’s 50th Anniversary celebration starts up this July with a series of specially curated events. Current venue president Chris Goldsmith’s tenure at the venue stretches back (on and off) to 1988. Naturally, he’s seen a few shenanigans. “The wackiest thing has to be when Screamin’ Jay Hawkins played, and part of his deal was that he had to be carried out in a coffin — which, thankfully, he brought with him.”
Another time, “Buster from the band Bad Manners brought out a surfboard and literally surfed the crowd, before crowd surfing was a thing. Country Dick from the Beat Farmers used to make everyone sit down, then he’d shine a flashlight on his face and tell a campfire story before having everyone carry him to the bar for a shot. Blues legend Albert Collins would use a 200-foot cord to walk all the way out to the street in front, while the band was still playing onstage. Someone said, ‘Keep it down, he can’t hear the band.’ Albert smiled a huge smile and said, ‘I can’t hear nothing,’ and kept ripping away.”
Chris Goldsmith with Mainflow, and Steve Goldberg (owner of Belly Up) at Fiesta Del Sol
A San Diegan since age five, Goldsmith saw the Belly Up’s innards while he was still underage, when he was let in to gig with his bands The Executives and Borracho y Loco. “The very first band I saw there as a customer was Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaría. It was Cinco De Mayo, which was also my twenty-first birthday. Other early memories include shows from Curtis Mayfield, The Neville Brothers, George Clinton, Etta James, and an unknown band called The Red Hot Chili Peppers, who played for about 200 people and blew everyone’s mind.”
Goldsmith moved from San Diego to work for a San Francisco talent agency, but eventually came back to the Belly Up to stay. “For many years I was the Music Guidance Counselor, but a few years ago they made me grow up and say I’m President of Belly Up Entertainment.”
Fifty years ago, the Tavern was just one Quonset hut amongst other Quonset huts in Solana Beach. Then Dave Hodges had a vision. “I’m not sure how Dave found that property,” says Goldsmith, “but it was a great find.” (He owns all the Quonset huts on that block.) “Solana Beach wasn’t so fancy back then; it was a lot of trailer parks, a roller rink, and a bowling alley. There was no Design District.” Friends told Hodges he’d be “belly up” inside of a year. “He went with that name and never looked back. The Quonset huts were mostly workshops for construction folks, some artists, and a little manufacturing. I think Dave just wanted a place where he could drink with his buddies, and not have to go all the way up to the Saloon or Captain Keno’s. There was no stage at first, and it was much smaller, just basically the bar that you see when you walk in. Musicians would play at the end of the bar.” Hodges still owns the hut, but Steve Goldberg and Phil Berkovitz took over running the club around twenty years back.
Asked if anyone’s ever challenged him to a fight, Goldsmith flashes back to the Rolling Stones’ secret show. “Apparently, the closest I’ve ever been to a fight was at that show. I barely remember what happened, but I’m told that me and some knucklehead almost came to blows and had to be separated.” He recalls that night as “the most exciting show ever at the club. With lots of others tied for second.”
The Rolling Stones played a secret show at the club in 2015
The Stones aren’t the only big name to sneak onto the Belly Up stage for a secret show. “We had David Lee Roth play the club under the name the Yard Dogs. He booked it at the last minute, just wanted to play a bunch of old R&B covers like ‘Mustang Sally.’ Brought in some go-go dancers. Green Day also played as the Foxboro Hot Tubs, which was really wild. They weren’t doing Green Day tunes.”
The anniversary celebration runs from July through September. “One way we are celebrating is to create special co-bills of bands that normally might not play together, but also some artists who have outgrown the club, [who] want to come back and help us celebrate.”
Goldsmith’s favorite food and drink on the job? “A Pacifico, a Don Julio, and a bacon burger. We also have lots of other great food and cocktails at our restaurant next door, but we don’t have a blender.”
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