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Jan 6, 1990: Ministry

1/6/2012

11 Comments

 
Although this the second entry to this blog, I feel like really this is the first story I've had to tell. I'm glad, because I think it's a pretty good one.
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$16.50 + $2.00 Service Charge? Yes, please.

Christmas 1989, I went to Hudson's at Oakland Mall and bought these tickets for my future ex-wife while we were dating. I thought it would be fun. 

She opened the present, and gave me a funny look. She asked if I knew what I had really bought tickets for. Of course I did. Because you see, I bought tickets to see this:


Or so I thought. 

In reality, I actually bought tickets to see this:

Yes, that's the same band. They changed their sound a little bit.

As much as I love music, it took me a really long time to educate myself to find the the stuff I really like. Being into "alternative" music and growing up in the suburbs, it was difficult to find the music I liked.  Thanks to a few high school friends, and Mike Halloran's "Radios In Motion" radio show on WDTX, I found big chunks of artists that I liked. 

I had to navigate the Alternative Music Ocean on my own for the most part, and I hope the whole story comes out as I create these entries.

Hoping to impress my new girl (an alternative music fan herself), I bought these tickets. 

(Here's the back of the ticket, just for fun:)

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Many years later, I would work at this radio frequency, right down the street from the Latin Quarter. Neat.
I was not very wise in the ways of Detroit concert-going at this time, nor the crowds that frequented them. I never went to a dance club or downtown show like this before (technically, the LQ was not located 'downtown', but it might as well have been).

Even if I was familiar with those things, this was not our crowd. There was a chain-link fence around the stage. We stood near the soundboard, where we noticed a dial with a setting for "Hellfire". We were at the wrong show.

Not that it was bad, just not "my thing". To this day, I'm not offended by loud, fast, yelling, guitar-crunching music, it just ain't me. I find it difficult to sing along with in the shower.

I don't remember much about the actual performance, other than it was a lot to take in for the doofy little suburban nineteen-year-old me. We ended up leaving the show before it was over. I think it was a mutual decision, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was really just me who wanted to split. 

I did buy a T-shirt though, and wore the heck out of it, because I'm a poser.
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Wearing a shirt from a show I didn't love. But it was a cool shirt, and it fit well. Sue me.
In a strange coincidence, the week that I was preparing this post, my Facebook pals were spreading the word that the Latin Quarter (known more recently as the Grand Quarter) was being torn down.

My last radio job was at the Fisher Building, which is right down the street from the Latin Quarter. I occasionally drove by its sad remnants. It was a really great place to see a show. 

Eventually, I saw many shows there, some of which I lost (or never had) the tickets for. Look for those recaps as the year goes on.

The last "rock show" at the Latin Quarter was May 24, 1991: Dread Zeppelin and Mojo Nixon. Well, heck I was at that show. I even had dinner with both bands before the show. Of course, I can't find that ticket stub, but I have an autographed Mojo Nixon CD in a box somewhere. (Maybe that makes me less "poser-y"? Should a grown man even care about such things? No, he should not.) 

Stepping into the Latin Quarter was like stepping back into Old Detroit. You know those scenes in movies like Goodfellas, where the boys go to see a cabaret show with all the fancy tables and every thing is made of wood? That's what it was like at the LQ. I don't remember many tables actually being there, but I suppose there were some scattered about for drinks, depending on the show.

The Latin Quarter opened in 1944, and was visited by music legends like Al Green, Bob Seger, Ray Charles and GWAR.

Anywhere you stood was a great view. Here's a picture of the stage from the balcony in 1960.
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Click on the pic to see the whole thing
It's too bad that this theater couldn't be saved. I'd still love to see a show there, but it's forgotten about in a basically vacant neighborhood. If you never got to see a show there, you really should be bummed out.
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Click the pic for the whole building.
Below, please share your memories of the Latin Quarter, Ministry or seeing shows in Detroit!
11 Comments
Ryan link
1/6/2012 06:35:51 am

I thought the Latin Quarter/Grand Quarter was torn down years ago. The building still stands still to this day? Intradesting.

That was indeed a cool place to see a show. I saw Nine Inch Nails play there on New Year's Eve one year in the early 90's. I remember seeing an excellent Ian McCulloch solo show there (I believe I ran into you at this show)??. I saw Deelite there and Nitzer Ebb (not on the same bill). Jesus and Mary Chain, PIL, Flesh for Lulu. And I tried to get in to see Jane's Addiction there, but it was sold out and I could not get a scalped ticket to get in.

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Vert link
1/31/2012 08:23:02 am

Yep! I remember the Ian Mc show. That was good! I think I have the stub for that one!

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David
1/6/2012 08:17:49 am

I remember when we met you were wearing that Ministry shirt. I thought you were cool. Now I know the truth. Poseur. ;)

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Vert link
1/31/2012 08:16:46 am

Great. I don't know how to spell "poseur". Another Street Cred Demerit for me.

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Paul
1/6/2012 08:26:32 am

Also amazed it's not already a vacant lot. I managed to get there quit a bit in its last six month as a rock club.

Taking a "lush ride" to see Lush/Ride was a pretty good time (and the most obvious-yet-clever promo ever), that Mojo/Dread Zeppelin show was good even without a swanky dinner with the band, Jesus Jones, Happy Mondays were all decent, but nothing comes close to the 1st show I saw there:

Pixies. Dec 2, 1990, Latin Quarter, Detroit.

That night they made any reunion tours they've done pointless, and really the Latin Quarter could have been torn down the next night and it would still be one of my most memorable venues.

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Vert link
1/31/2012 08:18:50 am

I was at the Pixies show, too. Gotta wait 'til December for my review, though. (SPOILER: It was amazing)

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Kelly
1/6/2012 08:48:39 am

Ahhhh the memories...like most I saw Deee-Lite there and Jane's Addiction. But unlike you I do like both versions of Ministry...those hard shows were killer and worth every bruise :)

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Christine
1/23/2012 07:38:19 pm

I have never been to the Latin Quarter but I did see a show at the Majestic Theater (on Woodward in Detroit) in 2001. It was the Wed before Thanksgiving so Woodward was closed as they prepped for the parade - I remember having to find our way to this place we'd never been before, from the back side of the building. Was kind of bizarre. But not as bizarre as having to cut thru the bowling alley in that little strip to get to and from the parking lot and the theater. It was deserted on our way in and PACKED on our way out. They even checked our ID's just to cut thru. That was a very unusual concert experience! (Domestic Problems was the band, in case anyone was wondering :)

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Vert link
1/31/2012 08:24:02 am

That bowling alley is The Garden Bowl, it's America's oldest active bowling center! Sounds like you had quite an experience!

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Greg
10/6/2013 06:48:47 am

I was at that Ministry show. I recall it being the most violent "pit" I had ever been in. I could only go in for a minute or two at a time (bit I was 17 and could handle it relatively easily). I remember sitting on a car after the show, completely drenched in sweat, literally steaming in the January night.

I had been there only once before, a year earlier, where a friend and I managed to talk our way in to interview a band called the Primitives, who were opening for The Sugarcubes, since we dj'd occasionally at our high school radio station--that was enough credential apparently. I met Bjork backstage briefly. She was an elfin 21-year-old at the time, very cute. I agree, it's too bad that venue couldn't be saved.

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Diana Menendez
9/23/2016 08:32:10 am

This was an Amazing,Fabulous Building in the late 50s when I danced June every yr on that stage with the Ziggy Johnson School Of Theatre.People attended wearing Formal attire,Tux and all.It was a place to dress your best back in those days.

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    The Ticket Stub Project

    I've collected many tickets stubs from all the shows I've seen through the years.  

    There are shows I've seen that had no ticket, and I have lost a few stubs here and there.  This is my attempt to chronicle what I remember about each stub that I have. I'll post about each on the day of the year that the show happened!

    If you were at one of the shows, please share your memories in the comments!

    Here's the list so far!

    Share this page:


    Prior Stubbery

    All
    01/06 1990: Ministry
    01/26 2003: David Gray
    02/02 1990: Mighty Lemon Drops
    02/14 1991: Replacements
    02/19 1988: Sting
    02/22 1992: The Cult & Lenny Kravitz
    03/03 2003: Coldplay
    03/10 1989: Replacements
    03/13 2010: Muse
    03/14 1991: Sting
    08/31 1992: David Byrne
    12/31 NYE Party


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