“Max’s was where punk was a movement; CBGB’s is where you went to get a record deal.”
I’ll admit that while I’m very well versed in the history of rock and roll, I almost never heard of Max’s Kansas City. I always heard about CBGB’s throughout my life, but almost never heard about Max’s Kansas City. The club was known as the premiere scene for not just rock and roll stars, but movie stars, celebrities, tabloid makers, and anyone that the alternative scene could produce. There’s a very fascinating story behind Max’s Kansas City and how it set the template for the punk rock scene, but never really got the credit it deserved. All the while CBGB’s was almost universally heralded.
Director Danny Garcia’s “Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC” is the first-ever documentary about the renowned New York City nightclub Max’s Kansas City which was in business from 1965 to 1981, and had an indelible impact on the worlds of music, fashion, art, culture and the creation of the city’s punk rock scene.
“Nightclubbing” is an interesting footnote in the history of rock and roll and punk rock as it chronicles the rise of punk and alternative art and how it eventually was once again reduced to a subculture by the end of the eighties. Director Danny Garcia delivers what is an unflinching and engaging chronicle of Max’s Kansas City, delving in to wild stories, and memories. What’s funny about “Nightclubbing” is that the interviewees recount some of the more incredible stories about the artists and guests, and there’s still that nagging feeling that we haven’t heard the worst of the worst. Still though there are some fun anecdotes, a lot involving the emergence of Iggy Pop, The New York Dolls, and Jane Fonda’s insistence on hanging around drug dealers.
There are some very fun, and often funny interviews (paired with some great animated sequences) with folks like Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Harley Flanagan, the latter of whom recalls being twelve in Max’s Kansas City bumming quarters off of attendants and hanging around in the club at all hours of the night. There’s also a hilarious story from Jayne County who recalls having a fist fight on stage during one of her performances. So much of the history of Max’s Kansas City lies with the people and unique figures that dominated the scene, but for a mere taste of how completely chaotic and intense it was, “Nightclubbing” definitely fills that hole. This is absolutely required viewing for punk and or rock fans.