One of my regrets even with all the live music shows I have attended in the tri-state area (425 concerts in 46 years) was never getting to a live show at the Bottom Line. This famous club was located at 15 West 4th Street in Greenwich Village. It was owned by Allan Pepper and Stanley Snadowsky, the Bottom Line opened February 12, 1974 and enjoyed a 30-year run.
The Bottom Line would broadcast live shows in conjunction with top NYC progressive rock radio station, WNEW-FM 102.7. A historic milestone in the club’s history was The Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Bands 10 night “Born To Run” engagement in August, 1975. I recall listening to the raw excitement of those sold out shows on the radio that evening.
Thankfully to Allan Peppers credit and ingenuity I can cancel that regret because we have the Bottom Line Archive. The treasure trove of live recordings that Alan Pepper is housing is mountainous, over 1,000 live recordings.
Allan Pepper is working with Greg Bendian, formerly of The Mahavishnu Project a jazz-rock fusion cover band that we saw perform at Toad’s Place, Lily Pad room in 2011.
I am very interested in the Harry Chapin recording, HARRY CHAPIN: LIVE AT THE BOTTOM LINE (JANUARY 8-10, 1981) 35th Anniversary Expanded Re-master. The release includes the original set, as released in 1998, PLUS an extra offer a previously unreleased 88-minute show.
I preordered this recording on Amazon which is due to drop on June 30th.
We spent several magic moments in concert and discussion with Harry Chapin in the day. Looking forward to hearing Harry live in concert once again.
Marking his 2000thperformance (January 8-10, 1981) this release provides a unique snapshot of an artist at the peak of his career – intimate and intense.
I think I will be buying more Bottom Line Archive recordings in the future.
musicofourheart.blog 