As evening emerges, people across the city leave their day jobs and flock to darkened rooms streaked by blinding bursts of neon light and filled with soul-searching melodies, some to dance, others to chill to the groove of the tunes. They leave behind the day’s monotony and distract themselves in the nightclub world of thumping bass, fluttering rhythms, bursting colorful lights and glitzy mirror balls. El Paso has a history of iconic nightclubs that people remember fondly.
It was in the one-time musical havens, such as Club 101, Tricky Falls, The Old Plantation, and The Treetop Lounge, where many people found personal solace and liberation. Whether in the beats of electronic dance music, the rhythmic strumming of acoustic guitars, the searing of electric guitar leads or the pulse of mesmerizing discotheques, the nightlife culture in El Paso has created a diverse social musical scene which fits our diverse border city.
Image caption: Club 101 (Photo courtesy of Joe Dorgan)
The lines of social class blurred and the definition of “cool” transformed when Club 101’s doors opened during the last week of 1989. Owner Joe Dorgan, a local entrepreneur opened it and managed The Lost Iguana, Campus Queen, and The Mesa Inn Lounge. He describes himself on his website as “marketing and social media director, promoter, podcast host, DJ, amplifier, disruptor, and pot-stirrer." As Brad Cooper of The El Paso Times wrote, Club 101 originated in an old, abandoned warehouse type of building as a venue for alternative and underground acts, later catering to a more diverse crowd. It was the place to be, to experience an unfolding musical and cultural shift in El Paso. In their best eccentric ensembles, young adults packed Club 101, often sporting visually distinct colors or abstract hairstyles. You could find its patrons decked out in green hair, flannel shirts and ripped jeans, described Dave Acosta of The El Paso Times. What was considered weird or uncool in the outside world was celebrated within the club’s walls. It felt less like going out for the night to a typical bar and more like going to an avant-garde experience where you could let loose of your inhibitions. It marked a period of new beginnings and modernity in the nightlife scene. As a city that can often fall behind on state and national trends, El Paso boosted its cool factor with the onset of this nighttime hangout. The haunt attracted a wide range of adults, a range so vast that you could have run into your local tax accountant or that friendly grocery store clerk who always makes sure not to smash your bread. No one was excluded from the party.
Club 101 might have been thought of as a traveling club, always searching for that elusive place to call home. It parked its musical experience at several locations, but one that particularly stands out is the historic Newberry’s Department Store building on 201 N. Stanton Street. Remarkably known as one of El Paso’s most popular five-and -dime stores during its heyday in the 1950s, it might be best remembered today for its flavorful banana splits and delicious ice cream sundaes. Its last incarnation was in the Union Entertainment district.
Prior establishments paved the way for the revolution caused by Club 101. Founded in 1889, the McGinty Club was one of the first and most prominent clubs in the early life of the city. Conrey Bryson of The Handbook of Texas Online reported what started as a fun-making club exclusively for men gradually transformed into a spot for members to enjoy musical acts. Cleofas Calleros of The El Paso Times wrote that musical talent consisted of multiple acts, each serving its unique purpose. Acts included the A Concert Band, Brass Band, Drum and Fife Corp, and Typical Orchestra, among others. Despite the hype surrounding The McGinty Club during its prime, it only lasted 13 years, losing its popularity to a gradual decline in interest. (See our article in Volume 30 of Borderlands).
The “World Famous” Kentucky Club, founded in Ciudad Juarez two years into prohibition in the 1920s, remains a popular Juarez Avenue nighttime destination. It is rumored that the Kentucky Club, best known for its margaritas, served famous celebrities, such as John Wayne, Steve McQueen, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, and even President Ronald Reagan. The bar’s primary trademark is its tantalizing alcohol selection paired with an attractive, lively atmosphere. Although there was no designated dance floor, this does not stop patrons from dancing the night away to the bar’s jukebox.
Several decades later, on New Year’s Eve in 1975, The Musician’s Bar (also known as Jam Sessions) opened its doors to bright-eyed aspiring musicians working to reach their full potential. The concept emerged as local jazz saxophonist Art Lewis (see article on Art Lewis in this issue of Borderlands) set out to create a place where musicians of all genres could explore and showcase their musical skills. Originally located in downtown El Paso, by the 1990s, The Musician’s Bar found a new home on Dyer Street. However, this version of the bar did not conform to the typical bar setup. No alcoholic beverages or food were served, placing the attention on the musicians. Cooper of The El Paso Times reported that The Musician’s Bar stood as one of the only African-American- owned bars in El Paso during its time at the Dyer Street location. This factor only added to the bar’s revolutionary legacy. Lewis kept an open mind when it came to music genres, which helped the bar remain successful for several years, allowing for a heightened sense of diversity within the bar’s social and creative atmosphere.
El Paso had something for hard rockers too. The El Paso Times described the Treetop Lounge as El Paso’s “veteran rock ‘n’ roll club” that “attracts numerous regional and local acts. The clientele is young and reckless, the entertainment among the best.” They brought in big acts like Pat Travers, Head East, Leon Russel, Todd Rundgren, Iron Butterfly, Rare Earth and Ronnie Montrose, among scores of others—huge names in classic rock. The heart-pounding bass lines, high- voltage rhythms, hammering drums and high-pitched vocals kept rockers at the edge of their seats. Most stood up much like they do in massive concert venues.
The diversity that flourished within the Sun City’s music and nightlife scene expanded with The Old Plantation, which made its mark in El Paso in the 1970s as one of the most prominent LGBTQ+ nightclubs. The OP, as it was called, boasted a spacious dance floor and specialized in hosting drag shows with mesmerizing drag entertainers. The OP succeeded in becoming a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ members to find comfort in a good and fun-loving place to hang out, and there was something for every everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. In an El Paso Times review entitled “Old Plantation Fertile Ground for Fun, Laughter,” Monica Anne Krausse described the nightclub as having deliciously crafted alcoholic potions and reverberating disco melodies, writing that it was hard not to have a good time at the OP. Heterosexual patrons frequented the club toward the late 1980s for a taste of the disco and dance the venue served. Although its doors closed to its loyal patrons, the OP paved the way for other LGBTQ+ clubs, such as Touch, Briar Patch, EPIC and the Tool Box, all operating today.
A more recent venue, Tricky Falls, had a short-lived, seven-year story but with an enticing legacy of its own. The live music nightspot opened its doors to the public on September 18, 2011, in the historic theater building designed by Henry C. Trost (originally the Alhambra Theater), established in 1914. Located on South El Paso Street, the building held as many as 1,500 patrons. While it is not uncommon for touring bands to stop in El Paso for a night’s rest, Gabe Gonzalez, co-owner of Tricky Falls, noted in the Downtown El Paso website that Tricky Falls offered a pitstop for musical acts to perform rather than just staying in a hotel for a night of rest and slumber. The venue highlighted popular names, such as Green Day, Snoop Dogg and El Paso’s adopted son, Khalid (see article on Khalid in this issue of Borderlands). Tricky Falls officially shut down in late 2018 due to an unrenewed lease, but its loyal patrons still remember the good times there.
These clubs join others living only in memories, and some that are still bringing live music to the city. Gone are The Phoenix, a high energy disco- rock dance club; the relaxed hip-hop and R&B infused Club 54; Saso’s & Scorpio’s, for the metalheads of the ‘80s; and El Noa Noa, where pre-fame Juan Gabriel (see article on Juan Gabriel in this issue of Borderlands) first performed to live audiences in Juarez. Kings X Bar, hosting live blues and rock, and Aceitunas Beer Garden, serving customers with a cool array of entertaining live music and tempting beverages, remain open for current nighttime seekers of good live music.
Out of them all, Club 101 was unique. It showcased alternative acts, such as Anything Box, a then up-and- coming No Doubt, the Deftones, and Nine Inch Nails, to name a few. The live shows created an attraction from music fans all over El Paso and surrounding areas due to the freshness of the acts. Acosta of The El Paso Times talked about how the club’s music selection was versatile, ranging from alternative, hip-hop, rock to electronic music. Moments and styles like these indeed attracted people to the venue, maximizing the diversity and culture of El Paso’s nightclubs.
Music aside, the contagiously vibrant energy from the patrons is what truly breathed life into Club 101. The energetic and faithful Club 101 followers are what turned the club into the high-energy fiasco it was known and loved for. It provided a home for nocturnal free-spirited souls of the Sun City to dance the night away, rock out to roaring music, or chill to the sounds with a friend and a drink. Sadly, the club closed its doors in 2015 for reasons unknown, but undeniably this epochal establishment created a vitalizing magic that is hard to replicate and bears a nighttime legacy that will be felt for years.
No matter what will come after Club 101, the traces of rhythmically stomping feet will eternally remain imprinted within each location the nightclub called home.
Club 101 (Only in El Paso digital short)
