Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in — Nightclubbing(DVD)

Punk rock documentary filmmaker, Danny Garcia (Stiv, Sad Vacation and The Rise and Fall of the Clash) returned in 2022 with Nightclubbing, an 85-minute documentary about the rise of the celebrated punk rock club, Max’s Kansas City and its place in the birth and rise of the New York punk movement that would spawn The Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith, New York Dolls and Wayne/ Jayne County to name but a few.

Max’s was one of two venues in New York that was indelibly linked to the punk rock movement of the 1970s. CBGBs has always garnered most of the attention but Max’s was equally important to the birth and growth of the movement. Both venues had a reputation for being the coolest places to be seen, however Max’s backroom was the place where Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground would famously hold court among the cream of the counterculture of the time. Music in the venue in the early 1970s would come courtesy of the likes of Alice Cooper, The Stooges and The New York Dolls, who would go on to influence the next generation of bands that would rise from the streets of New York, the likes of Blondie, The Ramones, The Misfits, GG Allen, Bad Brains or Agnostic Front.

The documentary is excellent, featuring some brilliant interviews with those who were there at the time, and those who would go on to become the next wave of bands including Alice Cooper, Lenny Kaye, Jayne County, Sylvain Sylvain, HR (Bad Brains) and Harley Flanagan (The Cro-Mags).  There are some brilliant stories about those higher profile figures who would frequent the venue, Alice Cooper in particular talks about how the likes of the New York Dolls would be in the crowd for his performances taking notes. He even discusses one incident in particular where David Bowie turned up with the Spiders from Mars with the express aim of showing them what he wanted them to become. It’s also worth noting that Malcolm McClaren would see the likes of Richard Hell, The Ramones and New York Dolls there and upon returning to London he would borrow ideas from those artists in creating the Sex Pistols identity. Sid Vicious himself would later move to New York in the wake of the Sex Pistols disbanding and would become a regular performer at Max’s with his backing band featuring Arthur “Killer” Kane, Jerry Nolan and Steve Dior.

Thoroughly researched, with excellent contributions from a host of important artists and figures of the time. Nightclubbing is a brilliant watch for anyone who is fascinated by the raw unadulterated attitude of the New York punk scene. Max’s was a wonderful place, a safe haven for members of New York’s burgeoning LGBTQ community, a wild underground music venue and a cultural hub that would inspire and influence artists from across the globe.