Venues - The Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ

Was this venue used for some of the King Biscuit Flower Hour recordings? I faintly recall the ZZ Top Flower Hour originating from there. Did any forum members attend concerts at this venue… have any memories?

The Wikipedia page lists some of the rock acts that performed there… (edit: this link goes to "search for" and then "Capitol Theatre")

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Theatre_(Passaic)



Dr. Weber

 

I live about 30 minutes or so from where the Capitol used to be, but I was a little too young to have attended any shows there. My brother in law was just telling me yesterday about how he saw Lou Reed there back in the early 80's. I have a lot of friends who are just a few years older than me that went there all the time. I wish I could have seen some shows there .........

 

I just found this, which you may find interesting:

http://www.moyssi.com/dedication.htm

 

Thanks for the link. It’s an informative site. Most of the old-timers among us enjoy looking at concert posters. We all know about the Fillmores, the Royal Albert Hall, Madison Square Garden, Winterland, the Royal Festival Hall, the Apollo in Harlem, et al, but there are less storied venues where concerts transformed lives, the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, perhaps the Marquee in London… and of course the Capitol Theatre, a name that surfaced again when I listened to...

Dr. Weber

 

I saw a few shows there... Elvis Costello, REM... there must have been others that I'm forgetting.

It was an okay place for a show, but it wasn't a very nice theater. It had a fairly low ceiling - no balcony - and if the space had any character or architectural detail it was hidden under 20-coats of green paint.

 

Looking at the photos of the place... I'm somewhat surprised to see that that it looks like a very modest movie neighborhood movie theater.

I was expecting something similar to the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, the Paramount in Brooklyn, or the Beacon Theater in Manhattan.


The Tower Theater has some history. My mom remembers going to see some "big rock and roll show" there in the 50s... when she was a teen.

The funniest thing is no matter how hard I try to jog her memory about who she SAW at that show... she doesn't remember.

My guess it was probably Buddy Holly - but she can't confirm or deny - LOL

All she knows is "it wasn't Elvis"

 

Many shows there..
My faves are Springsteen and The Grateful Dead.

 

This link has some interesting comments about various theaters.

The Brooklyn Paramount is now a basketball gym. There are photos to be found (interesting too).

The blurb here about the Capitol is hilarious

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/6612/


The part about the concert promoter using the Capitol Theater for XXX movies during the day when there wasn't a concert - is very odd...

That and the fact that the dressing rooms were in a separate building he secured for that purpose.

 

Saw Genesis do "The Lamb" at the Capitol in December '74. Very interesting experience, as my tickets had been stolen, but management let me in anyway when the 6th row seats remained empty 3 minutes before show time.

 

i saw more shows there than i can remember right now. from 73 on; old and in the way, new riders, the kinks, doug sahm, grateful dead, various jerry garcia bands, frank zappa, the band, hot tuna, steve stills, flo & eddie and many many more.

 

Saw Tull there during the Under Wraps tour and Dave Edmunds from what I can remember.

 

I believe that the KISS album "Rock and Roll Over" was recorded inside that theater. I remember reading something about a primitive video rig was set up so the the drums could be recorded in a separate space (the restroom?), but the band members each had a video monitor so they could see as well as hear each other.

 

I saw my first concert there, I'd have to guess 1975 it was Slade and ZZ Top. I also saw Styx open for Be Bop Deluxe probably a year or so later. WNEW 102.7 in New York use to do live radio broadcasts from there, I have a few recorded on cassettes someplace in my house.

 

A quick search through the posters turned up...

ZZ Top; Slade
Date: November 15, 1975

 

Saw many, many shows at the Capitol . . from Lou Reed to Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jackson Browne to Joe Walsh . . it was a basic movie theater turned concert venue, bad neighborhood at the time, notorious for John Sher's goon squad security and some inspired double and triple bills (Kansas, Argent and Queen pops to mind).

 

I practically lived at the Capitol Theater. My first show there was The Eagles in 1975. My last show was Stevie Ray Vaughn that was actually put on by MTV after John Scher stopped having shows there.

Memories of great shows are Grateful Dead, Santana, Marshall Tucker Band, Jerry Garcia Band, The Clash, Dire Straits, Hot Tuna, Miles Davis, Elvis Costello, Police, Talking Heads, Prince.... I could go on and on.

When I look at a list of shows that took place there it seems I was there every week (not really - but it seems like it):

List of shows at Capitol:
http://www.moyssi.com/capitolshows.htm

 

Weird in that there is a Capitol Theater in my home town, Port Chester, NY and that Pink Floyd played there in 1970:
http://just-add-cones.blogspot.com/2009/02/pf-1970-04-22-capitol-theater-port.html
as well as the Grateful Dead.....

I must have walked by that place hundreds of times as a kid and never knew that.....

 

My first concert was here! Elvis Costello and The Attractions with opening act Squeeze in February 1981!

 

Is the building still there???? MANY great shows happened there.....

 

Not at The Capitol.You got the story right,but RNRO was recorded in Nanuet,NY.--About 45 minutes or so out of NYC.

 

I saw: Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer
Kiss (crazy loud)
Boston (louder than Kiss)
Al Stewart (met him afterwards)
The Knack (stage looked like the Ed Sullivan Beatles stage)
Sorry I never got Bruce tickets...

 

Still there... I think they host more boxing and Hispanic oriented events since the area has changed from Italian to Hispanic in the past 20 years.

 

i believe the Rolling Stones once played the Capitol theater billed as "The Cockroaches." I gotta look around for some confirmation - but that was the local legend. This would be circa '78 I think...