Venue notes: Smilin' Buddha Cabaret, Vancouver BC
Legendary punk club, now defunct. Was located at 109 E Hastings. Capacity
was just over 100. Its famous
neon
sign was bought by the band 54-40, who made their debut there in 1980;
they used the sign to promote their live 1994 album of the same name. The
club dates at least to the 60s; Hendrix used to jam there. (Thanks to
Paul Ennis.)
Alan Campbell, writing in Jan 2007, adds:
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Info on the Smilin' Buddha Cabaret — now defunct as of
1989:
Hüsker Dü played there I would say 1980 or 1981 — with
a Vancouver band called Insex — featuring Paul and
Phil Addington. They had come out to Vancouver and
hung out with DOA.
This place was the CBGBs of Vancouver, a punk hang
out from the late 1970s. DOA, Black Flag, Dead
Kennedys, Subhumans, Vice Squad, MIA, Stretchmarks —
so many played in this tiny club on Vancouver's Skid
Row. [It] was last a smoke shop.
Others who played at this club which opened in the
1950s were Jimi Hendrix — allegedly fired by club
owner Lachman for being too noisy — he was likely
still in his r&b mode then; loads of hippy bands —
Cheech and Chong basically formed at the club and did
the early shows there.
The club was actually started by a Vancouver radio
compere, a Chinese-Canadian called Harvey Lowe, [who]
was actually the world yo yo champion in London in 1932.
I kid you not.
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[Do you have more information about this venue? Please
email me.]
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