Tuesday, April 24, 2012

After Glow (Gay Bar)

After Glow was an afterhours joint on McNichols near Woodard. Ca 1976-1983 It was also know as Club Fever around 1977. Share you stories in the comments section. *See credits.

4 comments:

  1. In the years when gay clubs were just starting to realize the value in using a D.J. to draw crowds in for the "Disco Scene", there were only four clubs that lead the way into what would become the bar standard in Detroit. Cafe Gigi's, Menjo's, The Gas Station and Bookies! The 1st After Hours dance club was at the "Afterglow Lounge" and was known as "Club Fever". When the aforementioned clubs would shout out "last call" and the music shut down the D.J.s and thier followers would all flock to "Afterglow". Each D.J. in those days kept a close guard on the music they discovered. Trying to find out what song was being played was a huge challenge to music fans in the clubs. The club owners were fiercely competitive and their D.J. was each ones treasure. At the "Afterglow" the music scene was totally different from all the others. The music was influenced by jazz and Latin styles, every so often you would even hear a French song to dance to! The decor was very European, dimly lit and shadowy. To bring out the best in the jazzy/latin music the owners installed a Top of the Line Bose rear reflection speaker system that was cutting edge State of the Art! It was all about the percussion and instruments, no "Boom Boom, Thump Thump" on this Dance Floor! It sizzled! The D.J. was Michael Melkonian> short, stocky and an Ego that was off this planet - huge! His signature was to play music so obscure and off the beaten path that even the advanced D.J.s who frequented the establishment never recognized a single song all night long! There was so much word of mouth generated from the unique music roster that crowds would often come in from as far away as Toronto and New York to hear the D.J. spin those sounds. It was sad to see that in later years every After Hours that opened up turned their backs on this concept and played overtly commercial mainstream music with one short lived exception: The Gas Station (after hours) was always progressive and ran the gamut from imported music to breaking "new wave" into the Gay clubs for the first time. That ended when 'Heaven" opened upstairs and all you heard from that day forward was "thump, thump," and progressive music "after hours" was forever a thing of the past. The 'Afterglow" was the first and only of it's kind in Detroit's Gay History. Bravo.

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    1. Larry, great post. I remember you from your days at Tiffinys. In fact I had a tape you made for me that was mixed with Pink Floyd. Glad to hear your still around.

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  2. My old buddy Jim Yeager was the architect behind the unique AfterGlow design, he's still working, travelling and has never missed ayear staying in touch for birthdays etc in 40 years. He's still my FB friend! I was only a teen and went there Fri and Sat nites because of the music, and the vibe- there was nothing like it.

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  3. OMG used to love this place.we would always head over after Menjos would close. Great spot

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