FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS OF MOTHER'S CLOSING NIGHT

The New York City nightclub MOTHER, an underground mecca in the Meat Market, closed on June 30, 2000. This group memoir is devoted to the closing night marathon that began Thursday evening June 29 and lasted till morning. All accounts are published with permission.

Enjoy these memories and make some new ones - do visit MOTHERNYC.COM to see what we've been up to THIS century!

MOTHER'S END: A FOOTNOTE

Well, it's been five days since we stumbled out of the epic closing night of MOTHER into a warm, sunny Meat Market morning. Everyone has their own memories of that night -mine are forever encapsulated in a dance moment in the Versailles Room. Nearing 5:00 A.M., as I joined the most eclectic mixture of souls ever to dance together under one roof to Donna Summer's LAST DANCE -including Dark Angels Johanna Constantine and Skye Luminesse, Glamnerd Rob Roth in skyscraper fetish pumps, a master/slave hetero couple (she on the leash,) at least two former Miss Boybars, a pair of delighted German performance artists and several of Lou Maletta's leatherboys - I knew that we had really achieved MOTHER's END -It was untoppable!

Despite the long lines and crowds, you all brought your best to the club that night, as did our staff and the extraordinary performers who gave their all (KEMBRA PFAHLER and THE LADIES OF KAREN BLACK, PENNY ARCADE and Co., SHERRY VINE, ANTONY, DEAN JOHNSON, RICHARD MOVE AS MARTHA, and all the rest..) We thank you for a night that exceeded all of our expectations, and we hope, yours.

In answer to your questions, a few Facts:

SWEETIE was the last official performer on the MOTHER stage (and brought down the house.) (There was a very special edition of Party Naked a bit later, but you really had to be there..)

The last record ever played at MOTHER was Diana Ross' LOVE HANGOVER, by DJ Johnny Dynell.

MOTHER closed her doors at 7:30 A.M. Friday morning June 30, as a few late-night revelers were STILL searching for gaffer's tape for an impromptu Bondage Scene...

- Chi Chi Valenti, posted to the mothernyc e-list

The Ruins of the Night City:

The Mother's End invitation, designed by Johnny Dynell, reminded some of a sardonic parody of an Absolut ad, others of London's Blitz.

"I saw MOTHER close with my own eyes and there was nothing I could do... and Kembra was there with Alice looking prettier than ever. Ill never go out again" - John T aka X Dresser NYC

Mother's End Confetti was handmade by Adam Alexander and Leslie and sprinkled everywhere that night...

I had the good fortune to join you for the ending and flew for many hours to be there. I may not have been the first drag queen from Mother Africa at MOTHER, but I had to be one of the first as I attended the opening night of Click and Drag and several more nights over the years. While I watched the great shows and the beautiful crowd lined up everywhere, so many nights there arose and swirled in my head. I also remember that Debbie Harry winked at me!

I am back in my home now and that night seems a dream or a picture of New York never to come again.

My thanks for all I learned in your house, and this beautiful night I will never forget.

Mouse
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

And worked to death, I might add. Johnny put the cherry on top in his own unique way when the record finally ended, and then thirty seconds later said "Oh, wait, we can't end it *that* way," put the needle down and cranked it up at the point where the track kicks in with an "Ovahhhh!"-and then off for good. Wurk!

I think I'd have to nominate the moment when I was in line for the upstairs bathrooms, and Roderick comes over to quickly go pee. Of course I told him to go ahead of me, but whoever was in the stalls seemed to have no plans to come out anytime soon. So after a little while Roderick knocks very politely and lightly on one door, from behind two (or maybe more) voices are chattering away feverishly. "Go away!" comes the voice of the woman over the stall. "Yeah, *fuck* who's knocking!" chimes in a male voice. Meanwhile, a trannie washing her hands at the sink during this exchange heads back into the Versailles room shaking her head and clucking "Such language!" Eventually the man and woman come out of the stall and face to face with Roderick. They quickly figure out what just happened, and who they've just told to fuck off, and the girl goes "Hi darling! We didn't know it was you" and air-kisses him while they quickly slink out. Roderick, meanwhile, just has a bemused half-smile. Classic.

Thanks again for such a memorable finale-not to mention the 9 years prior!

Adam Goldstone

Just loved the way everything else in the neighborhood had stopped for that night and the street once again belonged to the freaks and the trannys, like it used to be before all these overpriced restaurants and stupid stores came. (And yes I've been coming to your club long enough to remember when it was just you and Lee's Mardi Gras...

For closing night, at least, the horrid tourists that we're all supposed to be so happy about, coming to the "hot" meat market in their ugly lemming clothes were stopped dead in their tracks by this mob of TRUE NEW YORKERS. They gawked and pointed but it was THEY who were out of place there.

Your staff deserves special mention for dealing with it all with grace and glamour - good to the last drop!

With affection,
Kaylie, West 23 Street