The DANDY WARHOLS- The Blackout of '03

    Written by Backstage Bruce    

    It was August 14, 2003, a little after four in the afternoon. I was at work bartending at Siberia, a dive-bar, which had bands and music most nights. Other nights there was comedy. I was on the phone, talking to a musician, when it happened. The blackout struck New York City. At first the boss, Kieran Blake, (legend in the downtown rock club scene) wanted to shut the place down for the night. We were doing a rush clean up so we could get out of there. 

    All the sudden people started coming in. At first one by one they started trickling in then in groups they came. These weren't regulars. I had never seen any of them before. The bar was located on West 40th. Street & 9th. Ave. right across the street from the Port Authority bus station. These people were all coming from over there. All bus service had been suspended during the blackout. 

Courtney Taylor-Taylor and Fathead- Siberia, the night of the blackout. 

    Siberia had no windows, it was always dark and gloomy and that's the way NYC loved it. So to even know what was going on outside I had to actually step outside. There were thousands of people just walking in the middle of the streets. I did ask one guy, walking passed, "Where is everyone walking to?" He just looked at me, threw his hands in the air and shrugged, he was speechless. 

    Suddenly we were packed, people were streaming in. I ran to the local deli and snatched up any supplies I thought we might need: candles, flashlights, batteries, anything. Back at the bar the bags of ice in the refrigerator were starting to melt. I get back to the bar with the supplies and I take all the ice and piled it real high over the cold beer. Since the ice was going to melt away might as well let it melt over the beer and keep it cold all night long. 

    Bring on the blackout. I live very close to the bar so I was able to run home real quickly and gather any more supplies we may need. I had more candles, and flashlights, a portable CD player, and an old Sports Illustrated sneaker phone. It's a promotional item from the '80's. If you ordered a subscription to Sports Illustrated you would receive a free sneaker phone. I went back to the bar. 

Fathead gave me his drumsticks, post-show CBGB. 

    We put the batteries in the CD player and we had music and news updates, yay! Next I try out the phone. Everyone watched in anticipation as I plugged the phone cord into the wall and it worked! We had a dial tone. The crowd cheered. 

    The bar had a cordless phone (electric) that couldn't work without power, likewise a lot of people had cell phones, but no service and no power. No one could make one phone call until I got back with the old, novelty sneaker phone. That Sports Illustrated sneaker phone saved the night for hundreds of people. 

    Immediately there was a line for the phone. They were civilized, where were they going? A buddy walked in, Michael Turlo, (R.I.P.) He worked at NBC at 30 Rock. He tells me he just watched the Dandy Warhols during rehearsals perform 'We Use To Be Friends'. They were going to be Conan's musical guest that night. 

    He says he is on his way to the green room to hang out with them. Conan did his show by candlelight. A few hours later, Michael returned and he was with two members of the band: Courtney Taylor- Taylor (guitarist and singer) and Fathead (the drummer). The bar was packed by now, no real time to stop and socialize, a quick intro. We kept sending beers over to them all night long.

A pair of DW BSP's for Bowery Ballroom

    The streets were loud outside, NYC in the summer: hot, humid, stifling and urine-smelling. People were everywhere. A few bars were open and people were in the streets holding their beer bottles. There were so many people milling about with no place to go. Cooler heads prevailed, things could have gone sideways but everything was calm. 

    Four a.m., the time bars close. We start chasing everyone out. Everybody had to go, except for us and our friends, and the Dandy Warhols and their friends. There was a drum kit already set up downstairs on the stage. A second-hand guitar was hanging from the wall. We rounded up a tambourine and some mariachis. The doors were locked and the steel gates were rolled down. 

    We started off with shots and more beer. There were maybe a dozen of us hanging out, sitting in a circle playing music. One person would play the guitar while someone else played drums. I chimed in with the tambourine and mariachis here and there. Courtney did play 'Sister Golden Hair' by America. I sang the twangy wooooowwww, woooooowww, woooooowwww part. We all had a good time jamming, chilling. At six a.m. the owner called and said "wrap it up". The party was over. 

Courtney & I at Irving Plaza

    We stumbled out into the daylight, all of us reaching for our sunglasses but of course none of us had them, who knew we would be out so late? Everybody dispersed in different directions. The Dandys headed off back to their hotel and I headed back home. What fun guys they were to hang out with all night. NYC made it through the blackout.