Speaking of late, great Lower Greenville venues ...
Last weekend the boy and I picked over Paperbacks Plus, where I found a copy of David Seeley's Too Cool to Get Married, a 1989 paperback collection of pieces written for, mostly, Texas Monthly. Included are some familiar pieces: that '82 story about cruising Forest Lane, the May '85 profile of my old friend and junior-high classmate Nancy "Shaggy" Moore, then the beloved host of KNON's late-Saturday-nights Pajama Party; and the title tale that ran in May 1984, a sorta-kinda chronicle of what it was like to be young and in love in Dallas during those days. Two months later, Seeley, an early-days Observer-er, would follow that story with a sorta-kinda sequel that's not in the book, "Take This Job and Love It," about a Sanger-Harris secretary and her after-hours pursuits.
And time and again I kept coming across the word "Tango," as in: Shannon Wynne's dancing-frog-topped shut-up-and-danceteria at 1827 Greenville, where you'll now find the Taco Cabana. Which reminded me: A few weeks ago, while trolling for a listening-pleasure week-ender, I found this recently posted short-but-sweet cassette keepsake: Gary Myrick at Tango some time in 1983. (Incidentally, that website, and the ones to which it links, may keep you busy for days.) For whatever reason I never got around to posting it, which is odd since this apparent radio broadcast (The Zoo? The Eagle?) features a pretty terrific version of "She Talks in Stereo," which could then be heard on the great Valley Girl sound track. I didn't find out till years later that Myrick is actually Dallas born-n-bred.
The photo above is what the place looked like outside. After the jump, go inside: You'll find a recently posted 27-minute Joe "King" Carrasco and the Crowns feature dating back to '84, shortly before Tango closed amidst some, ah, legal issues. That's Joe Nick Patoski doing the intro'ing. But ... wait. Who's that we find interviewing the band at the 5:54 mark (and throughout)? Is that a young ... Mike Rhyner? Why yes, yes it is. And ... a young, unbespectacled Lisa Loeb! Quite the party party party weekend.