Documentary: 930 F Street

On May 30, 1980, music history was made with the opening of the 930 Club in the Atlantis building in Washington, DC. Post-punk jazz Lounge Lizards and local new wave band Tiny Desk Unit headlined the opening show, then located at the downtown address that gave it its name, 930 F Street, NW. Since then, the club has moved locations and has become one of the top ticket-selling venues in the country, but local filmmakers Tarik Dahir and Jeff Gaul have set out to pay tribute to the club's roots.

At 87 minutes long, the documentary details the original 930 Club's role in fostering punk, new wave, reggae and roots rock, "alternative" genres that more established clubs were slow to recognize. Original owner Dody DiSanto operated the club and booked innovative acts such as Clutch, Minor Threat, Fugazi, and R.E.M. with the help of promoters like the now famed I.M.P. (It's My Party), to whom she sold the club in 1986.

Dahir and Gaul tell the story of the 930 Club through interviews with the artists, promoters, and staff who made up the vibrant subculture surrounding it. They spoke with over two dozen people, including Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat/Embrace/Fugazi/Dischord), HR of Bad Brains, Peter Buck of R.E.M. (which played the club 18 times), and members of Rollins Band, Clutch, Lucy Brown, Beefeater, and other less well-known local artists who were just as important to the club's artistic direction, such as Hurwitz and Heinecke.

MacKaye discusses the importance of the 930 Club to the straight-edge movement, which took its name from one of his songs. In MacKaye's own words, the straight-edge philosophy was simple: "don't drink/don't smoke/don't do drugs." The straight-edgers wore black X's on their hands, signifying that they were not there to drink; they were there to hear the music. Simultaneously, the 930 Club became one of the first venues in the country to provide concerts open to all ages.

Article Author: Elizabeth Boody

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