Remembering the Agora Ballroom: Reminiscing about the magical slice of musical history in West Hartford
- Tracey Weiss
- 5 hours ago
- 11 min read
Written by Tracey Weiss and Tracey Wilson
Photography submitted Images courtesy of the Music Museum of New England
Like many teenagers, music shaped much of my life through high school. I studied album covers, memorized lyrics, and reflected on the depth and brilliance of my favorite artists.
Like most teenagers, I was, and still am, a classic rock and roll lover, but I was especially drawn to progressive rock—Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Emerson, Lake & Palmer. and other bands.
Disco sucked and pop music was, just too poppy. And played too much. I started my freshman year at the University of Hartford. The year was 1981, and music was changing. So was I. I fell in love with everything new, new wave and rap. Talking Heads, Shriekback, the Violent Femmes, Grandmaster Flash, Love and Rockets...all new and so exciting. The first time I heard “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This” by the Eurythmics, I felt like I had been waiting my whole life to hear that song. It sounded so right. It was all so good and so new.
At the time, Greater Hartford was still on the hot list for touring bands. And in addition to seeing a lot of local music at Dagney’s, Mad Murphy’s, Sean Patrick’s and The Russian Lady, there was the Agora Ballroom. It was incredibly convenient for UHart students. So close! So cool! So cheap!
The Agora had a magical combination of featuring established bands and introducing new ones that played there before becoming a sensation shortly after. I went to a lot of shows there. I distinctly remember seeing Jerry Garcia, Todd Rundgren, the Ramones and Adam Ant perform. I know there were more, but the memories, sadly, do fade.
It was a fabulous place for a show. Big, ugly, and dirty. The perfect venue. When I look back now, it’s hard to believe that the whole magical experience only lasted a few years.
A little more than 20 years ago, West Hartford LIFE first printed a column by the late, wonderful town historian Tracey Wilson. At the time, she was writing a regular column for West Hartford LIFE. This one was special and resulted in a lot of wonderful conversations. We are thrilled to once again share this column with you, as well as some great memories from our staff, friends and family.
Enjoy the show.
The Agora Ballroom
Reprinted from the 2006 edition of West Hartford LIFE by Tracey Wilson
Teenagers in West Hartford often decry the lack of “things to do.” When they learn about the town’s Charter Oak Park, a horse racetrack, or Luna Amusement Park, they wonder why there can’t fun like that around today. Recently, plans for a laser tag venue on New Park Avenue may provide entertainment for teenagers. In the 1970s and 1980s teenagers in town could go to Dexter Avenue for boxing matches, disco dancing and rock concerts of emerging bands from bobby and the Midnights to The Clash to Santana to Joe Jackson as they made their way to stardom.
What was finally known as the Agora Ballroom at 165 Dexter Avenue, opened as a distribution warehouse for Royal Typewriter in 1963, built on top of the old West Hartford landfill (and near the present-day Public Works Department). Royal stopped manufacturing typewriters in Hartford in 1968 and so the concrete rectangular building stood vacant for a while.
The Columbia Music Hall opened in the building in September 1973. In its short time, it held both music and sports events. On August 17, 1973, promoter Manny Liebert announced that he would once again sponsor boxing in Connecticut, now that it was legal again, at the Columbia Music Hall at 165 Dexter Avenue in West Hartford. The facility had room for 900 parked cars and could seat 2,500 people. According to the Hartford Courant, the venue was situated right in the heart of the old Hartford sports scene, not far from Charter Oak Park, where both harness and auto races were held. The first bout on September 2, 1973, was the first boxing match ever to be held in West Hartford. The lineup included a six-fight card headlining with New Britainite Kevin Pentlow and D.G. Barber of Denver, Colorado. Libert promised the undercard would have as many Connecticut boys as he could find. In In April a boxing lineup included ex-Conard football player Howard Hall in his first professional bout. He won in two rounds over an opponent from Enfield.
At the same time there was boxing it was also a music hall. In the second week of September they hosted Quicksilver, one of the original San Francisco Bay Area groups. On September 22, 1973, jazz musician Herbie Mann held a concert there.
It was also a venue for local folk singers. Six local singing groups held a concert on January 8, 1974, to raise money for arts groups in the area. On January 12, the venue hosted three groups: Slade, a hard rock band from England; NRBQ, formerly the Wildweeds from Windsor; and Brownsville Station, a hard rock band from Madison, Wisconsin. Todd Rundgren sang in April of that year.
In February 1974, the Music Hall hosted The Charles Brothers Circus in an attempt to raise money for children from Charter Oak Terrace, right around the corner. Two hundred people watched the indoor circus. It was even the site in January 1974 for West Hartford’s Mayor Katherine Reynolds to draw the Connecticut Lottery winner. Mrs. Bernice Schwartz of Haynes Road won $75,000.
In December 1974, a group of six called Starship Enterprise bought out the Columbus Music Hall and changed the name to the West Hartford Music Hall. They lasted only until November 1975 when it changed to Finnocchio’s East, a gay bar.
For a brief time from November 1975 to June 1976, the nightspot Finnocchio’s was an attraction for the gay community. Its New Year’s celebration was called the “First New Year’s Gayla Party” and featured the Arthur Blake Review. According to ads in the Hartford Courant, the Review was so popular it was held over four days. At attempt by entertainer Tom Valentin to perform “Leading Ladies of New York” with his troop of female impersonators was shut down by the state liquor commission in the spring 1976. Connecticut state law prohibited entertainment at a liquor establishment here men dressed as women or women dressed as men. Valentin said the show was shut down mainly because it attracted a largely homosexual crowd. Others argued that the show was seductive and dealt in sexual content.
By June of 1976, the entertainment venue turned to disco and fell on hard times. In 1977 it became the Hard Rock Café, with no connection to the chain of Hard Rock Cafés. By 1979, management changed the name again to Stage West.
In 1982, it became the Agora Ballroom, part of a chain of nightclubs based in Cleveland. The Agora was very popular and advertised free admission before 9:30 and 75 cent drinks. Ads enticed people to come hear Southside Johnny and the Asbury Dukes, Max Creek, Cryer, and the Dregs.
In 1982, when the drinking age was 18, the Ballroom advertised “First Drink Free with College I.D.”
The drinks were inexpensive, but part of the charm of the Agora was the tailgating in the parking lot. Attendees partied before they went in, went out to their cars at intermission and then partied again after the show ended. A map on their hand allowed for readmission. The Agora parking lot became an important social gathering place. In the industrial area of town, this seemed not to cause a public nuisance, even when the Ballroom was open until 2 a.m. on weeknights and 3 a.m. on weekends.
In the first few months, Joe Jackson, Bonnie Raitt, Pousette Dart Band, Willie Nelson, and Gaelic Rockets Rory Gallagher held concerts there, Over the course of its six years, The Ramones, X, Peter Gabrielm. Ozzy Osbourne, R.E.M., U2, Metallica, Aerosmith, Husker Du, The Grateful Dead, Twisted Sister, King Brimson, Men at Work Stray Cats and the Average White Band all performed
In the middle of the night in July 1987, the Agora was destroyed by vandals. It was thought to be an inside job, included stealing sound equipment, using chainsaws to cut posts holding up the balcony, and spray painting the walls. No one was ever arrested for the damage, and the venue never recovered.
Mx Creek saw the Agora as a home base. They went back and performed after the vandalism, and they believed the Agora Ballroom was “the best place to hear live music” in the area. The managers hosted a wide variety of music and bands which “defined the times, including The Band, Missing Persons, John Cippolina, and Peter Tosh. It also served as a spot, like the Webster Theater in Hartford today, for local and regional bands to get their start.
According to Mark Mercier of Max Creek, it was “in many people’s minds, the best place in the area to hear music and since then, no place in Connecticut and western Massachusetts has come close to what it is. We had a wonderful time playing there.”
The nightclub provided a venue for emerging groups and entertainment for those in the region that was edgy and fun.
My guess is that teenagers in town couldn’t wait until they were old enough to get to the Agora. WHL
What did you see at the Agora Ballroom?
We asked friends, staffers and anyone of a certain age what they remember about the Agora Ballroom. Enjoy the trip down memory lane:
I remember going there for a Kansas show. (Friends) went as well. The band made the comment, “typical audience, mostly male.” We witnessed some poor drunk dude get slammed very hard against one of the large wooden pillars inside. Great show! Oh, the band performed great as well.Ray Lowery, Marlborough
I was away from home in California for three long years when I moved to West Hartford in the late 70’s. To hear the music I wanted required a trip to New Haven or New York. A couple of years later the Agora opened across from some railroad tracks in a seamy side of West Hartford. Music had come to town! I saw that Tower of Power was playing at the Agora. It was a dream concert. Even though the band was not new, they featured a new singer, Lenny Williams, (maybe 2 or 3; the band turned over members frequently) and he was so good! Did the Tower’s usual vocals but with an astounding, fresh attitude. As always, they stole the show.
I also recall the evening Lou Reed graced the Ballroom. He acted like a tough guy. He said to some slightly rowdy audience members, “Hey! You in the front row. Those people in the back paid the same as you. SIT DOWN” and then he flipped his lit cigarette directly into the seats, burning a couple of people. I liked him a lot less after that.
Then there was Slayer and Megadeath! I brought a friend who was definitely not a fan of heavy metal to the concert. His eyes got real big when he saw some fans holding long sticks with doll heads mounted on top. Some of those people were teens with their moms and dads! When the music started, my friend listened (to the extent that you could hear with those musicians) and although he did not leave as a metal fan, he did acknowledge the power and excitement of the genre.
It was a wonderful place!
Roger Desmond, West Hartford
My fave, Tom Waits, at a piano under an old streetlight at the Agora.
Harvey Jassem, Barkhamsted
Peter Tosh there in 1983. It was very psychedelic with a fog machine and long jams with synthesizer, percussion and bass dominant. One of the best stateside reggae shows that I ever saw.
Bob Fischbach, North Branford
I LOVED going there!!! I saw Wendy Williams and The Plasmatics (on a BAAAAD date. Wendy Williams was wearing shaving cream and strategically placed electrical tape XX’s as a “shirt”), Eurythmics (on the SMALL stage, before they became famous!), Peter Gabriel (in the last tour with face paint. I pushed myself up to the stage and clutched his white canvas shoe for a bit while he sang! He dripped sweat on me and my father joked with all my friends that I saved it in the freezer! HA!!!), Men At Work—I took pictures for The Informer (the student newspaper of the University of Hartford) and got backstage! Squeeze, Tears For Fears.
Laurie Salzberg, West Hartford
The one memory that sticks out for both of us was seeing Little Feat. They played a wonderful set called, “The Back Porch Blues.” One big memory is the HORRIBLE bathrooms.
Carla and Bill Carpenter, Middletown
I was there A LOT! My girlfriend group followed Max Creek and they actually have a crowd shot of us girls on their album cover!
Joan Dylan, West Hartford
Yeah. Went to the Agora and saw NRBQ with my girlfriend at the time, Rosemary. We took a long weekend from Cleveland and visited my cousin. I remember there being a faint weird odor at the Agora. This would have been like mid-September in 1984.
Rod Carveth, New Britain
The Agora Ball Room was such an incredible venue in a time when Hartford was a vibrant city. I have so many fond memories of so many great shows I’ve seen there. Some of my top shows: the Jerry Garcia Band put on an awesome show there. Jerry Garcia Band in a bar! Public Image Limited had an incredible show there. The town brought in probably five firetrucks and 12 cop cars, fearing the worst. Johnny Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, was a great performer. He only turned to look at the crowd when he wanted to spit snot out of his nose like a farmer at us. I remember a Big Audio Dynamite show with the Junkyard Dogs opening up. It was a great show. The Junkyard Dogs were like a bunch of kids drumming on plastic pales.
And how could I ever forget when one of the Bangles shot me down trying to buy her a drink during the warm-up act? And lastly, Max Creek. So many Max Creek shows there. It was just a regular thing to do, go see the Creek, hang out with the band afterwards. We were all so blessed to have such a great venue in our backyard.
Mark Melnick, West Hartford
I did attend a number of shows at the good ol' Agora. In terms of Agora shows I do recall, the first would be the Band. This was a different aggregate than the one I saw at Watkins Glen in '73, having dropped guitarist/songwriter Robbie Robinson. However, they did employ the talented and versatile Brecker brothers to fill in the gaps. This move, combined with the band's three outstanding vocalists (Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and the inimitable Levon Helm) made for a smooth show comprising the outfit's unique renditions of country/folk/jazz Americana.
Second on the list (blush) was the Britpop of Tears for Fears. Attended in the company of my then girlfriend, Lois, whom I was desperately trying to impress. The show was billed as the band's American debut. I suppose their mix of harmonic, keyboard-splashed tunes was harmless enough.
And, most important, I got the girl.
The final show I recall was The Outlaws. Their three-lead guitar Texas balls-to-the-wall rock was as satisfying as it was predictable. Definitely aimed at the men in the audience, the powerful septet dished up close to three hours of familiar country-tinged rock, heavy on the multi-guitar interplay. The fact that this band is still together (I just saw an ad for them in Hartford next month) is testament to their music's longevity—sort of like a colorful but faded tattoo.
Paul Blawie, Avon
I saw NRBQ there in 1984, but the printed ticket says Jesse Colin Young! Also, when the drinking age changed from 18 to 21, they hung this huge plastic divider up and I think you had different colored hand stamps depending on your age. Memory foggy but that plastic didn’t last long.
That place hosted a bunch of bands that went on to bigger venues. It was great while it lasted. You might get to chat up a band member as well. It was small enough there was nowhere for them to go, and the bands were not so popular that they had to hide.
Stephanie Riefe, Simsbury
SIDEBAR:
Want to learn more about the Agora Ballroom? Check out these websites:
Music Museum of New England
Concert Archives