Reviews The Retriever, February 4, 1980, Page 11 Nightspots The Block still one of Baltimore's Best By Tom DiMartino Fi~un' to pay $2.2:, or $2.:>0 fur a b(,l'1 un It could be said that Baltimore, for the Block. Mixed drinks ar(' best avuid('d nightlife, is a dead town. And this may be lInll'ss you'\'e had a big day at the races. true if your standard is New York or Rio. Don't buy a drink for the girl who'll cOllle On the other hand, if you compare around and ask if you want sOllle company. Baltimore with Tacoma Wa. or Durham, She works t here gets a bon liS if she sells N.C., Charm City comes out smelling like t'IHHlgh drinks. For sure dOIl't buy a bottle a rose - or looking like Gommorah, if this Illay run YOli $50. that's your bent. Street\\"alkt'ls arc still thc (heapc~t thrill The fact is that as I've delved into the - cspccially on cold 01 rainy nights, when after hours goings-on around town, my you're likdy to get a better price. But extra belief that rigor mortis setsin when the sun caution is lllt'litcd here on two counts. goes down is crumbling. In the course of my research for these articles, I'm learning that Baltimore really is rich in night We. vaudeville shows were the original attrac­ building), the business was sold in 1971 We have gay bars and straight bars, Greek tions, but as time went on, burlesque and has since passed through sl'\Tral bars and black bars and white bars, young queens like Gypsy Rose Lee and Ann owners. The present owner is Ekna • bars and old bars and tough bars and Corio became more and more the big draw, Suhomlin. Ms. Suhomlin intcnds to make elegant bars. We have clubs where you can and the Block's emphasis shifted towards a classy night spot of the old row house strip-tease and "exotic dancers". In those basement. She's compktdy renovated the days when entertainments en ['ensemble interior, has enlisted as manager Harry and clothed shared the stage, soon to be big Van Valin, who's run such big name spots names like Jackie Gleason, Sophie Tucker, as Guys 8c Dolls in Las Vegas and EI Milton Berle, and Red Skelton played the Rancho in L.A., and is bringing in some Block. Stage shows complete with master top dancers from Vegas. of ceremonies, and acts like tap dancers Starting January 21 and running to Ihc and chorus lines before the featured strip­ 4th of February, Kelly EverellS is the tease, persisted gamely at some clubs into featured dancer. You've likely heard of her the 60's. But the coming of television in the - she's appeared on the Tom Snyder Show 50's really heralded the end of the era of and 20/ 20, and has been in Playboy nine stage shows, pit orchestras, and elaborate times by Mr. Van Valin's count. Kelly is an costumes. ordained minister who "strips for God". Today, the 400 block of E. Baltimore St. You should call to find out about timl' is the heart of the Block, although the she'll be dancing. bawdiness spills over a half block in all The focal point of thc club's renovated directions. As a convention draw, the interior is a foot-lighted runway on whieh Block is worth millions to the city, and the the girls strut their stuff, inside a large o\'al spend a reflective evening sipping and money brought in by the new convention bar. On a recent visit there, I saw Dec Del' grinning to laid back music. There are center may give a much needed charge in Blaze dance with two live boa consnillors. discos, where the sexually electric atmo­ the coming decade to this tired old district. A few doors away is the Villa Nova. This sphere can set hearts pounding. There are It's worth mentioning that the Block is a is another nicely appointed dub, and the places to clog to bluegrass or hoot to safe place. It is well policed and is directly night I visited had a couple of the most country or commune with the music of big adiacent to the central district station. appealing dancers I've se('n on the Block. name jazz musicians. And gratefully, there The most famous of the Block's bars is More typical Block bars are the .lewd are places where one can escape the stifling the Two O'CLock Club. Owned for years Box and the Block Show Bar - not fan! y suburban notions that to conform is to live by Blaze SLufi (who still owns the but what the iris shake is the same. well. In short, if you can't find something to do with your evening, don't blame it on Baltimore. Find somebody to cut loose with, and think a kind thought for those poor people in Durham as you head out Word is lhat the polic(, are cracking down the door. . on streetwalkers in this ~eiH'ral area. And This review is of one of our town's he sure you're geltin~ what you want longest running attractions. before handin~ over any mOIH"Y - I hear Without question Baltimore's most there are a lot of £emall' impnsonators famous night spot is the honky-tonk hustling. stretch of flashing lights and bare ass called Besides the bars, the Block is hOlllt' to The Block. tTndoubtedly The Block isn't several book stores, which should not go what it once was - re-zoning and urban unmentioned. Here you can buy whips, renewal have whittled it down and an masks and other black le;'l1 hel accessories increasingly permissive society has for the fashion (:onscious sado-ll1asochi~t, rendered its unce torrid appeal less exotic. 811l1l1 home movies, artificial male and In fact, in comparison to Manhattan's £email' sexual organs, lik-siz(' inflatahle theatre district, where neon barkers dolls, and even some dirty hoob. proclaim "Live Gay Sex On Stage", and If YOllr ('\'{'nin~'~ (;lIollsing stirs a compared to some of what this reporter has ~astrollolllic chord, Polock Johnny hawks seen in Amsterdam and Italy, the Block his wares ill Ihe heart of the Block. His seems sort of provincial. But still, it's sau~a~es n('v{'r fail to astound. And of known to sea-going men from every part of courst', Lillll' IlCIly is dose at halld if YOli the world, and has made its mark in the are aftn something more suhstantial. history of night life, and the history of Din itti'~ at 90G Trinity St. i~ opt'n 't i 12 a.lll. Baltimore. on weekni~hts, ~ a.lIl. 011 FI ida)' alld Satur­ day. Sahatino's at 90 I Fawn Sl. is op('n till ~ After the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, 0'< lock every morning. Capric c io\ at 2,12 which devastated 140 acres of downtown S. I Iigh SI. is open till I o'do! k FJ ida~ and Baltimore, three blocks of the rebuilt East Saturday. Chiapp;t1dli'~ at 2~·1 S. lligh St. Baltimore St. emerged as the city's enter­ ••••••••••••••••••••••••• is Opt'll till I 011 Friday~ alld 2 Oil Sat III day .... tainment core. Nickelodeons and light Without Slick, Starship is stuck at ~Point Zero' definite ijnple~!>ion is (J('att'd and is firmly By Julie Thompson The album begins deceptively enough Freedom is not without a few enjovable validated with (,,\( h sllbs('qu(,llt list(,ning. Freedom at Point Zero/ Jefferson Starship with the recently released single, "Jane", moments. In addition to "Janc", '+hing~ RGA-Grunt Records depicting the pounding force of the new to Come" passes acceptably, beginning The conclusion unigllorahly snt'am~ certain theori(,s, most prohable of which i!> With the driving forces of Grace Slick Starship. The full-volume energy works with the same racey tempo of many of that tht' Starship m('mh(,I~, antic ipaling a and Marty Balin gone, Jefferson Starship's well with this sharp-edged rocker, but Earth's polished cuts, and ringing de(l,ly la~ ill musi(al driv(, without Slick and latest album, Freedom at Point Zero at least becomes overbearingly redundant as it with the most unmistakable Slick­ Balin, anxiou~Jy worked to synthesize an carries a justification for ilS surpris-ingly persists throughout nine songs. What resemhling ~oun(j.; in the background. artificial fore (', hopeful of plastering over disappuinting quality. Sporting heavy begins as lwarty musical gusto quickly "Awakening" follows closely, at first the vacant spots. But unfortunately, 'as instrumentals and nonstop chorus, the becomes bOling when unimaginatively providing a desperately-needed .,oftening influence with its mono-voi(cd, sober often happens when tryill~ to makc up for Starship tries 10 gloss over the absence of worked to d('ath. Consequently, after the a loss, o\('J'{ompensation causes the very Iheir n\'o prill' members; but even with almy of voices plc)\\s its way through the Iyri(~ and downbeat rhythm. But eWJl thi., flaws that should bt, hidden to 5.hine some pletty convinting imitations of last cut, which is also the title song, the hrief period of sensory-overload relid is through with menaring glare. And in this . Grace Slick thrown in. the album suffers. listener is ready to crawl into a dark corner shattered as the in('vitable chorus is case, til(' glaring result is one owing to a In compari!>on with 1978's Earth espe­ with a soothing dose of Pink Floyd or the dragged in with accompanying instru­ r a c (' -car m () m (' n tum t' n din gin the cially, Freedom seems an almost em barras­ like. mental bombaldment. disastrous chaos of a nine-car pile up. !>ing efforl. Obvious as its flaws all', though, After listening to Freedom OIH<.', a