Every month or so I receive an email from someone writing an article or an essay about various corners of Portland's past that aren't well covered in history books or on the internet. Typically, they're hunting for information about the Shanghai Tunnels and, because I wrote a series of blog posts about them last summer, they think I might be an expert.

The latest inquiry came from someone trying to collect dates and info on local rock clubs from the late '80s - late '90s, La Luna in particular. Here's what they're looking for. If any of you know anything and can help shine a light, feel free to drop a comment via the link at the bottom of this post.

When did La Luna close? [My best guess was sometime in '98, a few months after I caught a particularly weak Tricky show]

Any information on Blue Gallery, the Metropolitan and the X-Ray Cafe and whether or not they ever re-opened under different ownership or at different locations. [I know at least one of the X-Ray guy's now runs Voodoo Doughnut]

Did Nirvana ever play the Fox Theater and when did it close? [If it's the same Fox Theater I'm thinking of, the one where the Fox Tower now stands, didn't they typically run movies and Blazer games instead of grunge gigs?]

Labels: research