Early morning visit.
Friday is a big party night on campus, so when I arrived at the UMass Blue Wall in the campus center this morning at 8:30, it was no surprise that I was practically the only customer, with the students all sleeping it off. I took advantage of the situation to snap a few pics.
There is no actual wall of blue to which the name of the place refers. There may once have been, but currently only the tables are blue. In the late 70's, the joint was remodeled to reflect the punk-rock tastes of the times. In the spirit of CBGB and other famous punk venues, it was made to look like a post-apocalyptic ruin, complete with big holes smashed into the walls.
This student painting supposedly reflects the blood, torture and violence of the punk aesthetic. I hate it.
This is the area where you can eat and watch TV.
I remember sitting here on Election Night 2004. Student Democrats were weeping openly as Massachusetts Senator John Kerry was defeated by George W. Bush.
Back when I was at UMass, this section was used as the concert stage. Maybe it still is, but if so I never hear of musical shows being put on here.
Many was the night in days of yore when Martian Highway graced that stage. They billed themselves as "The Valley's Only Space Band." Ah, those were high times indeed!
Oh well, it's always nice to visit my old haunts in my old age.
Is this a photo of a distant galaxy made by the space telescope? No, it's a gasoline spill I photographed in a Northampton parking lot.
4 comments:
Nice gasoline art! Did you take that photo of the faux hole in the wall back in the 70s's or is it there now? (I've only stepped into the Blue Wall a couple of times.) It's got a nice retro look. You're right that painting is not the greatest. Seems like a poor choice to hang in a place where people go to eat.
Back when I was at Umass it was said that the Blue Wall served more beer on a Friday or Saturday night per square foot of space than any business on the planet.
Of course those same folks started the rumor that the big old phallic library was sinking because engineers forgo to calculate the weight of the books.
All those pictures were taken yesterday morning.
When I was there 78 -80 it was Disco in the Blue Wall. Bands downstairs in the Hatch. I saw Elvis Costello at the FAC, and he had a cold and only played 3 songs. The next day hd was in the Hatch having bacon and eggs
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