Eight years ago Luna played their last ever show at The Bowery Ballroom in New York City, I don’t do this every year (in fact i think it might be five years since I commemorated the end of Luna on this site) so here’s a little reminder of how Luna finished:
Dean with the Kiwi finger point (photo: Brian Birzer)
The encore:
Indian Summer
23 Minutes in Brussels
We played “Indian Summer” for the very last time, and I thought, we’re playing it for the last time. I had always enjoyed listening to Sean’s beautiful guitar solo, the way he bent certain notes on his Jazzmaster. Tonight I moved stage left, so I could hear it better. Then I counted down to the end, the two notes that go back and forth all through the song, and launched into “23 Minutes in Brussels,” which builds to a pounding climax but then falls apart softly and slowly. We exited the stage, and it was a relief to be walking upstairs, knowing that we would not be back the very next night”
Dean Wareham - Black Postcards
The website:
Luna’s Last Waltz was a group blog documenting Luna’s last weekend – a lot of the pictures have gone AWOL but the site content is still there with fans (mostly me) wittering on about the end. Includes posts from Dean and Britta.
The end:
All over – 28th February 2005 (photo: Pablo Chang)
Homeward bound (photo: Franck Dewannieux)
Britta and I trudged upstairs and out into the snowstorm and hailed a cab at the corner of Bowery and Delancey. It felt good to be heading north.
Dean Wareham – Black Postcards
Thanks Andy … These last Luna shows remain a beautiful and vivid memory. All my Luna pictures, including the ones linked from the “Luna’s Last Waltz” blog, were stored on my older photography website that is now gone. I still have all of them though and will try to fix this (maybe before next year) ! The more recent stuff is there: http://fdewannieux.smugmug.com/Music
Thanks for that Franck – I have a some of t the other “Last Waltz” pictures archives somewhere – should fix them in time for next year!
The first time I saw Luna live, they opened for Lou Reed in Dallas in 1996. I was a fan for about a year prior to that show but the show in Dallas made me a bigger fan because they were excellent live (I wish they would release more live recordings). I was fortunate enough to see them 11 times before they broke up including 2 shows on the final tour. Those 11 nights were some of the best concert experiences of my life with friends and travel involved everytime because they have never come to Oklahoma to play a show.
Has it really been 8 years? Time certainly does move faster the older one gets. I remember the first time I saw Luna perform, at the Toon Inn in New Haven – I went out the next day and bought everything they had recorded, as well as the Galaxie 500 box set, and thereafter saw them live as many times as possible in NYC. Their scheduled appearance at the first Bowlie festival in Camber Sands was the deciding factor for me to go — alas, only Dean and Sean performed. Not sure exactly why I was so taken with Luna – probably because they sort of connected up all the music I had most enjoyed throughout (many) years of listening. I attended the second-to-last show at the Bowery Ballroom, after which I thought, “This was my last band.”
Nice memories Michele, thanks. I arrived at Luna after being devastated that Galaxie 500 had split up – I remember being consoled by a friend that there’ll now be two great bands (Luna and Damon & Naomi) where once there was only one. Both made it so much easier to come to terms with the loss!