History
Satyricon, located at 125 N.W. Sixth Avenue (formerly "Marlowe's Tavern, a dark, narrow barroom on a seedy stretch") opened in 1983 and operated until May 2003, with mostly indie and punk rock bands performing. The club was named by its founder George Touhouliotis after Federico Fellini's film of that name, and included a restaurant called Fellini.
The Satyricon was known for being the one venue in Portland "where everyone who was or would be anyone in Northwest rock played over the course of two decades," earning the nightclub a national reputation. The club became a popular hangout for rock fans and musicians, and was a regular venue for local punk bands the Wipers and Poison Idea. It was also frequented by Courtney Love, who met friend/bandmate Kat Bjelland there in 1983. The club is also notable for being the place where Love first crossed paths with her future husband, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain; according to Love, she met Cobain there in 1988 at a Dharma Bums concert, although other accounts state that the two met in January 1989 or 1990 when Nirvana was playing at the club, and that they playfully wrestled in front of a jukebox that night.
Other notable events at the club included Chuck Paugh's first rave party there in 1985, as well as Dave Grohl playing his first show with his post-Nirvana outfit Foo Fighters after Cobain's suicide. Pearl Jam also played the club on September 28, 1991. Other events, besides notable concerts, include a number of incidents involving notable people (including Courtney Love passing out) and a police riot in 1990.
The club closed in 2003 and was slated to be taken over by the owners of another (former) club in town, Moody's. It reopened as an all-ages club in August 2006 under the management of the owners of the Loveland, an all-ages venue in Portland. It closed in October 2010. Demolition began in July 2011. Much of the building was down by October 2011. A crane was visible and new construction started November 2011.
The news headlines arising from Satyricon include:
- Satyricon License Threatened By Drug Bust
- "Riot" At Satyricon
- Audience Dances Naked At Satyricon
- Courtney Love Passes Out At Satyricon
- Midnight Madness
- Satyricon's Dirty Dozen
- Police Sue Six Men Over Scuffle
- Whose Riot Was That, Anyway?
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