Lovely piece! Our younger daughter, Ellery, started bartending at the Cactus last year when she started UT. Happy to report there is excellent music there regularly. She particularly loves open mic night on Thursdays.
Cactus Cafe was my 'home away from home' during my UT days of '87-91 and breaks thereafter through the 90's. I must have been to about half of Townes' appearances. Other highlights:
Butch-a-thon aka Butch Hancock's "No Two Alike" for all the official shows plus the one tacked on afterwards.
Obscure highlight - 2 Guys w/ 3 Names: Robert Earl Keen and Hal Michael Ketchum flipping a coin to see who would open. I was there for REK. Fortunately for me, Hal lost the toss, so I was treated to the first of several great performances from Mr. Ketchum.
Great piece, it's Butch Hancock in the picture? As usual your informative and innovative style makes the subject come alive... without much fanfare the Griff was gone from the Cactus. Scapegoated.
My only issue as a NY/NJ guy is it's Gerde's Folk City (auditioned there and failed) named for the restaurant that preceded the venue. But I'm remembering those days '78 Cactus Cafe not making it to that coveted stage but oh so wanting to try. Being a Cajun Cook at Mama's Money on E. 6th next door to Antone's took my time and who went uptown in those days when I could go see the real blues free next door in the back door? Then 10 years on flying in '88 from a boring Dallas trade show gig. Meeting the Daylights after being unplugged and signing them to 109 Records on the spot after the 3-song truncated show at Liberty SXSW II unannounced gig replacing DDT (Dallas) w/ opener Bad Mutha Goose on a tip from a Dallas Night Club DJ friends with the Deep Ellum funkster/rockers with a penchant for starting riots which banned them from playing the capital. But what a night! The SXSW dude picked me up at the airport in a van by myself. Why? Because there was nobody else going to the fest from out of town and he was stationed at the airport specifically to get people. Got me and I got chauffeured around and ended up at the now covered Lunch which had been the site of many a consequential outdoor patio Beto shows for me in '78. So, I got my next Live! From the Vault "Lost in Austin SXSW II" or "The Night I signed The Daylights from Dallas" w/ demos of Rev. Horton Heat (should have signed him) their Island Records Deep Ellum compilation compatriots' along with DDT and Edie B. And a retrospective of the Daylight's '86 through Jay Lavenders last 2 rap tracks in 90. A good friend gone too soon. I'm learning writing form you like I learned the blues from Jimmie and Stevie, never to be bigtime but giving it my best. Thanks! soundcloud.com/stevegabe Live! From the Vault #11 just posted! "The Day I Played w/ Albert Dailey at Syncopation Jazz NYC" Check them all out!
Thanks for the history of the Cactus Cafe and unsung significance of Griff Luneburg. A few of the best performances I saw were John Fahey in 1986 playing solo and Little Jack Melody (Steve Carter) With His Young Turks in 1991 playing songs from On The Blank Generation. I was also fortunate to attend the Richard Thompson solo show at the Back Room. Kudos for the mention.
I used to practically live at the Cactus when I went to UT in the mid 80’s. The coffee was deadly strong and I’d often sit outside to get away from the smoke and do the crossword in the Daily Texan. If I couldn’t finish it, I’d fill it in with nonsense and leave it on the table hoping someone would find it and laugh. In 1985, I met a boy for a date outside the Cactus Cafe. He was so excited that I’d gone out with him that he took me around campus to meet all his friends. It snowed that night and class was cancelled for several days before it had even started for the semester. The water from the fountains looked like it froze in midair. Campus was beautiful.
That boy made my life miserable off and on for the next 4 years. But he did introduce me to Shake Russel and Dana Cooper and we saw them at the Cactus every time we could. In 1999, I went on a date with a nice fellow named John. I can’t remember who we saw. John was quite shy and I remember he had beige socks and brown shoes. I don’t know why I remember that. When I alerted him to a piece of something stuck to his front tooth, he ran off to the bathroom to fix that. Three months and 7 dates later, we went to see Eric Johnson at the Cactus. Eric played a beautiful acoustic set and when he sat down at the piano and played “Song for Lynette”, it brought me to tears. Only a couple of people knew that John and I were going to elope the next morning. We’ve been married 23 years. Now if I tell him he has something on his tooth, he just smiles at me like an idiot and asks me if I want it. We need to get back to the Cactus Cafe. I always liked the little cactus plants carved into the beams inside. Was the Cactus Cafe named after those or did they carve them in after they named it The Cactus Cafe?
I was around for the Student Union riot, as well as the one at the crick over stadium expansion, and the gigantic anti-Nam march on the capital-- was not arrested at any of them. Used to hang at the Chuck Wagon. I saw Michael (Martin) Murphey solo in a motel lounge when he first came to Austin. I was long gone by the time of the conversion to the Cactus Café, but the Texas Student Union had cool activities. I saw Sterling Morrison (ex-Velvet Underground) do at least one of his multi-media presentations when he taught at UT. I saw Kenneth Threadgill with ex-members of The Texas Playboys a few times. Side Bars: I saw John Hiatt solo and with band one time in Santa Cruz, California -- another time it was The Tubes. Ironically, I saw Chip “Wild Thing” Taylor with Carrie Rodriguez at Cactus Music in Houston. Question: how the heck did Cactus Café lose the astronomical (for the times) amount of $120,000 a year?!
Lovely piece! Our younger daughter, Ellery, started bartending at the Cactus last year when she started UT. Happy to report there is excellent music there regularly. She particularly loves open mic night on Thursdays.
Cactus Cafe was my 'home away from home' during my UT days of '87-91 and breaks thereafter through the 90's. I must have been to about half of Townes' appearances. Other highlights:
Butch-a-thon aka Butch Hancock's "No Two Alike" for all the official shows plus the one tacked on afterwards.
Obscure highlight - 2 Guys w/ 3 Names: Robert Earl Keen and Hal Michael Ketchum flipping a coin to see who would open. I was there for REK. Fortunately for me, Hal lost the toss, so I was treated to the first of several great performances from Mr. Ketchum.
I saw Willis Alan Ramsey there at the Cactus in 1989. He alternated songs from his album with songs from the still upcoming second album.
Griff should get a statue or at least a bust outside of the Union.
Great piece, it's Butch Hancock in the picture? As usual your informative and innovative style makes the subject come alive... without much fanfare the Griff was gone from the Cactus. Scapegoated.
My only issue as a NY/NJ guy is it's Gerde's Folk City (auditioned there and failed) named for the restaurant that preceded the venue. But I'm remembering those days '78 Cactus Cafe not making it to that coveted stage but oh so wanting to try. Being a Cajun Cook at Mama's Money on E. 6th next door to Antone's took my time and who went uptown in those days when I could go see the real blues free next door in the back door? Then 10 years on flying in '88 from a boring Dallas trade show gig. Meeting the Daylights after being unplugged and signing them to 109 Records on the spot after the 3-song truncated show at Liberty SXSW II unannounced gig replacing DDT (Dallas) w/ opener Bad Mutha Goose on a tip from a Dallas Night Club DJ friends with the Deep Ellum funkster/rockers with a penchant for starting riots which banned them from playing the capital. But what a night! The SXSW dude picked me up at the airport in a van by myself. Why? Because there was nobody else going to the fest from out of town and he was stationed at the airport specifically to get people. Got me and I got chauffeured around and ended up at the now covered Lunch which had been the site of many a consequential outdoor patio Beto shows for me in '78. So, I got my next Live! From the Vault "Lost in Austin SXSW II" or "The Night I signed The Daylights from Dallas" w/ demos of Rev. Horton Heat (should have signed him) their Island Records Deep Ellum compilation compatriots' along with DDT and Edie B. And a retrospective of the Daylight's '86 through Jay Lavenders last 2 rap tracks in 90. A good friend gone too soon. I'm learning writing form you like I learned the blues from Jimmie and Stevie, never to be bigtime but giving it my best. Thanks! soundcloud.com/stevegabe Live! From the Vault #11 just posted! "The Day I Played w/ Albert Dailey at Syncopation Jazz NYC" Check them all out!
fine smaller venue with so many fine artists saw Bob Schneider there in 2007 and Lyle 2x there -great article about the iconic club
Thanks for the history of the Cactus Cafe and unsung significance of Griff Luneburg. A few of the best performances I saw were John Fahey in 1986 playing solo and Little Jack Melody (Steve Carter) With His Young Turks in 1991 playing songs from On The Blank Generation. I was also fortunate to attend the Richard Thompson solo show at the Back Room. Kudos for the mention.
I used to practically live at the Cactus when I went to UT in the mid 80’s. The coffee was deadly strong and I’d often sit outside to get away from the smoke and do the crossword in the Daily Texan. If I couldn’t finish it, I’d fill it in with nonsense and leave it on the table hoping someone would find it and laugh. In 1985, I met a boy for a date outside the Cactus Cafe. He was so excited that I’d gone out with him that he took me around campus to meet all his friends. It snowed that night and class was cancelled for several days before it had even started for the semester. The water from the fountains looked like it froze in midair. Campus was beautiful.
That boy made my life miserable off and on for the next 4 years. But he did introduce me to Shake Russel and Dana Cooper and we saw them at the Cactus every time we could. In 1999, I went on a date with a nice fellow named John. I can’t remember who we saw. John was quite shy and I remember he had beige socks and brown shoes. I don’t know why I remember that. When I alerted him to a piece of something stuck to his front tooth, he ran off to the bathroom to fix that. Three months and 7 dates later, we went to see Eric Johnson at the Cactus. Eric played a beautiful acoustic set and when he sat down at the piano and played “Song for Lynette”, it brought me to tears. Only a couple of people knew that John and I were going to elope the next morning. We’ve been married 23 years. Now if I tell him he has something on his tooth, he just smiles at me like an idiot and asks me if I want it. We need to get back to the Cactus Cafe. I always liked the little cactus plants carved into the beams inside. Was the Cactus Cafe named after those or did they carve them in after they named it The Cactus Cafe?
I was around for the Student Union riot, as well as the one at the crick over stadium expansion, and the gigantic anti-Nam march on the capital-- was not arrested at any of them. Used to hang at the Chuck Wagon. I saw Michael (Martin) Murphey solo in a motel lounge when he first came to Austin. I was long gone by the time of the conversion to the Cactus Café, but the Texas Student Union had cool activities. I saw Sterling Morrison (ex-Velvet Underground) do at least one of his multi-media presentations when he taught at UT. I saw Kenneth Threadgill with ex-members of The Texas Playboys a few times. Side Bars: I saw John Hiatt solo and with band one time in Santa Cruz, California -- another time it was The Tubes. Ironically, I saw Chip “Wild Thing” Taylor with Carrie Rodriguez at Cactus Music in Houston. Question: how the heck did Cactus Café lose the astronomical (for the times) amount of $120,000 a year?!