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     Black Thorn soundman Andy McVey called the final show, "uneventful," before adding, "We went out with a whisper. I hope somebody that owns a club will pick up the reins for rock at least one night a week." He went on to say that thanks to the Black Thorn, bands have been coming out of the woodwork. McVey also said that if one band from the local scene could land a recording contract, the Bronx could become a hotbed for the music scene, such as what happened in Seattle after Nirvana's first record.

     So now with a ton of local bands such as Tru Smoke Diesel, Pinwheel, and the underage but extremely talented The Kezzners, who borrowed the name from their teacher at school, it now appears these young, talented musicians have no place in the Bronx to play even though the club scene appears to be booming.

     Free summer concerts in the borough have been plentiful thanks to concert series hosted by Borough President Fernando Ferrer, Senator Guy Vellela and Assemblyman Jeff Klein although during all of those shows only one band, Alive and Kickin can be classified as modern rock. New clubs such as the Velvet Lounge on Westchester Avenue continue to open but most of the new clubs continue to play dance music.

     The area's only free public rock concert this year was a Sting show, held recently in Central Park, which was limited to a select few thousand people. Large concert events such as The Warped Tour that boasted such acts as Alien Ant Farm, New Found Glory, and Rancid or the upcoming Smoke Out with Cypress Hill continues to draw crowds to Manhattan, Jones Beach or Randall's Island. Other all-day events such as Lollapalooza have folded. This past weekend the 17th annual Wigstock was held for possibly the final time, organizers say, due to the show's costly production.

     Established oldies groups such as the Capris, the Belmonts and the 'Velvatones' continue to return to the borough and have no problem drawing good crowds as they do in the rest of the country. Pete Crotty of the band id admitted, "Even our friends from Manhattan don't come up to the Bronx." Although id has been playing together for a year and-a-half, their final show at the Black Thorn was only their second show at the club. Crotty had hoped to gain a following here and sadly added, "But now there is no venue in the Bronx that caters to Rock N' Roll or original music."

     One thing that may have doomed the Black Thorn, many bands contend, was the rule that a band would have to draw its own crowd or get bumped to a later time. Secondly, many club owners demand a slice of the gate for providing the amplifiers. Many musicians tell horror stories of not getting paid or even having bar tabs and owing the bar money after the show. In order for an outside promoter to make it, he must promise and deliver a sold-out show for the club owner, which is what Camp has done at the Limelight for several years.

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