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In summerSuzanne Shelton hatched a dream to open a punk dance club. She had two priorities: it had to play lots of new wave, and it needed clean bathrooms. She even had a venue chosen—in fact she already worked there. They gave her three weeks to prove it could work. She did it in one night.

Shelton kicked off her experiment on July 25, the same night as a Blondie concert at Park West. After the show, hundreds of Blondie fans walked over. None of us knew what to expect. I was in the DJ booth freaking out—I had, like, 30 records. Acciari and Larson were impressed enough to give Shelton carte blanche to transform Hoots into a new-wave club.

The place needed a new name, and Shelton and her friends drew up a list of possibilities. It endured for 36 years, finally closing in July Sarah was a Neo regular before she began working there, as were many of the DJs I spoke to for this piece.

House of Revolution

That was their home. That was their living room. Thirty-six years was long enough that some of the earliest Neo diehards could introduce their children to the club. The club was usually 21 and up, but it could open its doors to everyone when rented during the day. Director Eric Richter had been pitching the documentary to distributors with no luck, and Cold Waves offered the public its first chance to see the completed version of Last Call.

Nocturna DJ Scary Lady Sarah spins current and classic goth, industrial, postpunk, darkwave, and more. The fourth Matrix film comes out this month, and Keanu Reeves will reprise his role as Neo—a character that many people over the years have claimed or merely assumed was named after the club.

For a long time I believed it myself, partly because the Wachowski sisters are Chicago natives. Hoots opened in as a disco attached to a continental restaurant called Squash Blossom. InAcciari and Larson, who also owned the restaurant, turned it into a wine bar called Gitanes. All the same, they asked her to audition.

She DJed without pay for three nights, then pushed them to hire her. A few months later, she brought them her idea for a new-wave club. Joe Shanahan went to see Blondie with his roommate, and after the show they walked to the new club. Hoots officially went new wave, and Julie Shelton and Bob Felsenthal set about redecorating.