Gonzo Bar - The end of an era

I still remember the first time I set foot in the Gonzo Bar, over 30 years ago. I was 15, maybe 16 years old and listened to heavy metal. A lot! There were many bars back then, but none had the appeal the Gonzo Bar had. A cool dive bar, with a passion for music from hardcore to metal to reggae, it was right for us. But it was scary, too for a 15-year-old kid like me. 

Let’s be honest, I wasn’t by far as cool as I wanted or sometimes pretended to be (I’m still not cool, and nor do I pretend to be anymore). And the Gonzo bar had an audience that was, well, let’s put it mildly, kind of wild. It was a bar for bikers, punks and metalheads, and we were the young kids, hanging around and drinking our first beers. It made an impression back then.

Concerts

Through the years, I’ve played in several bands, and with some of the bands, we were lucky enough to be invited to play at the Gonzo Bar. We always had a great time, and Anita and Gerard were the greatest of hosts. When we didn’t play, we’d sometimes go and see other bands play, too.

Over the years I’d lost sight of the Gonzo Bar. It, of course, stayed the course, and people came and went. Some of the guys I saw there in my early days, kept going there to this day! One constant factor was, of course, Anita, the owner of the place. A tall lady with an attitude, and a heart of gold!

Coming back home

A little over 5 years ago, I moved back to my home town, Tegelen. It didn’t take long for me to walk back into the Gonzo Bar again. It felt like coming home! I immediately had a second home, only one block away from my apartment. The cool thing about this bar is that everybody’s welcome, everybody talks to each other, there are no preconceptions, and it’s all cool.

Over the course of the last 5 years, I’ve spent many hours at the Gonzo Bar. All of the weekends I didn’t spend travelling and taking photographs, I’d go there and have a drink with friends, go see a band, and have deep, but also silly conversations. It was always fun to be there. Anita always cooked on Fridays and often on Saturdays, and we were always welcome to take a plate. That’s the kind of bar the Gonzo Bar is. I just love it! Heck, I even met the woman I love there!

Tragedy struck

And then, a couple of months ago, we heard rumours of very sad news. These rumours turned out to be true, and hit many of us hard! Anita was ill. She’d been feeling under the weather for a couple of weeks, and it turned out she had cancer. 

All of a sudden, everything changed. Without Anita, the Gonzo Bar would not be possible! It wouldn’t be the same! And indeed, it won’t… 

A few weeks later, Anita passed away. Many of us are still grieving. There was a beautiful funeral, and many attended. There were drinks, there were tears, there was laughter. What will remain are many beautiful memories. Anita, you’ve touched many lives and will live on in many hearts.

So why this article

First of all, Anita!! She meant a lot to a lot of people, me included. As said before, she, and her Gonzo Bar, were a second home to many of us. 
Anita and I had talked about a photo book for the 40th anniversary of the Gonzo Bar. Of course, with Anita passing away, this idea has also passed. But there are a lot of photos already shot, and it would be a shame not to do anything with them.

One of these photos was the photo of the 2022 annual party I shot. Many people used that as a sort of tribute when they found out about Anita being ill. This article is my tribute. Now, after the dust has settled a bit.

The end of an era?

Well, that title. That’s kind of something, isn’t it? Is it really the end of an era? Yes, for me, it is. The Gonzo bar is just not the same without Anita. So yes, the Gonzo bar, the way it was, ceased to exist. That’s the way of life. Everything’s impermanent, nothing is meant to last forever. This era has ended.

But, in the cycle of life and death, the end of an era also means the beginning of something new! I’m very happy that there are two guys that are working hard on keeping this wonderful bar open, and I can, and will keep on visiting the Gonzo Bar. Thank you for that, Stefan and Andre! I hope you will rock this bar in the same kind of way Anita did, so her legacy will continue. Those are big shoes to fill, and I wish you the best of luck.

I’m happy the Gonzo Bar will not cease to exist. I’m thankful for all the people I got to know there, the ones I learned to love, the ones I love to hate, and of course, the great guys and gals behind the bar, who make every evening a cool one. I’ll be back there soon!