![\"Dirk](\"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/pix-2006\/dirksen.jpg\")
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The LOUIE REPORT just lost another great ally. Dirk Dirksen<\/strong>, San Francisco’s own “pope of punk<\/a>” has passed away. Apparently, he died in his sleep Sunday night\/Monday morning.<\/p>\n Dirk was the most influential music promoter during the heyday of punk rock in San Francisco. In 1976, Dirk began booking punk and new music shows at The Mabuhay Gardens<\/strong>, aka the “Fab Mab,” a little Filipino restaurant and club based in the North Beach district of San Francisco. In a sense, the “Fab Mab” became the CBGB’s of the West, featuring a lot of bands like the Dead Kennedys<\/strong>, Flipper<\/strong>, Romeo Void<\/strong>, Black Flag<\/strong>, The Dictators<\/strong>, The Nuns<\/strong>, The Mutants<\/strong>, The Avengers<\/strong>, The Damned<\/strong>, DEVO<\/strong>, Iggy Pop<\/strong>, The Ramones<\/strong>, H\u00fcsker D\u00fc<\/strong>, D.O.A.<\/strong>, The Screamers<\/strong>, Minutemen<\/strong>, DRI<\/strong>, Redd Kross<\/strong>, JFA<\/strong>, and Metallica<\/strong>. He also booked music at the On Broadway<\/strong>, which was on the second floor of the building that housed the Mabuhay. The Mab shut down in 1986, and in recent years the space has become The Velvet Lounge<\/strong>, a swanky nightclub for a whole different type of clientele.<\/p>\n I went to a handful of great shows at both the Fab Mab and the On Broadway, including a hillarious evening of drunken stupidity with Flipper<\/strong> and Polkacide<\/strong>, one of the earliest shows with the Grand Mothers<\/strong> (former members of Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention<\/strong>), and the final performance of the original Dead Kennedys<\/strong>. Years later, the Octalouie<\/strong> team<\/a> (myself and Jesse Block) got hired to shoot video of the final D.O.A<\/strong>. show at the DNA Lounge<\/a>, which is available for purchase as a home videotape.<\/p>\n The last time I worked with Dirk, we videotaped a show with the San Francisco Mime Troupe<\/a><\/strong>, who performed a hysterical comedy at Dolores Park featuring a wild scenario involving a lot of silly political figures for the 2004 election.<\/p>\n Dirk had a wonderful sense of humor that I will never forget. Beneath his somewhat abrasive and sarcastic exterior was the heart and soul of a man who genuinely cared about his fellow humans. For many years, he’s been an Advisory Board Member of H.E.A.R.<\/strong><\/a>, a non-profit organization dedicated to hearing awareness, and worked closely with the Unity Foundation<\/strong><\/a>, an organization that actively promotes world peace, cooperation, unity and tolerance.<\/p>\n Of course it goes without saying that Dirk will be missed. He was a great guy.<\/p>\n