The Bottom Line is a recurring concert venue in the diary, where live performances become meeting points for musicians, friends, and nightlife’s shifting social alliances. Across visits from 1977 to 1983, it is the setting for a party-night dispute, changing judgments of Lou Reed’s music, and sharply observed encounters among people gathered around the stage and at nearby tables.

Performances and changing judgments

In March 1978, the diarist went to The Bottom Line to see Lou Reed perform. Although a line stretched around the block, the room inside was not crowded. Catherine’s tape recorder was challenged at the door; she surrendered its batteries instead. Reed came on late, and the diarist felt proud of him: his performance seemed newly his own, with a style that had previously eluded him as a solo artist. His dancing had improved, and a song the diarist had once found unsuccessful, “I Want to Be Black,” now worked. The entry contrasts this achievement with Reed’s earlier solo work, which the diarist judged to be imitative of performers such as Mick Jagger.

A later visit to hear Reed brought a different but related appraisal. His lyrics were now easy to understand, yet familiar songs sounded changed and were not immediately recognizable; the music was very loud. The diary also records that Reed was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and exercising, and describes his efforts to become leaner and more defined. The venue thus frames not just a performance but a sense of change in the performer’s sound and physical presentation.

Parties, disputes, and company

In June 1977, the diarist went to The Bottom Line to see Bryan Ferry, then continued to a party for him at Hurrah's, hosted by Jerry Hall. Ronnie and Gigi arrived with dates, and their presence became a source of drama. Ronnie later said that Gigi had thrown a drink in his face; he maintained that he had done nothing to provoke her, but said he retaliated by ripping the front of her dress. The diary records this as a reported account of the dispute, which continued beyond the concert venue: the next day, Gigi appeared at the office with two police officers and what the diarist described uncertainly as a restraining order, while Ronnie was drinking heavily.

On another visit, The Bottom Line brought together a cluster of music-world and downtown acquaintances. Steve Paul was there, Lou Reed sat at the next table, and Fran Lebowitz was seated elsewhere with a woman; the diarist took photographs. Catherine had come because she was in love with Reed, while the diarist praised David Johansen’s charm and criticized his jumping around onstage. Reed invited the group to his home afterward, extending the evening from the public room of the venue into a more private visit.

A recurring social setting

The diary’s accounts make The Bottom Line more than a backdrop for concerts. Its performances are interwoven with practical details—the line outside, the recorder batteries at the door, the loudness of the music—and with the diarist’s judgments of performers as their styles change. Tables and audience encounters matter alongside the stage: the venue gathers artists, friends, admirers, and dates into the same social field, where a night out can lead from musical admiration to photographs, invitations, or conflict.