Legendary Satyricon club offered sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll, epitomized a Portland that is gone forever
Updated Mar 16, 2021;
Posted Mar 16, 2021
Hard rock of various kinds thrived at Satyricon in the 1980s and '90s. (Brent Wojahn/The Oregonian)
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Satyricon was easy to overlook. Its storefront, shoved next to a rundown grocery, faded into the grittiest part of Old Town.
Its reputation, however, glowed like the White Stag sign. Portlanders of every age and outlook knew what went on behind its narrow front door -- or thought they did.
The club opened late in 1983 and quickly became the unofficial headquarters of the city’s punk scene. It had a reputation for being a dangerous place, but it wasn’t as simple as that. Satyricon also offered whimsy. One night you might stumble upon a band that dressed “like space-alien aborigines,” as one habitué put it; on another you’d find yourself participating in an earnest Poetry Night.