POP/ROCK - Sept. 20, 1991

An Era Ends: Esther Wong, 74, is bowing out of the L.A. rock scene. She is retiring and closing her 13-year-old landmark Madame Wong’s club in Santa Monica on Saturday. Her two Madame Wong’s clubs were once among the most important punk and new wave venues. But as new wave died out, the clubs’ appeal declined. Wong closed her Chinatown club in 1985. Wong began hosting concerts at her Chinatown restaurant by such up-and-coming young bands as the Police, Oingo Boingo and the Motels. The group Blackout is scheduled to play the last show.