Thank you, I loved reading that! I'm curious, what did you think of Lounge Ax? I'm not a musician but I always thought seeing shows there was pretty special.
Lounge Ax was so big for me and my bands, so supportive and all the things that make a great artist venue. The only reason I didn’t write about it is because these are hometown venues, the place to hang and play in each of the cities I’ve called home.
What a great read! Watt has played the biggest pads and the smallest of pads with the same tenacity and vigor, he's truly punk rock royalty. From Alvin's which was half deli, half concert venue to the State Theater in Detroit with the Stooges, he never got big headed about it. He lives econo in the best way possible. Alvin's was where Antenna opened for fIREHOSE and turned me into a fan of your music and it was one if the few places that I got to play on the same stage where you, Watt, Bob Mould and a few more of my musical heros had played. The building is still there but the venue has long since closed, but that's where some of my fondest memories were made.
Oh my god John I platonically love the shit out of you for this post. Like you, Watt changed my life. I have been lucky enough to know him a little and it’s the greatest. Now I am going to write this post for me.
That is awesome, thanks. Yeah Watt is one of those singular individuals who will leave the world a better place, and hopefully that is a long way off. I had the idea to write this when I guested on a podcast about venues. Got me thinking about how much venues matter. I could have written about The Uptown here, or Bryant Lake Bowl, or The Entry/1st Ave…but those are great venues I never quite got to the heart of. I never lived in MPLS long enough to really have a local.
I am lucky, I sort of call every where local. Decades out there in vans then busses. Long runs of 350 shows a year, not counting the stuff I chased myself. I saw a Prince piano show on what was like an airplane hanger from the outside, and inside it felt like the coolest combination of my grandmas house and a Prince gig. So loving and safe, it just let your soul open. One of my favorite nights was being out with a guy named Scott Holt, in Laramie at a place called the Buckhorne Bar. I was in the emergency room in the afternoon, so I had to walk around Laramie trying to find the place. Laramie did not have cabs then.
Thanks for the great memories about Bottletree and your help behind Saturn. I met Watt at Saturn briefly--like you, he's a hero to me--and he was very cool.
John - it’s been a true pleasure reading your posts. In the late 90s we did a couple tours w Watt - Engine Room album? Nels Cline was playing with him on one of them - in any case, he was a real gent, always looking out for us. The tours were hard and his motto was “if you’re not playing, you’re paying”.
Lovely read, thanks! I had the chance to play the Middle East a handful of times, and remember some of these other venues through the years. And Watt? A national treasure.
Thanks for a terrific piece, John. It's timely for me as we recently moved to Milwaukee after nearly four years in Albuquerque. There, my experience was similar to your first years in Birmingham -- even though my band did well, gigs felt like work and I wondered if my days of playing live were coming to an end. That was especially tough after leaving behind beloved clubs in my hometown of Cincinnati.
On Saturday, we saw a friend's band here in a classic old Midwestern tavern -- think of Schuba's without the wall between the two rooms -- and it reignited my desire to put a band together as soon as we're a bit more settled in a new home. Clubs can still be special.
Yes! My first serious band was one of the first bands to play Sudsy's in early '87 and I played there over about six years before I moved away. It was hilarious how many people actually did their laundry there without realizing it would smell like cigarette smoke in the morning. Bogart's was great on most nights as long as the soundman was having a good night.
IN Nashville, I miss the OG Family Wash. It started in the space that is now Vinyl Tap. It morphed and grew, but those first years were unique, community-building, and hold a special place in my heart.
Thank you, I loved reading that! I'm curious, what did you think of Lounge Ax? I'm not a musician but I always thought seeing shows there was pretty special.
Lounge Ax was so big for me and my bands, so supportive and all the things that make a great artist venue. The only reason I didn’t write about it is because these are hometown venues, the place to hang and play in each of the cities I’ve called home.
Makes sense!
What a great read! Watt has played the biggest pads and the smallest of pads with the same tenacity and vigor, he's truly punk rock royalty. From Alvin's which was half deli, half concert venue to the State Theater in Detroit with the Stooges, he never got big headed about it. He lives econo in the best way possible. Alvin's was where Antenna opened for fIREHOSE and turned me into a fan of your music and it was one if the few places that I got to play on the same stage where you, Watt, Bob Mould and a few more of my musical heros had played. The building is still there but the venue has long since closed, but that's where some of my fondest memories were made.
Glad you can relate!
Oh my god John I platonically love the shit out of you for this post. Like you, Watt changed my life. I have been lucky enough to know him a little and it’s the greatest. Now I am going to write this post for me.
That is awesome, thanks. Yeah Watt is one of those singular individuals who will leave the world a better place, and hopefully that is a long way off. I had the idea to write this when I guested on a podcast about venues. Got me thinking about how much venues matter. I could have written about The Uptown here, or Bryant Lake Bowl, or The Entry/1st Ave…but those are great venues I never quite got to the heart of. I never lived in MPLS long enough to really have a local.
I am lucky, I sort of call every where local. Decades out there in vans then busses. Long runs of 350 shows a year, not counting the stuff I chased myself. I saw a Prince piano show on what was like an airplane hanger from the outside, and inside it felt like the coolest combination of my grandmas house and a Prince gig. So loving and safe, it just let your soul open. One of my favorite nights was being out with a guy named Scott Holt, in Laramie at a place called the Buckhorne Bar. I was in the emergency room in the afternoon, so I had to walk around Laramie trying to find the place. Laramie did not have cabs then.
Thanks for the great memories about Bottletree and your help behind Saturn. I met Watt at Saturn briefly--like you, he's a hero to me--and he was very cool.
One of the biggest influences on my worldview. A towering figure.
John - it’s been a true pleasure reading your posts. In the late 90s we did a couple tours w Watt - Engine Room album? Nels Cline was playing with him on one of them - in any case, he was a real gent, always looking out for us. The tours were hard and his motto was “if you’re not playing, you’re paying”.
Lovely read, thanks! I had the chance to play the Middle East a handful of times, and remember some of these other venues through the years. And Watt? A national treasure.
Thanks for a terrific piece, John. It's timely for me as we recently moved to Milwaukee after nearly four years in Albuquerque. There, my experience was similar to your first years in Birmingham -- even though my band did well, gigs felt like work and I wondered if my days of playing live were coming to an end. That was especially tough after leaving behind beloved clubs in my hometown of Cincinnati.
On Saturday, we saw a friend's band here in a classic old Midwestern tavern -- think of Schuba's without the wall between the two rooms -- and it reignited my desire to put a band together as soon as we're a bit more settled in a new home. Clubs can still be special.
Thanks so much! Did you ever play Sudsy Malone’s in Cincy? Venue in a laundromat! Loved that one and Bogart’s as well.
Yes! My first serious band was one of the first bands to play Sudsy's in early '87 and I played there over about six years before I moved away. It was hilarious how many people actually did their laundry there without realizing it would smell like cigarette smoke in the morning. Bogart's was great on most nights as long as the soundman was having a good night.
IN Nashville, I miss the OG Family Wash. It started in the space that is now Vinyl Tap. It morphed and grew, but those first years were unique, community-building, and hold a special place in my heart.
I experienced a bit of that, later around 2011-13. Very special place, and such delicious Shepherd’s Pie.
Grateful we have Tubby’s in Kingston NY… nearing 7 years old and going strong. 💪 🤘🏼🙏🏼
I’ll hope to get there sometime.
Give a holler, I'll buy ya a drink :)