Small Venue Reflection

In going through a little bit of a return to punk rock, I heard a new track from Rancid. I realized, while listening to it, that I hadn't bought a new Rancid album since "Life Won't Wait". With that rotten egg of an album, I certainly didn't wait for any more good stuff from them. But, with the upcoming album, I may be surprised. Not surprisingly, I may find interest in one or both of the albums I've since skipped.

I saw Rancid once outside of the Warped Tour, and I started thinking about the small venue shows I'd attended. The three I remember most are below:

1995:
dec 9 sat RANCID, Stiff Richards, Pressure Point
at the Grind, Sacramento a/a $10 7pm *** @ $

The Grind was (is?) a skater shop/indoor park in West Sacramento. Definitely a small venue particularly appropriate for the event, The Grind put the band on one end of a room and the small-ish crowd to fill in the rest. We had to contend with a half-pipe behind us. It was the first time I had heard anything by Pressure Point, and I had never heard anything about Stiff Richards after that (who may have MP3s up at this site). I would later see Pressure Point at the For Food Not Bombs benefit at a Davis park and at other gigs. But Rancid was the main and only draw for this one. One could get right up to Tim and Co., sing along with them, and run around and mosh like the best of them. Naturally, there were plenty of "OpIV" calls, with all of them ignored. They had to escort Lars out through the crowd after the show.

1999:
apr 13 tue Dropkick Murphy's, Oxymoron, Ducky Boys, Pressure Point
at Bojangles, Sacramento a/a $8/$10 7:30pm/8pm # *** @

My first Dropkick Murphys gig. Held at a small bar near the freeway, this concert made me forget the 100+ degree fever I had that night. I believe Oxymoron and Ducky Boys started things out, in that order. Pressure Point came out and played an awesome set. They ended their set with some song that had the whole crowd chanting (I think it was "Never Walk Alone"). DKM commented on it when they came on stage, since the crowd was still chanting. There is nothing more magical in a concert than to hear the whole crowd singing along together.

The venue was a small bar with black walls and ceiling. The bands played on a raised platform near the front with everyone standing around in front of that. The bands had very little room to move around. There was no room for stage-diving, but you could get on stage and sing, dance, and have fun with anyone in the bands.


1999:
aug 29 sun Testament, The Haunted, Skin Lab
at Big Shots, Roseville a/a $15 8pm/9pm ** @

I'll admit it: I went to this one mainly for how amazing Testament's "The Gathering" was, and I went to see Dave Lombardo play drums. In the end, I got to experience a great Testament set and got hooked on The Haunted, a great metal band that is partially a spin-off from At The Gates. Big Shots was a pool hall in Roseville that used to host concerts until the locals complained about the noise. If I recall correctly, they had some sort of stage set up on one end of a long room (or it was inset into the wall). I don't remember what they did to clear the pool tables out. A little less accessible of a stage than the other two. They may have actually had security keeping people off the stage.


Thank you The List and this site for the old listings.