oliver

i just got off the phone with a friend from minneapolis and in the midst of the conversation she dropped some news that really bummed me out. she said that she heard that first avenue nightclub locked their doors and handed out pink slips to all their employees today

i've been going to first ave. since i was 15, nearly 15 years ago, i've seen hundreds of shows there over the years, the vast majority of my live music experiences have been spent in that place, shows that are absolutely legendary in my mind. to me this is worse than a childhood home being torn down, this was where i really grew up, this was where i saw countless musicians sweating their ass off for us. music and my friends that i met through music has had such a forming influence on my life, and this club being the epicenter of that and hearing that it's closing is, well, tragic

we've all seen it coming, their days were numbered what with a slump in the industry, clear channel, some bad business moves, but we all held out hope that the dank dark goddess would keep going

so in honor heres a list of some of my favorite moments spent in those doors, in no particular order

1 - fugazi touring for repeater with nation of ulysses and a hypnotist opening for them, i'm serious, a fucking hypnotist between bands, classic, punks being hypnotized acting like chickens and shit, surreal

2 - patti smith, a couple years ago, i knew nearly nothing from her then, she hit the stage and kicked the ass of any number of musicians half her age i've seen live on that stage, gave it absolutely everything she had and then some, i left teh place in awe of her, one of my top musical moments

3 - shudder to think opening for smashing pumpkins. there were maybe a dozen people there that wanted to see shudder, the rest of the crowd heckled them through the entire set but they played their hearts out, almost in defiance of the negativity. nathan larson was amazing to watch, it was like he was beating his guitar and it was beating him at the same time, beautiful

4 - sleater kinney - i could have watched carrie brownstein play guitar all night, it was like she was channeling joe strummer

5 - X, sometime last year, i was aprehensive, they've been a favorite band of mine for years but i never saw them and wasn't sure what they'd be like now. midway throgh the set john doe was leaning into the crowd with the biggest smile on his face, it was like he was playing the show of his life, a man enjoying his work to that extent is always beautiful

6 - mr. bungle. an odd one, but mike patton was intense beyond words, midway through a song he launched himself backwards into the drum set knocking most of it over, the drummer was even surprised, a fucked up show

7 - mighty mighty bosstones. this was i think on the more noise tour, the floor was packed to the gills with people so about a dozen of us ended up off to the side amongst the tables by the merch table for an impromptu skanking section, lasted maybe two songs and we all drifted away but was cool

8 - any number of the Babes In Toyland shows i saw there, they were always one of my favorites, but one in the 7th street entry (small room off first ave) stands out (my first stage dive), and the reunion show where the bass player that they picked up just for the reunion tour that was a huge fan of them looked like she'd won the freaking sweepstakes by getting to play with them

9 - sick of it all, touring for scratch the surface. i've never seen a crowd so intense to see a band, when they hit the stage it was a riot scene almost instantly

10 - firehose - touring for flyin' the flannel. i was standing off to the side of the stage in front of the speaker stacks, mike watt comes out, saunters up to the mic and yells "BASS!" and launches into "down with the bass" and smacks his bass so hard i felt a burst of wind off the speakers

11 - last and the best, all with the toadies opening, the first show i brought my little brother to, he was maybe 16, midway through all's set i ran into him in the middle of the pit, the smile on his face, the joy of the experience was absolutely priceless, seeing someone experence live music for the first time, especially family is amazing

on top of all this is the people i met and interviewed there through a cable access show i did for awhile - all, face to face, babes in toyland, bullet lavolta, craig wedren from shudder to think, neville staples (!), the muffs, and many more i can't recall right now

i pray that place doesn't get razed for a banana republic or a parking garage, if there's any building in minneapolis that desreves historic preservation it's first avenue