A
ROS.
311 E. 11th Street, Eugene
Corner of 11th and High
Comingj
Join us on
Friday, April 23rd and
Saturday, April 24th
at our new location!
All Drinks Am
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ALLDAYI
Castle Megastore &
I C T B E 8
are proud to present Adult Superstar...
Friday, April 23rd:
5pm to 9pm
Springfield
3270 Gateway St
541-988-9226
SPRINGFIELD STORE HOURS:'!]
Sunday thru Wednesday 8am - 2amjMf
Thursday thru Saturday Open 24 Hours
SPRINGFIELD - 3270 GATEWAY ST - 541.988.9226
For a good time,
go underground
After turning
21, it's easy to
forget there's a
world outside
the bar. It hap
pened to me
and I've seen it
happen to
many others.
Once you reach
that golden age,
you forget
aDout me iriaay ana Saturday nignts
spent wandering that party gold
mine of Harris Street to Pearl Street.
Instead of house parties, now it's
swapping stories with the other geri
atrics about the time you almost got a
MlP violation over Pabst Blue Ribbon
and a bowl of peanuts. I usually talk
about the time when a police officer
caught me trying (unsuccessfully) to
squeeze through the backyard fence
of a party being busted as I tried to
make a getaway into the neighbor's
yard. 1 believe the officer's exact words
were "I wouldn't do that if I was you."
After turning 21,1 was so thrilled to
be able to see music at bars that I neg
lected all the great performances you
don't need to be of legal age to see. I
forgot about the basement shows.
The first of these literally under
ground shows I ever went to in Eu
gene was at a place called The Animal
Farm. It was a CD release party for a
split between two local bands. The
downstairs was decorated with Christ
mas lights (they all invariably are),
and the walls were insulated with
dumpster-diving finds — old blan
kets, mattresses and egg carton foam.
People watched the bands play while
sitting cross-legged on the floor or
leaning against the back wall.
It was a simple idea, but it blew
my mind. Before that, I had never
considered the possibility of music
existing completely outside the cor
porate sphere. From the bands that
wrote and played the music, to the
people who released the music on
their label, to the venue operators
who provided a space for all this to
transpire, this basement show was a
community effort.
Without going into some trite
speech about how lame corporations
can be, I want to express how great it is
Helen Schumacher
Notes from the underground
not having
someone per
suading you to
buy $25 T-shirts
and $4 bottles
of water. These
venues operate
on trust, so
there's no need
for security
guards to stand
around and ha
rass you. lhe bands aren t always great,
but they are always enthusiastic.
Besides The Animal Farm, other
basement venues that once infiltrated
the Eugene underground between
2001 and 2003 were The Alamo, The
Spot and My House. The Alamo was
less strict on its alcohol policies than
other places and usually hosted punk
or indie bands. The Spot was a frater
nity converted to a co-op where rock
bands played.
The most ambitious venue with
the widest variety of events was prob
ably My I louse. During its run, the
venue hosted several film screenings,
art shows and lectures, including
David Rees, whose comic strip "Get
Your War On" is now syndicated in
"Rolling Stone." Musical acts includ
ed The loggers, The Thermals, All
Girl Summer Fun Band, Liarbird and
The Intima, as well as a plethora of
local bands.
Current all-ages, do-it-yourself
venues include The Spoke, at 290
Polk St., which is continuing in the
tradition of My I louse, and Le Sous
sol, located at 375 River Rd., which
usually puts on punk and hard-core
shows. The Campbell Club and Lo
rax Manor, found next to each other
at 1670 Alder St. and 1648 Alder St.,
also have been pretty reliable sources
for live music.
They're dark and dirty, and the
acoustics are nothing to brag about,
but basement venues offer the most
intimate format for seeing live mu
sic. They epitomize the resourceful
D.I.Y. spirit and are genuine expres
sions of creativity.
Contact the Pulse columnist
at helenschumacher@dailyemerald.com.
Her opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
2
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