Most of you are already aware, but if not, today is the last day that the original Red River location of Emo’s will be open. While there is the shiny new Emo’s open on Riverside, it’s just not the same, and never will be. The end of an era, that brings many of us a bit of sadness.

When I first heard of the pending closure, I didn’t really think about it much. Maybe it was my built in defense mechanism developed from mourning the loss of another landmark venue in which I spent countless hours in musical bliss, Liberty Lunch. Just a couple of weeks ago, while driving down 6th street, it began to settle in how much I really am going to miss this dirty piss hole of a music venue. The shitty sound system, the rude staff, the smelly urine trough, the uneven floor, all to be missed immensely.  While I’ve had plenty of opportunity to say goodbye in person, I decided not to attend any of the final shows, opting for holding on to the years and years of memories that I share with many of you reading this.

Let me give you a brief history of my relationship with Emo’s. Before there was an Emo’s Austin, yes I was roaming downtown Austin before it existed, we experienced our music in a few venues around town. You could catch any number of local bands at The Black Cat and drink $1 Pabst and eat free hotdogs from the hotdog buffet. Sounds awesome and awful at the same time. Of course many of the touring acts of substance played Liberty Lunch, The Back Room, and City Coliseum. The Jelly Club and Jar Bar offered smaller touring acts a stage, and you could find Gibby Haynes, in special form, there on many nights asking you to buy him a drink whether you knew him or not. All great venues in their own right, but then Emo’s opened it’s doors and it felt like something really cool was happening there. The fact that it was free to get in was a bonus, and there was music, and everyone seemed to be going there. It was the place to go and as the years went by and new venues opened, Emo’s always maintained that “something” that has made it one of Austin’s legendary venues.

I’ve spent some time trying to conjure up as many special memories that I could, and to be quite honest, over 19 years of beer drinking, live music, sweating, moshing, and sharing moments with friends, the memories are blurred. A few stand out, and as I cannot contest to their accuracy, these are the details that stick in my head.

David Yow’s Parents: Jesus Lizard shows were legendary back in the day, and I’m pretty sure that I saw more than 1 at Emos, but this one in particular stands out. It was difficult to not notice the older couple in the crowd as we waited for Jesus Lizard to hit the stage. Striking up a conversation with this couple, I come to learn that they were David Yow’s parents. And if I remember correctly, this was to be the first time that they had attended any of his shows. Now I can’t imagine being Yow’s parents, but it might make sense that you would avoid witnessing your son’s performance on stage which often involved nudity. Yow put on his usual performance as his parents looked on, as the crowd surged and fed off of the intense, spastic, psychotic energy of Yow and the Jesus Lizard.

Britt Daniel Predicts The Future: My sister was High School classmates with Britt back in our small town of Temple, Tx and we both have followed his career since the days of Skellington (man I wish I still had those cassettes). Being fairly pregnant with her first child, my sister was looking for any opportunity to see Spoon before the live changing baby event was to happen. A SXSW day party at Emos provided that opportunity. While conversing with Daniel, I inquired as to who the band was playing on the stage at the time. “Death Cab for Cutie” mentioned. He went on to say that they were really good and were probably going to be pretty big. Guess he was right.

Pissing: Back when Emo’s first opened it became quite the place to hang out. So much so, that on any given weekend night the place would be completely packed. I ran with a pretty rowdy crowd, many whom have gone on to become adults that are stretch away from the people that I would have believed them to grow to be. So, one night we are in Emo’s standing at the bar, you know that spot where the pole is inside bar, and it’s packed. The line for the bathroom is ridiculous. My friend needs to piss. Not wanting to wait in line, and fearing he would lose his spot at the bar…enough said.

James Iha: After an incredibly memorable performance by the Smashing Pumpkins at the long gone South Park Meadows venue, on their Siamese Dream tour, we ended up at Emo’s. Why we thought going to Emo’s after an intense evening of moshing, fungi consumption, many beers, and some streaking through the exiting traffic at the venue, was a good idea, I’m not sure. As I’m standing at the bar, not far from that pole, I notice that Smashing Pumpkin guitarist James Iha is standing next to me. I turn to Iha to let me know how much I enjoyed the show and he shakes my hand. Granted, I’m a pretty small guy, but I couldn’t help notice how tiny his hand was when I shook it, and proceeded to ask him “how do you rock so hard with such small hands”..I didn’t receive an answer.

Craig Finn: I’ve never really been a fan of The Hold Steady, but I continued to give them the opportunity to win me over, as many of my friends absolutely love the band. It was a hot sweaty night on the outside stage at Emo’s and thanks to the opening act Illinois, I was able to watch the band perform from the side of the stage. Needless to say I gained a small bit of respect for the band as I watched them work the sold-out crowd into a frenzy. One of those friends who was a die-hard fan was at the show, and the opportunity for him to meet Finn arose. As my friend proceeded to tell Finn how much he appreciated the music, and what a fan he had been for years, Finn, focused on Blackberry, informed him that he needed to leave and he didn’t have time to talk to him. A simple “thanks” would have sufficed. Recently gained respect…out the door and in the crapper.

I could bore you with more stories and shows that stick out in my mind, but this is lengthy enough. Emo’s Red River will be missed. The pre-blog years and the blog years when photographer Valerie Fremin was thrown to the wolves to get the photos for this site, and did so in great fashion. Crappy lighting, rude crowds, boiling temperatures, she got in there and did it..and it was fun.

I put together a few photos from those years that represents what Emos was to me…

This entry was posted on Friday, December 30th, 2011 at 2:25 pm and is filed under live photos, not quite forgotten, recommended.