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Adam Ritchie and his band inside the DMZSteve Schmidt and Link Smith skating in DMZ parking lotSteve Schmidt, somewhere between the heights and downtownGrove Circle Punx - Andy Conrad, Utrillo, Bryan Spinas, Matthew Thompson, Jason White, Josh Bentley (92) added story to
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Riverfest Amphitheatre built Originally designed and built in 1987, this seven and one half acre site would see a rebirth in 1994 when planning began for its expansion into a 1,375 reserved seat and 9,125 lawn seat entertainment venue.
The Amphitheatre is part of the historic Julius Breckling Riverfront Park. In 1722, the French explorer Bernard de la Harpe found two distinct rock formations on the south bank of the Arkansas River, naming the smaller La Petite Roche. One thing about the Summer of 1992 if I recall correctly, and keep in mind that this is nearly half my life ago, is that shows were being put on at the Riverfest Ampitheatre in response to the regular venue [Vino's] charging minors a larger cover fee at the door to attend shows than patrons who were of legal drinking age. That may have been just rumor, but I remember it being mentioned more than once by a number of people. Regardless of the reason, throwing free shows for donations reveals how the "scene" matured into a "community" as far as self-determination goes... the distinctions and hierarchies evaporated somewhat between someone who was in a band, someone who had a fanzine, someone who took photos, someone who baked cookies to sell... it became just a large group of friends focusing their energies toward a common goal, which was releasing the record that represented "us" at the time. But in retrospect I can't help but think that the record was a by-product of what was really accomplished, which was the galvanizing of a small community of people who cared a great deal about what they had fostered with one another.
// I wasn't ... (More) My father's construction company built the amphitheatre. It was a big deal for them at the time. I know he doesn't, and I doubt that all that many people in LR do, know that it was a major hub of the underground music scene in the early 90s and was filled with crusty, obnoxious punk rockers a couple nights a week. They should all be glad though. This huge structure, which must have cost several million dollars, is horribly underutilized by the city. There’s maybe 4 or 5 events there over any given year.
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