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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)
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Black Flag plays SOB Arkansas Democrat: "Dancers take the floor at SOB restaurant Thursday night to slam dance to the music of Black Flag, a Los Angeles-based "hard-core" punk group. It was the first time a punk band has played in Little Rock since the punk movement began 10 years ago in England."  // Henry Rollins' account of his post-gig experience at SOB's appears in "Get in the Van." I don't own a copy and so can't double-check the details, but Tim Lamb's recollection seems accurate enough. Henry. Since the show occurred on Henry's birthday, Feb. 13, he probably appreciated the misdeed even less than he would have otherwise.
Along with the clipping that appears on the site, I *think* the Democrat also ran a preview piece the day of the show. I couldn't swear to it, but I may have loaned the reporter, Sheila Yount (whom I'd succeeded as the paper's Pulaski County Courthouse reporter the previous April), my copy of Black Flag's "Damaged" for research purposes. (I'd seen the band in 9/81 in Phoenix, during Henry's first tour with the band, and a couple of years after that in Tucson. All indications were that he'd neglected to get a haircut in the intervening years, the hippie.) And to Jack Hill's litany of bands that played SOB's I can add Tav Falco and Panther Burns, the Tail Gators, the Turbines, PJ and the Zen Terrorists ... I think the Kilkenny Cats and Fetchin' Bones were supposed to play there, too, but I didn't ... (More) // Apologies to "Russ" for the faded memory on the cuisine. We were busy circumventing his 21+ age restriction instead of eating. // The Shrimp and Oyster bar downtown can be credited, I think, with the first punk show in LR history, (though Wall of Voodoo had played a few months earlier at the hall near Barton Coliseum, but they were more "new wave.)" The show was Black Flag with Gone and Painted Willie in February of 1985. I remember being panicked because it was a week night and was at an over-21 bar. But, my parents let me go and the doorman, sensing they needed a good showing, let all the under-age punks inside. I went with Hank Pfiefer and it was memorable, not just to see Henry Rollins up close, but to see, for the first time, that there were others in LR interested into different music than classic or glam rock and country. It was a diverse crowd and I'm sure I remember many more people being there than in reality. I also remember reading about the show years later in one of Henry Rollins' published tour diaries where he laments about someone having stolen his t-shirt -- wasn't me!! // SOB's, located in the Old Train Station now on the grounds of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park, was an Italian restaurant with a stage that hosted local and touring bands. While better known as the venue for the Black Flag show (easily the biggest punk event to happen prior to Green Day at Vino's), the best show was a New Year's Eve concert that featured Doctors for Bob, a band strongly influenced by the Church of the Subgenius. The audience, consisting of hundreds of straight white-collar partygoers, was taken completely by surprise when the band let loose with such lyrics as "I told the judge to suck my ...." The drunken crowd quickly became violent, throwing pieces of fruit and vegetables from their dinners at the band, ultimately providing an experience much more punk rock than Black Flag could manage. Other noteworthy acts at SOB's included the Dead Milkmen and Mad Parade. // I assure you I have my facts straight! I spent many a night at the S.O.B. (which stood for Shrimp, Oysters and Beerhaus or Beer House). Russ Jefferson was the owner and I still hang around with him. We were with them Saturday night at Cajun's to see the last night of the Cate Brothers. He will howl to read that someone thought he ran an Italian restaurant in an old train station! Russ started on Asher Avenue with the S.O.B., then was convinced to move it to an old warehouse owned by the evil Melvyn Bell, who gradually squeezed Russ out. Then the place died...Others who played there: The Gunbunnies, Taj Mahal, True Believers, Nate Adderley, Roy Buchanan, The Band, Glass Eye, Albert Collins. You can ask other music fans who were there to fill in gaps: Dottie Oliver, Michael Keckhaver...  Trouble submitting your story? E-mail towncraft@matsonfilms.com Matson Films reserves the right to edit all responses. Please be courteous to your community. |
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Cajun's Wharf
Dan Bailey
Gun Bunnies
