The main focus of our "scene" was actually a tranny dive bar called the Blue Flamingo. The Austin Chronicle once dubbed it as the nastiest, swankiest establishment to ever qualify for a liquor license. It had an official capacity of 50 or so and there was no stage, just a band set in the middle of the audience. While there were other venues, the scene centered around the Blue Flamingo. the following is my photographice history of the 1990's Austin garage/ punk scene.
We all gathered to celebrate our distinct taste in music.
The outside on a typical night would look something like this.
Once you stepped inside we would be packed to the gills.
There were times in which a live performance resembled Sea World in that we had our own splash zone
Or you could join in at any time and be in the band
We had all sorts of bands such as...
Tallboy
Teen Cool
The Riverboat Gamblers
My college math professor's 3 piece outfit, The Inhalants
The biggest name was probably the Motards
The Phantom Creeps
My fave, the Dead End Cruisers
The Chumps
And many others, including this band, whose name escapes me, that had a 12 year old guitar player
Hell, we even had a few retards in the mix at the time
So while all these bands helped definemy late tens/ early 20's, I was stoked when I heard rumors of a reunion show. Sometime after Christmas I learned it was no rumor.
So for two nights I relived my glory years for an average of 6 dollars a night. Quality entertainment. Especially when I was able to see some bands I missed the first go round such as the almighty Fuckemos
And the Down Syndrome Army
Of course they tried to melt the old scene with the new so we all enjoyed the sounds of the current heavy weights of Austin the Lower Class Brats.
But to my delight the Motards and the Dead End Cruisers decided to play once again, almost giving me reason to pop a woody. While their bodies had aged the music was still better than ever.
Motards ended up as the headliners
But the Dead End Cruisers ruled the night with the tightest set ever.
So now the show is long over again, I catch myself digging in the back of the closet to the vinyl collection that represents my past. The records still sound just as good today as they ever did back then.
