THE VAULT

I remember the first punk rock show I ever went to. It was Goldfinger, it was at Bricks and I was 16. I'd only heard a few songs of theirs from a mixtape that my friend Trace had made for me. I didn't really go to shows before that because I didn't have a car and I was kind of on my own for finding music. The only older kids I knew had been way into bands like U2 and INXS.

Bricks was (and still is in a lot of ways) kind of a shit hole. Each time you saw a show there, the stage was in a different place. This was before it was Club Sound and had a roof over the stage or an upstairs, or a separate bar. It's fancy now compared to what it used to be. When I saw Goldfinger, the stage was merely a big concrete slab against the back wall and since it was summer, they could play outside and not worry about it raining. There was also nothing else down there - no Gateway Mall, no tattoo shops, clubs or apartments -  so they didn't have to worry about anyone complaining about the sound. They played with Voo Doo Glow Skulls and a couple of other ska bands that I don't remember because I don't like ska. Goldfinger was kind of a ska band, but mostly a punk band and that's what I was in to. It was a fun show and I enjoyed it a lot.

That started me on a path of going to as many shows as I possibly could and I was back at Bricks the very next weekend to see Lagwagon and No Use For A Name. In between bands, we went outside and sat around. It had rained that morning, so the stage was inside, basically in the middle of the room. Trace and I went outside to sit down and on the wall behind where the stage was the last week, Goldfinger's set list was still taped up. I thought it would be kind of cool to have, so I grabbed it and put it in my pocket.

After that, I decided that I should try to get the set list at every show I went to. A guy that I knew had a basement covered in set lists from bands like ICP (he tried to convince me they were amazing when they first came through, I didn't buy it), Ween and Marilyn Manson. I figured punk bands would be way easier to get than bigger bands, so I started doing it.

I couldn't get them all the time, but I managed to get quite a few. They hung on the wall of my bedroom for a long time before I took them down. I figured I'd thrown them out, but a few weeks ago I was looking for something for my friend Clark, I found them in a box in my closet. So naturally, I had to break them out, scan them and throw them up on the internet.

There are kind of a lot of them, but they're pretty cool to see. I put them after the break with a little bit on each one. It would have been way too long for the front page, but you should check them out.

Do it. Don't be shy.

AFI - This is from the show they played with Sick of it All and Hot Water Music back in 2001

AFI - They played with Rancid, but the sound equipment broke so they played a make-up show later that year.

Botch - They played the stage at Area 51. The show had to be over early enough to clear out for 80s dancing.

Boysetsfire - Basement of DV8. No idea what else.

Converge - They played at The Holy Cow (now Urban Lounge) in 2000.

Drowningman - Wagstaff Music. No one went.

Integrity - It was amazing.

No Innocent Victim - Ha ha ha.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - This was hard to get.

Sick of it All - From the aforementioned show.

Swingin' Utters - Went to this show all by myself because no one else liked them.

U.S. Bombs - Played Tower Theater with Agnostic Front and Dropkick Murphy's

Vision of Disorder - Played Bricks with I want to say Buried Alive and Skarhead.