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entertaining u newspaper: your weekly guide to entertainment
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by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
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Read this like a gossip column. That means not to think of this report as having any journalistic credibility. You see, by saying that up front, I have the liberty to be wrong, and almost anything having to do with Jacksonville’s underground, is prone to mis-information.
I have yet to write about a local band, landmark, or event and not heard some sort of complaint about inaccuracies in the report, but the truth is that the “underground” doesn’t put out press releases. For instance, I first heard about a new venue in Springfield called Ouroboros from local punk rockers Dylan Louvier and Josh Dunn. Dylan and Josh both played in Animal Fight when they first told me that there was a new place taking over the DIY shows, since The Pit was being converted into a recording studio.
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When I ran into Dylan at the Shanty Town Pub he told me about the Black Tusk show. So I told EU to send me to the show and I would do a piece on this Ouroboros place. I know, the name, it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Let me give you a little back story.
Ouroborus is the name of the ancient symbol of the snake eating itself. There are many incarnations of this in different cultures and usually represents the cyclical nature of the human experience. Wikipedia has an interesting description as well as a story by Plato that accompanies it.
So from this heady concept came a little storefront shop in Springfield that has been hosting underground rock and punk shows for the last couple of months. Similar to The Pit, word got around quickly, and those kids lucky enough to be in the thick of this new movement have been enjoying some of the best live shows from practically unknown traveling bands and a few homegrown bands as well. There really is an exciting vibe to a show that is just thrown into the corner of a room filling the place with sweat as random clusters of punks hover around their individual collections of beer. It makes everything feel secret, vital, and new.
So back to my story, I was on my way to Ouroboros to see the Black Tusk show when I was suddenly arrested. Suffice to say, I missed the show and my life took on a whole new drama that consumed me. When I finally got myself a bus pass and a cigarette, I decided I still wanted to go to this new venue and feel like I’m on the cutting edge again.
No sooner had I thought it then I received a telephone message from Ray of Stevie Stiletto announcing a show titled Punk A Doodle Doo. The show was to take place at Ouroboros and it was to be a benefit concert to raise money for a skate ramp.
Here it was, my big chance. Ouroborus wasn’t one of those places you could just find and check out on any old day of the week, you had to be on the up and up about when the shows were. But for this event there were eight bands slotted to play and there was a barbecue planned as well. The lineup was to be Stevie Stiletto, DANG!, Narcotic Nation, Ninetenths, Grabbag, Poncho Villa and the Banditos, Never Alone, and Band-Aids. Three of these bands I’ve heard before, but the rest are new. Cutting edge.
But then Ouroboros closed down due to noise complaints. Furious I frantically called to find out who had done such a thing. Who would shut down a new and exciting scene right when it was starting to happen, and by starting to happen, I mean I was about to write about it. So I talked to some of my sources and tracked down the name of the guy that leases the place. All he said was that Ouroborus would be back as soon as they did some soundproofing.
Meanwhile, Grabbag put a bulletin on Myspace that explained Stevie Stiletto was dropping off of the bill and the show was moved to the Kountry Tavern at 7636 North Main Street. DANG! Also dropped off of the bill, but Grabbag insists that they will be there beering and barbecuing. Still wrought with new punk bands, the show will go on and I imagine proceeds will still benefit the building of the skate ramp, but like I said, don’t hold me to any of this. It’s all rumors and conjecture.
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