What was your first Peoria punk rock show?
DAWSON: Mine was the Jesus Lizard, Sidekick Kato and Nora Hate at the downtown American Legion Hall (a show Jon put on, though we didn’t meet until years later). I had the flyer on my wall for years. It was the summer of 1995, between my 7th and 8th grade year. My buddy’s mom, our chaperone, sat in the back the whole show.
I remember nervously asking David Yow and Mac McNeilly to autograph my ticket stub. I’m sure they thought I was ridiculous (which I definitely was), but they were both very nice about it – and obliged a dorky and awkward 13-year-old. That show turned my world upside-down. All three bands were incredible, and it was the first time I really felt like maybe I might, someday, fit in somewhere. I knew I wasn’t cool, but boy was I hooked!
The Jesus Lizard plays Peoria, 1995
JON: I saw Dollface at a party in 1993, and I couldn’t believe they were from Peoria. They seemed like rock stars – and they played the part. I just remember thinking… they should be touring with Nirvana or something! Then I saw Three Boyfriends and Frozen At Sea at the Madison Theater not long after that. This was really my first local show. Three Boyfriends had their psychedelic army of guitarists, and Frozen At Sea was this beautiful, circus-like spectacle of incongruity.
Seeing other kids my own age up on the stage of that magnificent and historic venue was thrilling! Through the DIY punk scene, we were creating our own opportunities to build something new and different. Little did I know, I would be right in the thick of it just a few months later.
So… what was YOUR first Peoria punk show? Leave a comment below!