# What's the strangest venue you've ever seen for an established or up-and-coming act? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 18, 2026, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762 "2026-07-18T03:42:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/1 "2026-07-18T03:42:57Z")
From my own personal standpoint, it was a small college gym that AFAIK has never hosted a rock concert before or since, and it was Cheap Trick a couple years after they hit their prime. The only thing I remember about it is that the acoustics were nonexistent. There’s been a long-standing story from the Iowa City area about how Led Zeppelin performed at the Wheelhouse, a room in the student union that is basically a cafeteria with a stage, after they released their first album. I too was skeptical, but my brother, who lived in Kansas City for quite a while (although not at this time either; I was 5 and he was 2 years old in 1969) said that in KC, they performed at a 2,000 seat theater that was less than half full, and they were booed offstage. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/2 "2026-07-18T04:00:25Z")
I do not know if this is unique but seems so: > **[Chicagoans love dive bars; now there's a new play inside one](https://chicago.suntimes.com/theater/2026/07/16/dive-bar-play-dark-room-district-chicago-theater-fritzys-edgewater-summer-things-to-do-stages)** > > “Dive,” which unfolds at Fritzy’s Tavern in Edgewater, is a project of new theater group, the Dark Room District, and aims to capture the conversational magic of the watering hole. > “Dive” is a new play set in a Chicago dive bar. And not in a storefront theater flipped to mimic a bar, but it’s actually staged in Fritzy’s Tavern in Edgewater. If you live in Chicago and are interested it ends August 1 (I think). ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/3 "2026-07-18T04:32:36Z")
Lulu’s Roadhouse in Kitchener, Ontario was a converted K-Mart. Lots of seating, but not necessarily great views of the stage. > **[Lulu's Roadhouse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lulu's_Roadhouse)** > > Lulu's Roadhouse was a nightclub and live music venue in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada at 4263 King Street East. It was known as having the world's longest bar in the Guinness World Records book. The club was opened by Karl Magid in April 1984. The 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2) club that held 3,000 people frequently brought in musical acts, especially rock artists from the 50s to the 70s. The club changed owners in 1989 and went bankrupt in 1992 following a recession. It was revived under new Karl Magi... ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/4 "2026-07-18T04:48:50Z")
I’ve seen Circle Jerks play in a Santa Ana church, and Los Lobos and X perform on a golf course. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/5 "2026-07-18T05:53:40Z")
Greg Kihn on the steps of the gym at UC San Diego in the fall of '79. ISTR seeing the Greg Kihn Band three different times over the next couple of years, all for free. The last time was after they’d had their first hit, _The Breakup Song_, so 1981-ish. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/6 "2026-07-18T06:11:42Z")
I saw (actually only heard) Fugazi play at the Gamesa Food Products warehouse in Dallas. There were something like 6000 folks in it, and apparently the fire marshal said that was too many. So they had to wait for everyone to file out of the building, then they opened all of the bay doors and Fugazi played. Folks were diving off of Fugazi’s rented Ryder truck in the parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/7 "2026-07-18T06:45:50Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > Greg Kihn on the steps of the gym at UC San Diego in the fall of '79. ISTR seeing the Greg Kihn Band three different times over the next couple of years, all for free. The last time was after they’d had their first hit, _The Breakup Song_, so 1981-ish. I went to UCSD but didn’t start until 1982. I saw The Dickies play there. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/8 "2026-07-18T06:52:17Z")
The Berkeley Community Theater in Berkeley, California is a 3,500 seat auditorium. But it is also attached to Berkeley High School so it is also a public high school auditorium (though an extremely nice one - maybe the nicest one there is in the United States?). I saw The Smashing Pumpkins play there in the year 2000 (not quite at the height of their fame and powers but still a major major act). ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/9 "2026-07-18T07:01:35Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I went to UCSD but didn’t start until 1982. Cool! Didja know that Central (Geisel) Library is now actually kinda central? It was out in the sticks back in the day! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/10 "2026-07-18T07:17:33Z")
Nirvana played some gigs at my college in the late-'80s, including at least once in the dorms. I was attending, and living in the dorms at the time, but don’t think I ever saw them. I guess the strangest I did see was folk singer John Wesley Harding in Wellesley, Massachusetts. I like his music, and the concert was listed on his website, so I went. Didn’t realize until I got there that it was in the front room of a sorority house. They’d moved the furniture and everyone just sat on the floor. Ellis Paul was the opening act, and he’s gone on to some success in folk circles. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/11 "2026-07-18T11:43:40Z")
Back in the 90s, .38 Special played at a high school in a smallish town outside of Raleigh. My wife, my best friend, and I got tickets somewhere. We ranged in age from 35 to 42 and I do believe we were the oldest people there. The band played in the (rather old) gym and the bleachers were the seats. Festival seating. We got some awkward vibes from all the HS students there, almost like this was some kind of HS event and we crashed it. In fact, I was a little afraid that my buddy was going to get irritated to the point that the news would be reporting, “Local 35 year old man puts 16 year old boy in hospital.” .38 Special was past their prime at this point, but it was a good show and the sound was not bad at all. BTW, I’ve been a fan of Cheap Trick since I lived in Chicago when they got off the ground. They would play ANYWHERE…and they pretty much continued to do this for more than four decades. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/12 "2026-07-18T11:57:23Z")
About ten years ago, I saw Yo La Tengo in the Kulturkirche Nippes, Cologne, Germany. It’s an intact Lutheran church that doubles as concert venue. For the concert, the pews had been removed and it was a standing concert. They even had a bar that sold beer. It was an acoustic show, and at one point there was a trumpet solo. The trumpeter played it from the pulpit. > **[KulturKircheKöln - Home](https://www.kulturkirche-koeln.de/cont_2.lang_en.home.php)** > > Kulturkirche Köln - die andere Seite der evangelischen Kirche in Köln-Nippes. Die Lutherkirche als kultureller Veranstaltungsort, der Konzerten, Events, Lesungen, Theater, Film und Kunst einen neuen Rahmen gibt. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/13 "2026-07-18T12:10:24Z")
Everything But The Girl on a wharf at the Charlestown Navy Yard (home of Old Ironsides). The Sun Ra Arkestra in the lobby of the Corcoran Museum of Art in Washington, D.C. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/14 "2026-07-18T12:42:35Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > Cool! Didja know that Central (Geisel) Library is now actually kinda central? It was out in the sticks back in the day! Yep! It was nothing but a constant construction zone during my years. We were the first group of Freshman to be younger than the school. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/15 "2026-07-18T13:02:46Z")
In NYC you can sometimes see fairly well known acts performing in small venues. I’ve seen Dick Dale a few times in places like that, and he was loud enough to make your ears bleed. I’ve also had the experience of seeing Junior Brown (who I consider a big act) in a big 10,000 seat theater, and then once at a Native American casino in a room that couldn’t have held more than 200 people. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/16 "2026-07-18T13:14:53Z")
The Toledo Zoo has an amphitheater. I saw The Tragically Hip play there. Just before they started playing, Gord Downie yelled out “WE’RE GOING TO WAKE UP SOME ANIMALS TONIGHT!”. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/17 "2026-07-18T13:20:40Z")
We saw John Oates play at Homestead High School in Mequon in February in 2017. Not sure if I’d call it exactly strange. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/18 "2026-07-18T13:32:31Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > In NYC you can sometimes see fairly well known acts performing in small venues. I’ve seen Dick Dale a few times in places like that, and he was loud enough to make your ears bleed. I saw Dick Dale about a half dozen times and always in small clubs with one exception. He played a concert in the quad of the junior college I attended and the sound just didn’t sound right at all. On the other hand, my parents met at the Rendezvous Ballroom where Dick Dale rose to fame. The dance floor there was 12,000 square feet and had a capacity of nearly 4,000. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/19 "2026-07-18T13:37:06Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > From my own personal standpoint, it was a small college gym that AFAIK has never hosted a rock concert before or since, and it was Cheap Trick a couple years after they hit their prime. Bruce Springsteen performed in the gym at our small college in the fall of 1975 at the peak of his initial breakout, shortly after _Born To Run_ was released and he had made the covers of Time and Newsweek. It was a tour date arranged much earlier or we never would have gotten to see him and the band. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762/20 "2026-07-18T13:38:22Z")
I saw The Tragically Hip’s legendary Fort Henry concert. They were a huge act at the time. Yes, literally a fort. It’s a big 19th century fortress sitting atop a hill in Kingston, Ontario, built during the War of 1812, and it did see combat, though the current structure is almost entiurely post-war upgrades. (Locally it’s often called “Old Fort Henry,” but there isn’t a new Fort Henry.) It has been a national park and tourist destination since long before I was born. So in summer 1991 the Hip played a concert there, along with another huge Canadian band, Blue Rodeo, all MC’d by Dan Ackroyd. The Hip were fast becoming Canada’s national band at the time. It was the weirdest venue, with the stage built right on the parade square. It was, I’m gonna tell you straight up, the best concert I’ve ever been to; both the Hip and Blue Rodeo were absolutely at the top of their game. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-strangest-venue-youve-ever-seen-for-an-established-or-up-and-coming-act/1031762.md?page=2)