The F-U (Fillmore Underground) opening night!

Contributors: Dianna Augustine, Sheila Walsh, Molly Shores, and images by Kevin McGee

When travelling to The Fillmore Underground, you are sure to maintain whatever height you arrive with, because the vibe is chill, and the AC is real. Even though the facade still has the “entrance” sign from the previous venue, we DGAF. What matters is that, just beyond the remnants of “do not cross” ribbon and barricades, locals can jam their way to touring acts and become a regional mainstay!

The historical lineup (and face it, this venue is historical for the area), consisted of The Reason You Stayed, Something Clever, and Fiftywatt Freight Train.

Deets on the space:

750 cap.
Bathrooms are behind the stage
There’s actually a photo pit!
Green rooms in progress
Outdoor deck planned
Interior renovation slated
Killer sound-system

As seen from Shutter 16:

They plan to expand with huge outdoor decks that wrap around the building and update the bar even more for a rock and roll feel. There is a grand old piano when you walk into the venue and the layout is really cool. It’s pretty wide open and with the amount of seating (there are actually huge leather couches for some VIP treatment in the venue itself.)

First introduction to the venue, virtual tour:

The stage itself wasn’t HUGE, but a band of five had enough space to have fun. The sound system from what I heard at soundcheck is (and I’m not exaggerating) is probably one of the best in town and as you can see from the lighting/shots that Kevin got the lighting was even better than maybe even The Fillmore itself!

I really, really, REALLY needed last night and I think honestly so did the local community. (Also, we snuck to the bar next door before it officially opened and met a cool cat named Fernando at Small Bar he should get a shout-out for being so awesome, he’s on the Snapchat.)

Our Snapchat story from the opening:

The bands:

Oh, Something Clever – very business-minded and have matured with with scene. The well oiled machine – gives good interview as well as stellar drawings. What can’t they do? They are currently putting together new material and hope to have an album to talk about soon. Also, they have some upcoming shows that you can hear about in the interview below.

The Reason you Stayed – They were my fave to interview. Hair for days, personality for years, talent for eternity. It was just a non-stop giggle fest.

Interview with The Reason You Stayed:

FWFT – Humble, sweet, and polished, they talk like butter — honestly it’s just easy to talk to them and get an idea what people like about them.

They even helped me up and down over this huge couch we had to jump to get to the VIP area. Many are familiar with the name, I strongly urge you to get familiar with their live show!

Interview with Fifty Watt Freight Train:

See what live interviews we streamed on Periscope during the opening!
Interview with Zane:

Interview with Oz:

Ran into Neil Jackson of Beyond the Fade:

Also, ran into Butterfly Corpse:

Tomorrow, Sheila and the Kevin will bring you a full show review of the night as well as a kick-ass gallery, which has been a little leaked on the Shutter 16 Facebook page!