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5 Points Music Hall is coming back.

06/25/2009 by Chris Mitchell
Music News locals site info

5points 269x300 5 Points Music Hall is coming back. Several local news stations reported on 5 Points Music Hall’s return. Here’s the take of 3 BHAM.FM staffers and their bygone memories of the original venue.

CHRIS: I have to be happy about another venue for live music in town, but seeing that article’s mention of the Black Crowes reminds me not to get too excited. Still, 5 Points is kind of special to old people like myself. I dug through my woefully incomplete ticket stub envelope and came up with these- but there were many others. I remember seeing the Ramones there (which according to this was their last show that they actually headlined. WOW!!!), They Might Be Giants. Cake. Reverend Horton Heat more times than I can count.

It was never a perfect venue but back then, before your Workplays and Bottletrees it was damn near the only game in town for a band that was bigger than Zydeco or the Nick could hold.

Whitney tweeted about this earlier and got some great responses. Check them out here. And if you are so done with the tweeting, leave us an old fashioned comment below on the good and bad memories.

ADAM: There are three very different shows that stand out when I think about the original 5 Points Music Hall; I think the timing, order, and diversity of them probably best represent my early growth into the local music scene.

My foray into the 5 Points Music Hall basically coincides with my young foray into the local music scene in general, meaning that I was going to a lot of alternative Christian shows at places like Slacker 66 and The Crush at Roebuck Vineyard. At this time, I was into the heavy hitters in the Christian metal and hardcore scene: Living Sacrifice, Spitfire, Zao, Training for Utopia, Strongarm, No Innocent Victim, and P.O.D. I managed to get V.I.P. treatment for the P.O.D. show at 5 Points on what was my first time seeing the band live; they had just released a new album and invited five fans to hang out on the bus with them before the show and watch the premiere of their video for “Southtown”. While I don’t listen to P.O.D. anymore, this was definitely a formative experience for me: even though P.O.D. had not quite “made it” yet, I still felt really special getting on that big tour bus and just hanging out with the band. It helped that they were all really cool and down to earth, so the initial intimidation of meeting the band face to face went away very quickly. Who knew that a year later, I would be in a band that would open for them?

The next 5 Points show that jumps out at me is Ben Folds. This was a few years later, during my first year of college. The venue was a lot more packed than I expected for his solo outfit; I assumed everyone was there hoping for all the Ben Folds Five favorites to be played. Well, the crowd got their wish (kind of): halfway through the set, Ben began the somber intro to “Brick”, but then suddenly turned it into a funk/rap version that you couldn’t help but laugh at, never mind the lyric content. I can’t remember the exact order the songs were played in now, but I know he waited a long time to play “Rockin’ the Suburbs”, which pissed a lot of the crowd off. I think that was when I started avoiding shows at 5 Points, not because of the bands, but because of the people. Few things in life incur my wrath like unfaithful “fans”. Like all the people who criticized Nirvana’s Unplugged in New York album for being a watered down covers set.

Finally, the 5 Points show that best represents my evolution into local independent music was the all-locals showcase. Haste managed to get a lot of crossover attention as a heavy band whose roots were in the underground scene but could get airplay and mainstream exposure all while staying classy, and so they were a natural choice to headline this show. Looking back, I actually never saw Haste play a bad show, but I think this one may have been the best I had seen. However, Haste is not the reason I’m writing about this show; they may have been the main event, but the show was stolen by a pop-punk quartet with a middle-school joke name. That’s right: Pen-15 was my highlight for that evening. I have to admit that I’m not usually one for their style of music, but there was something really honest and down-to-earth about it all. Maybe it was the self-deprecation, or the Nintendo-themed songs (lyric sample: “I don’t know how to beat Bionic Commando, but I know you love the Power Glove!”), but overall I really felt like they deserved to play the big stage that night and get the recognition of a 5 Points size crowd where they had been used to lackluster Boiler Room attendance. You may not remember that a band called Pen-15 played if you were there, because that night, they officially announced that from that point on, they would be known as Death or El Dona.

PHIL: Wowzers. I go out of town for one night and, all of the sudden, Birmingham goes crazy. A new venue that is actually an old venue just materialized out of thin air!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…I’m an old fart. I remember the big announcement of the original 5 Points Music Hall. I first heard it when it went out over the airwaves during the Sunday night 94.5 alternative music show. Sure, chuckle if you will, but the show was actually decent for a while there. If I remember correctly, the first big show they announced was the Ramones. I had missed the Ramones at Sloss Furnace back in my high school days, so I was absolutely drooling to pogo and sing while the fossils banged out their three chord classics in Birmingham. I wasn’t disappointed.

Another huge show for me at the 5 Points Music Hall was Slayer. During that time, Slayer would do a week of club dates to warm up for bigger tours. I don’t know how they ended up playing 5 Points, and I’m still amazed it happened. Especially considering they were playing to huge crowds at the International Ballroom and the Tabernacle in Atlanta. I can’t tell you how big the crowd was in Birmingham because I was hugging the barrier and screaming my head off the whole time. Oh yeah, and I caught one of Paul Bostaph’s drum sticks.

I could sit here for at least two hours and type up memories from all the great shows I saw at the club over the years. But, I’m a busy man, so I’ll throw a list at you instead. Some of my favorites were: Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Soul Brains w/ Candiria and Haste, Deftones, Reverend Horton Heat, the 90s version of the Misfits w/ H20, Rocket from the Crypt, Butthole Surfers w/ Cibo Mato, The Cramps, Morphine, Danzig, Rollins Band, Down and Hatebreed w/ Converge.

Obviously the success of the 5 Points Music Hall version two will depend on the shows they book. Here’s hoping the new owners think outside the box and bring a wide array of interesting established and new artists. Selfishly, I will point out that Motorhead is currently booking a tour Rev. Horton Heat and Nashville Pussy opening up. This show would be an absolute success in Birmingham…I’m just saying.

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  • Tyler
    Met my wife of 13 years there on the awful, awful Disco Thursday nights. Saw some incredible bands before they blew up...Creed for $1.07 (before everyone decided to loathe them), Korn, Slipknow, Static X, Coal Chamber, Orgy, Dope, Limp Bizkit (again, before everyone decided they too sucked) w/ Incubus opening!!! Toadies....I could go on and on. If they could bring those type of acts back, it would certainly be something.

    -Tyler
  • i didn't take musicology 101. that sounds like some white academia bullshit. haha! who were you talking to, mg? come on, though, isn't it a little simplistic to say that the genre was the creation of white intellectuals. even the term itself was used in unrecorded, uncopyrighted songs by the early 1900's (and surely before) by black AND white musicians. maybe you were agreeing with me? or just attacking jake's use of the word "authentic" in reference to black crowes? which, if that's the case, the word must have some meaning for you. do tell.

    a discussion about any genre has to be lengthier than 2 sentences. and saying that any particular group of people created any genre (whether it was an act of appropriation or not) is similar to saying, i don't know, WILLIAM PAINTER invented the novel. it wasn't like early practitioners weren't aware of musical categories, whether they used the term genre, category, or were simply aware of specific locations and the KINDS of sounds coming out of those places. the creation your talking about is more accurately termed reification.

    anyway, i don't really have use for the term "authentic" except as a value judgment, like saying something is really FUCKING AWESOME--the REAL DEAL!!!! it's a cliche, which is why it's sometimes difficult to know what someone means when he uses it. people usually don't mean anything at all. so i was wondering what jake meant, or thought he meant.

    whatever. blues, black culture, white capitalism, academia, cultural ISA's, western colonialism, différance blah blah blah, yahtzee.

    chris, i was only teasing, hence my self-depricating armchair psychology reference. i'm sure you like lots of shitty music. it'd be a big mistake to take anything i ever say on this site personally or seriously. most of my comments don't even make that much sense to me.
  • One of the Reverend Horton Heat shows was awesome to me because it had Hank III and Gas Giants opening. Gas Giants was an odd add-on because the front man was Robin from Gin Blossoms. I was personally thrilled because I was (still am) in love with Gin Blossoms. I had the best time!

    My favorite shows there were always the Cowboy Mouth shows. Front and center, sweaty and screaming...it was like audio therapy.
  • Whoa now. How I arrive at my hipster cred might be an amusing parlor game but is kind of foolish to me. I do not claim to have any.

    First of all, I posted my ticket to a Drivin' and Cryin' concert (which my wife immediately mocked me for). There is nothing redeemingly hip about Drivin' n Cryin'. I also saw 311 at 5 points music hall.

    2ndly, thinking the Black Crowes kinda suck does not indicate I am a hipster.
    The Black Crowes, as far as I know, produced one decent album in the early to mid nineties and have since repeated that sound until today.
    That is my impression of them. I could be wrong, but will probably never take the time to find out unless I am really, really bored.


    I just don't want the list of bands to be "like the black crowes". That's not a good prospect. I want them to not be afraid to go after bands that are actually making interesting music...in this decade.
  • mg
    there's nothing authentic about white academia "discovering" poor, predominately african-american artists and deeming their sound "blues." blues, as a genre, is a creation of intellectuals not musicians. this is musicology 101 shit.

    as for authenticity, i figure the black crowes would scoff (or at least laugh) at the idea that their music is somehow authentic. they're just glad they play competent blues-based rock, and would like to thank the rolling stones for listening to early american "blues" artists. or were they "folk" artists? were they even "artists" at all?
  • there's nothing wrong with the crowes, jake. adam admitted to attending contemporary christian alternative shows in his post--proof that not everyone lets 'what's hip' cause him shame. hey, my first concert was van halen. it wasn't even cool van halen. i saw van HAGAR.

    personally, i tend to trust people's tastes more when they dislike what's hip. yet there's that new trend, which is to talk up what's popular--like top 40 popular--to show that "this hipster can appreciate the pop artifact and the artist's [his/her] influence on the culture." like, on society, man. if we lived in the 60's, MAILER's philosophy of hip would require me to say something right here like: "you dig, jake-man."

    black crowes are an easy target. still, authentic blues? yeah, that's a question. "authentic." authentic blues? what is authentic? what does that mean. it's not that i disapprove of the term, but i think that people don't think it through before they use it when it comes to music, especially BLUES. you'd be amazed at the influence of record companies and marketing when it comes to even early blues musicians.

    the delta is not as "authentic" as we assume, nor is the hill country. though that's not to say the music isn't INCREDIBLE. it's just time to set the record straight: "authentic" is usually a much more subjective value judgment than users of the term realize. "authentic" usually mean something like, "this is what I (I, I, I, I) always felt the blues sounded like." or else it's just something you read in a review. it's like people calling lyrics "poetic." most people, even most music lovers, don't really read poetry. it's just that someone's lyrics remind some people of what they imagine poetry to be.

    but still, it's a question. authentic? what do you mean by it? because i believe your usage is subjective, and not 'subjective' in that intro-to-philosophy-and-oh-yeah-i-was-an-english-major sense where we think "all language is so subjective, man." because, yeah, gotcha, let's move on and have a conversation, mr.-don't-act-like-you-don't-use-language-as-if-each-word-you-use-on-a-day-to-day-basis-doesn't-have-some-shared-meaning-that-helps-you-get-by. not that i think you're that person.

    anyway, chris acts like the black crowes suck because it helps him justify his own music tastes through a process called self-differentiation. in other words, he sees himself as more of an individual if he can adopt "indie" tastes and disregard acts that have had mainstream success (yeah, this is arm chair shit, and i don't even know him). but still, the term indie is so marketable right now, and people buy it, literally. it's indie rock, like beyond mainstream. haHA.

    it's the same way record companies used the term "alternative" to make teens and 20-somethings in the nineties feel that they were breaking away from the corporate american mold. all it took was corporate america selling the right term. hence, chris doesn't like black crowes. it probably has little to do with the music. he's probably never listened to an album all the way through. certainly, he's never tried to like the black crowes as much as the hipster tries to like john cage. (but it's cool to like john cage, so we have to try.)

    the best concert i ever saw at 5-points music hall was MEDESKI MARTIN AND WOOD--hands down. And i saw many, many concerts there. someone will and has written MMW off as a jamband. a) you're an idiot, someone. b) really, for reasons i won't go into, you're an idiot. c) and dumb, someone.

    and, jake, i like black crowes, too.
  • wtf is wrong with the Crowes, exactly? They're a solid, legit roots-rock band playing authentic blues-based rock and roll. not exactly the flavor of the week, but they'll draw huge crowds and play great music. there are worse things.
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