Putting thoughts to paper
about my memories of Mohawk Place and how much it meant to me came kind of easy…
The old Mohawk stage was a home away from home for a lot of us degenerates that thought being in a band would be cool and fun. What I didn't know at the time was that I would eventually make lifelong friends with others who felt the same way I did. In the process of those lifelong friendship, bands were formed, disbanded, and then new bands were made. But the constant was that we always wanted to play at Mohawk because the bar treated the local bands very, very kindly.
I started playing in bands and going to Mohawk around 1995 / 1996 – I don't specifically re-call the actual time frame, but I do know that I was in my early to mid 20's. My friends and I started booking shows on the small stage around 1999/2000 – bringing in bands that packed the small stage and bar area in like a can of sardines. I have one memory of standing on the bar to watch Ranier Maria on an extremely hot night and it happened to be a overly packed show. I remember having a smile on my face, beer in hand, and the best view of the stage.
One of the shows that I booked happened to be on the day after 9/11 happened. The Dismemberment Plan were scheduled to play Mohawk on 9/12. I was on the phone with them on the morning of 9/12 telling them I understood if they thought coming up to Buffalo would be a bad idea. In the end, they agreed to make the trek up from D.C. for the show that night. We weren't sure what kind of turnout we would have, but all of us involved were determined to put on a show that would take our minds off of what was happening all around us. I think we succeeded as the bar was filled, and the Dismemberment Plan were cramped on that small stage and played one of the best shows that I have ever seen. I think everyone in attendance would agree, that they needed something to take their mind off of the previous day, and for a few hours that night, that was accomplished.
Then there was the inception of the backroom and the big stage and my comment to Pete, that if he needed anyone to help with sound, that I would be willing to lend a hand. As I typed that, I realize it has been 10 interesting years of the big stage shows. A lot of them were very memorable shows, some of those shows even changed my musical taste around a bit, and a few of those shows, were very cringe worthy. Chalk it up to occupational hazard.
With that arrival of the big clean up and addition of the back stage, this meant there was a possibility that the local bands had a chance to open up for some of our favorite national acts coming through that were on the verge of breaking out to bigger venues. We could say that “we opened up for so and so” before they started playing to thousands of people. Some of us even made very good friends with these bands. I can honestly say that I had the privilege to share a stage with the likes of Rainer Maria, Ted Leo, The Jealous Sound, Sin Ropas, The Dismemberment Plan, and Mike Watt amongst others. I could also add that it was an honor to share the Mohawk stage(s) with some pretty awesome local bands as well – The Exit Strategy, Roger Bryan and the Orphans, Blue Bullet Skater, The Dollar Canon, Maceo Ruez, The Rabies, The Failures Union, Dai Atlas, The Old Sweethearts, Johnny Nobody, etc... you get the point - that list is very long.
I really wished I kept a journal of sorts – so I could look back on it and remember more of the shows and stories from the last 15 plus years – but this will have to do:
Some of my favorite shows to witness:
The old Mohawk stage was a home away from home for a lot of us degenerates that thought being in a band would be cool and fun. What I didn't know at the time was that I would eventually make lifelong friends with others who felt the same way I did. In the process of those lifelong friendship, bands were formed, disbanded, and then new bands were made. But the constant was that we always wanted to play at Mohawk because the bar treated the local bands very, very kindly.
I started playing in bands and going to Mohawk around 1995 / 1996 – I don't specifically re-call the actual time frame, but I do know that I was in my early to mid 20's. My friends and I started booking shows on the small stage around 1999/2000 – bringing in bands that packed the small stage and bar area in like a can of sardines. I have one memory of standing on the bar to watch Ranier Maria on an extremely hot night and it happened to be a overly packed show. I remember having a smile on my face, beer in hand, and the best view of the stage.
One of the shows that I booked happened to be on the day after 9/11 happened. The Dismemberment Plan were scheduled to play Mohawk on 9/12. I was on the phone with them on the morning of 9/12 telling them I understood if they thought coming up to Buffalo would be a bad idea. In the end, they agreed to make the trek up from D.C. for the show that night. We weren't sure what kind of turnout we would have, but all of us involved were determined to put on a show that would take our minds off of what was happening all around us. I think we succeeded as the bar was filled, and the Dismemberment Plan were cramped on that small stage and played one of the best shows that I have ever seen. I think everyone in attendance would agree, that they needed something to take their mind off of the previous day, and for a few hours that night, that was accomplished.
Then there was the inception of the backroom and the big stage and my comment to Pete, that if he needed anyone to help with sound, that I would be willing to lend a hand. As I typed that, I realize it has been 10 interesting years of the big stage shows. A lot of them were very memorable shows, some of those shows even changed my musical taste around a bit, and a few of those shows, were very cringe worthy. Chalk it up to occupational hazard.
With that arrival of the big clean up and addition of the back stage, this meant there was a possibility that the local bands had a chance to open up for some of our favorite national acts coming through that were on the verge of breaking out to bigger venues. We could say that “we opened up for so and so” before they started playing to thousands of people. Some of us even made very good friends with these bands. I can honestly say that I had the privilege to share a stage with the likes of Rainer Maria, Ted Leo, The Jealous Sound, Sin Ropas, The Dismemberment Plan, and Mike Watt amongst others. I could also add that it was an honor to share the Mohawk stage(s) with some pretty awesome local bands as well – The Exit Strategy, Roger Bryan and the Orphans, Blue Bullet Skater, The Dollar Canon, Maceo Ruez, The Rabies, The Failures Union, Dai Atlas, The Old Sweethearts, Johnny Nobody, etc... you get the point - that list is very long.
I really wished I kept a journal of sorts – so I could look back on it and remember more of the shows and stories from the last 15 plus years – but this will have to do:
Some of my favorite shows to witness:
Rob Dickinson of Catherine Wheel, Elvis Perkins, The Faint, Reigning
Sound, Broken Social Scene, Metric, David Bazan /Pedro the Lion, Sam Roberts, Beauty Pill, Damien Jurado / Rosie Thomas, Knife in the Water, Bison B.C., 764- Hero, 50 foot Wave, Freakwater, Longwave, The Saints, Steve Wynn, Rainer Maria, Murphy's Law, Her Space Holiday, Anders Parker, Electric Eel Shock, Victory at Sea, Hank III, Grand Champeen, Mates of Sates, and so on…
Some favorite moments:
Sound, Broken Social Scene, Metric, David Bazan /Pedro the Lion, Sam Roberts, Beauty Pill, Damien Jurado / Rosie Thomas, Knife in the Water, Bison B.C., 764- Hero, 50 foot Wave, Freakwater, Longwave, The Saints, Steve Wynn, Rainer Maria, Murphy's Law, Her Space Holiday, Anders Parker, Electric Eel Shock, Victory at Sea, Hank III, Grand Champeen, Mates of Sates, and so on…
Some favorite moments:
*The first ever show on the backstage - Eyes Adrift (which featured members of Nirvana, Sublime and the Meat Puppets) – and saying out loud “holy shit you are tall” as Krist Novoselic walked by me for sound check – not my finest moment, but he is very tall.
*Running sound for Beauty Pill – upon hearing that the last time they played Buffalo was a nightmare and that the venue they played at was just a horrible experience, we made it a point to make sure they would leave Buffalo with a new found appreciation for the city and a love for Mohawk. We succeeded. And it goes down in my book as one of my favorite shows that I have done sound for.
*Being a part of sold out shows like Drive by Truckers, The Hold Steady and holding my breath that the power amps that we had back then would hold up in the 90+ temps in the room those nights. It was no fun having to maneuver through 200 plus people to get to that back room where the amps were located only to realize that the fans that were blowing on them weren't doing a damn thing. No fun at all. In the end, it turned out fine and the shows were legendary.
*My good friend Bill Nehill getting Ted Leo (and the audience) to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me on my 30th birthday. Not a fan of surprises, but both Ted and Bill played this surprise off well. After getting the band set onstage, I headed through the packed audience backed to the soundboard. The moment I reach the board, Ted says into the mic that there is a problem onstage. Understand that it took a minute or so, to get through the audience, so when he stated that, I cringed. I am sure I gave a look of 'are you fucking kidding me?', and all I remember is heading back to the stage, saying “sorry, excuse me” over and over....
Once I got on the stage, Ted looked at me and just smiled. At that point, I knew something was up. Next thing I know, Bill is coming out of the side door with his thumb in a cake and everyone singing happy birthday to me. I can say the start of my 30's was pretty nice indeed.
*I'll miss running sound for bands like Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - just before they started playing to bigger venues. My favorite memory of that show was when she told me, "Honey, I'm going to be all diva like on the microphone, don't take it personally". She didn't complain once during that show. I was kind of bummed
*The one show that I tell people that completely blew me away was Rosie Thomas. I was lucky to have run sound that night and I truly will never forget that show. During some moments of her set, I had tears in my eyes. It was that moving. It was that amazing. Still am blown away just thinking about it. She is such a great songwriter and storyteller with an angelic voice.
*Running sound for Beauty Pill – upon hearing that the last time they played Buffalo was a nightmare and that the venue they played at was just a horrible experience, we made it a point to make sure they would leave Buffalo with a new found appreciation for the city and a love for Mohawk. We succeeded. And it goes down in my book as one of my favorite shows that I have done sound for.
*Being a part of sold out shows like Drive by Truckers, The Hold Steady and holding my breath that the power amps that we had back then would hold up in the 90+ temps in the room those nights. It was no fun having to maneuver through 200 plus people to get to that back room where the amps were located only to realize that the fans that were blowing on them weren't doing a damn thing. No fun at all. In the end, it turned out fine and the shows were legendary.
*My good friend Bill Nehill getting Ted Leo (and the audience) to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me on my 30th birthday. Not a fan of surprises, but both Ted and Bill played this surprise off well. After getting the band set onstage, I headed through the packed audience backed to the soundboard. The moment I reach the board, Ted says into the mic that there is a problem onstage. Understand that it took a minute or so, to get through the audience, so when he stated that, I cringed. I am sure I gave a look of 'are you fucking kidding me?', and all I remember is heading back to the stage, saying “sorry, excuse me” over and over....
Once I got on the stage, Ted looked at me and just smiled. At that point, I knew something was up. Next thing I know, Bill is coming out of the side door with his thumb in a cake and everyone singing happy birthday to me. I can say the start of my 30's was pretty nice indeed.
*I'll miss running sound for bands like Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - just before they started playing to bigger venues. My favorite memory of that show was when she told me, "Honey, I'm going to be all diva like on the microphone, don't take it personally". She didn't complain once during that show. I was kind of bummed
*The one show that I tell people that completely blew me away was Rosie Thomas. I was lucky to have run sound that night and I truly will never forget that show. During some moments of her set, I had tears in my eyes. It was that moving. It was that amazing. Still am blown away just thinking about it. She is such a great songwriter and storyteller with an angelic voice.
And with that, I am going to end on this note:
It is very hard thinking about all the great times and stories that were created at Mohawk and knowing that memories like those will never happen again. I thank Mohawk Place for giving me some of the greatest friends a girl could ask for. For letting me experience some legendary shows and then some. For keeping me out until the early hours of the morning when I should have been sleeping. And lastly, I thank Mohawk for being the place where I learned that Jameson is a way better whiskey that Crown will ever be.
Shots up. Cheers old friend.
Shots up. Cheers old friend.
~Renee Roberts
Photo by Eric Jensen
Jameson is way better than Crown. That Murphy's Law show was incredible. The Saints show not so much. Great post Renee.
i prefer crown
Crown hurts too much. Jamo is so much more smooth. Mac, try it with ginger ale, you will convert.
Tullamore Dew. Ride or Die