I have to be honest. I was never a Club Diablo patron. Nevertheless, their recent announcement that the club is closing stirred up all sorts of memories. I started to think about all the formative experiences I had growing up and all the places that I'll never step foot in again. When you've been going to shows for 16+ years, venues are bound to close, get shut down or just fade into obscurity. It happens. Heres a list of places that I miss (in no particular order).


Showplace Theatre
Sure, the place was a dump and a health hazard and, sure, it wasn't always fun parking your car in this particular area of the west side, but Showplace holds alot of great memories. If you grew up playing in a high school band or were as obsessed with punk rock as I was this was the place to be. It seemed like they held a battle of the bands every week, and some of my favorite groups graced that stage. Seeing the Damned, the Cramps, and Blanks 77 are some of my all-time show going highlights.

33 Tyler St.
This cities been putting on basement shows for as long as I can remember. My first experiences were at the Lisbon and Minnesota houses. No place was wilder than 33 though. A totally spacious basement in the heights, 33 was the epitome of DIY punk rock and hardcore. 9 Shocks Terror, Lifes Halt/No Reply, No Time Left's early shows. Those who were there know what I'm talking about.

Backstage Pub
This place was only a venue for a year or two, but remains on my all-time fave list because of the quality of shows they put on there. TSOL's comeback show was out of control and Ratboy's bday bash (circa 2002) was insane. Ample parking and walking distance to Prima Pizza made this downtown destination more than alright.

Cruise Inn
I'll probably get shit for this one, but I always liked the Inn. They brought some great shows, had a rad patio and the bar was the source of many laughs for kids barely enough to drink. i.e. me. ETID took the ceiling down (literally) and I found a new weekend spot to call home (figuratively).

Connecticut Street Armory
Believe it or not the Armory by D'Youville College used to be a semi-frequent venue. I saw Danzig there with Type o Negative in '94 and that place couldn't have been a better fit; A true castle with armor and weaponry adorning the ceilings, you felt like metal was pouring out of the walls. Truly epic.

LaSalle Park
I stopped going to Warped Tour for two reasons. 1. The bands got really shitty. 2. They moved it to Darien Lake, my least favorite venue in Buffalo. Remember being a kid and seeing those early Warped Tours? I do..fondly. I got to ride Andrew W.K.s back, rocked out with Rollins and saw AFI like 6 years in a row.

Kendzies
Technically this was in Lockport, so I don't know if it really counts. Kendzies always felt like a boys and girls club or a VFW hall that held shows. I don't know if it was a venue, per se, but it certainly held its share of hardcore shows and was a community of sorts. Outcasts of all kinds shared the place; a hogdepodge of weirdo's, misfits and rock'n'rollers.

Continental
The Continental wasn't so much of a venue as an institution. It had been around since the very early 80's and hosted famous bands for years. In it's twilight years it had dwindled to goofball goth-ravers dancing upstairs, and junkie punks on the wrong side of 40 lurking stage level. You can't deny that it was fun though, and the epicness of seeing Madball at that place is still swimming around in my head.

Theres ton's of other places that I'm sure I'm missing. Icon, Metal Pit, Ogden st., etc. I'm nostalgic now (as you can probably tell by this depressing post).