Respectable Street Turns 28
When the apocalypse comes, we’re convinced Respectable Street will survive it. While the Walmarts of the world will be torched and looted, and hordes of zombies or cops (or zombie cops) will wrest control of society in a bloody coup, RSC will still be spinning underground vinyl, throwing cheesy proms and provocative burlesques, and playing host to the weirdest, darkest bands from across the country and beyond.
After all, Respectable Street is nothing if not a survivor. It was here before anything else, once the only destination between Orlando and Miami for touring bands bigger than bars and smaller than amphitheaters. Countless venues have shuttered amid too many recessions and quasi-recessions to recall, but RSC has withstood it all. And when it comes time to celebrate this enduring legacy, the club’s general manager, Allan Bowron, spares no expense, throwing one of the year’s most anticipated anniversary parties.
On August 29, Respectable Street will cheer 28 “Years of Oblivion”—a five-stage block party on Clematis Street that, appropriately enough, features 28 live bands. Next year, Bowron will have to book 29; he’s been increasing the number of acts each year since he first booked the event seven years ago.
“I always start by finding a headliner and work from there,” Bowron says. “Once the headliner is booked, the rest of the bands book up fairly quickly. The biggest challenge is making every band happy with which stage they are playing, because not every band can be on the main stage.”
This year, the headliner is none other than The Misfits, who, with or without Glenn Danzig, continue to filter horror-film kitsch through a molten cauldron of punk rock, hardcore and heavy metal. Typical set lists push upwards of 40 tracks tracing back to 1978. The rest of lineup, performing on the outdoor main stage as well the RSC stage, RSC’s patio, and Longboards’ indoor and patio stages, consists of South Florida perennials like Astari Nite, Boxwood and Sweet Bronco, as well as a number of acts making their RSC Anniversary show debuts, such as Chaucher, Hypoluxo, Que Lastima, Johnny Raincloud and Golden Gun.
The celebration on August 29 is FREE, and if you show up in time, so are the food and drinks: There will be an open bar between 8 and 9pm, and free pizza while it lasts. For the full lineup, visit Respectable Street on Facebook. I would suggest appreciating this event while it still exists, but who are we kidding—like a character in a Misfits song, RSC will never die.
RSVP
28 bands on 5 stages featuring:
The Misfits, Sweet Bronco, Ethan Parker Band, Astari Nite, Smells Like Grunge, Johnny Raincloud, Modernage, Boxwood, Break the Hero, Riot Agents, Chaucer, Hypoluxo, Golden Gun, Kill Mama, Deaf Poets, Nation of Decay, Shotgun Betty, The Alleys, The Muggles, The Drip Effect, Riot Act, Que Lastima, The Ruins, OSF, Howling Winds, Stratolites, Sur Back, Dirty Sonic
~ John Thomason
