MilwHC:Venues:TheLoft

From MilwHC

The Loft

History

Also known as "The New Loft" this was a Madison Teen Center I believe, and in the order of "good clean fun" they would have bands play. Local bands, and out of town bands. Punk rock bands.

I think I remember going to shows there from maybe 1988 to 1991 or so...

Inspector 12 played there 100,00 times. Or at least it seemed like it. There were Battle of the Bands, 8-bark, Kenosha bands, Ken Udell, good times, good times... (Except for Ken Udell!)

Comments

• There was a vending machine that had pretty good soup for 25 cents... --Pete Prodoehl 12:59, 30 Jan 2006 (PST)

• If you're going to add in The Loft, don't forget O'Kayz Corral, Club De Wash, and The Chamber. Madison bands? --Optophobia 13:35, 30 Jan 2006 (PST)

• Upstairs from The Loft was a pool hall. The Loft itself had no stage and it was sometimes impossible to see the bands past the crowd. It was located a few blocks from the capitol off State Street, I think. Usually local bands played there, but I once saw the Libido Boys (MPLS) and also Impulse Manslaughter (Chicago) play there. --Optophobia 13:35, 30 Jan 2006 (PST)

• Eric, the Loft did have a stage at one point. I remember that they built one for a show, I think it was right at the end of Summer, before school was back in session, so of course Inspector 12 played. At the end of their set, a whole mess of people were on the stage, and we kept jumping on it trying to break it, because stages are not Punk Rock. --Pete Prodoehl 07:04, 24 Mar 2006 (PST)

• Too many shows to recall, however, the most notable for me was having my brother come to his first show, 7 Seconds sometime in 89? Hmm... I remember asking Nick Rick, on the fly, if it would be cool if my brother could come up and stay at his place (that is, his mom's Janet's) He said, of course. I gave Jake a call and $2.75 later via Badger Bus he was there. (The unofficial courier of punk-rockers in the 'burbs.) Jake had lots to drink that night. I remember Frank Rick (Nick's younger brother) waking me in the middle of the night warning me that Jake was having the dry heaves. I was unconcerned and went back to bed. Matthew Pickard 10:07, 13 Dec 2006 (PST)

• Also notable, is – if I recall correctly, the Loft was the premiere of Demise sometime in 88 or 89? I had met Grant through Nick Rick a few months before. A week before I had received a call from Grant and I drove over to his folk's place in Germantown to pick him up and some of his or his band's equipment up in my blue 1986 Renault Alliance. Unfortunately, that's all I remember. Matthew Pickard 10:08, 13 Dec 2006 (PST)

• The Loft was also the unofficial debut of Hardware. We played as a three-piece with borrowed equipment (I think from the Speedfreaks.) We did like 1 or 2 songs to open the show. --Pete Prodoehl 21:54, 16 Dec 2006 (PST)

• The Loft was located at 112 N. Fairchild - right off State Street. There was a pizza place next door that we always went to before shows. I saw my first punk show at the Loft in 1986 - Inspector-12, Kavity Kreeps and Social Interrogation. This was at a time when going to a show was still slightly scary. There were those big dudes from the old scene, skinheads and the like. The threatening atmosphere is what made it exciting. At that first show I almost got beat up for just looking at some guys girlfriend by mistake. I still went back to the Loft anyway... Many, many times. Too many shows to recall. They had shows downstairs by the window (NOFX) and in the back room (where most of the shows were). They also had a few shows upstairs. Much later we grew to loathe the Loft, even boycotting it for some forgotton reason. Being in bands, it actually sucked to play there becuase of the dodgy sound quality - sometimes stage, sometimes no stage, weird lighting, weird people that ran the place that seemed to keep more money than they should. The (old) Loft is gone now, paved over for the new $200M Overture Center for the Arts. Whenever I drive by the old site on Fairchild - I think back to all the great times we had there and wish I had appreciated it more for what it was. The Loft lives on - in a new form as the Loft / New Lussier Teen Center on East Washington ave, a few blocks off the capitol. They continue to book bands to this day.--Tim Burton 11:03, 26 Dec 2006 (PST)