Gabe's Oasis

Gabe's Oasis was a dive. I hate that I have to say "was"... I talked to my mom over the weekend, and she informed me Gabe's was closing. I am pretty sure she knows what Gabe's is, but I know for a fact she has no clue what a dump it is, but she does know how much I love the place. Gabe's has been around for at least 20 years, and any band that became anyone (and those that didn't) played at Gabe's. It was probably Iowa's best small venue for bands.

While in high school my friends and I would drive down from Cedar Falls to Iowa City (it was about a two hour drive) to see various bands. Some were national tours, some were local bands, some were my friends. I saw the Lemonheads there (Evan Dando had short hair) and it was one of the most boring shows I have ever seen. A few months later I saw the Rollins Band and Mr. Rollins sweat on me. I saw Youth of Today... Well "saw" is kind of misleading, I think I was chasing after some boy. I used to see a lot of Iowa bands: Xenoglossia, Psychotrash, House of Large Sizes, the Hollowmen, 23 Lies, Voodoo Gearshift, and my friends in their "band," Looney Tunez. We would go for the bands, but I usually ended up hanging out in front of the building... again, usually because of some boy.

But, man, that placed was awesome. The stage was a foot off the ground. It was dark, hot, and crowded. I have been reading about how nasty the bathrooms were, but honestly, I can't remember ever going into the bathrooms upstairs. Somehow I always ended up downstairs.

I was never brave enough to get into the pit; the skinheads kind of scared me. I would stand on the edge, watching the circle of people move, and I would pick people up as the fell. I remember after spending two nights in a row at Gabe's, I had bruised toes. Come to think of it, that was the last time I was there. That was Labor Day weekend, 1988. It was my freshman year of school and I had driven back to Iowa City for the Iowa Comp show. It was the release party for the second Iowa Comp album (which I have on vinyl, along with the first Iowa Comp).

Some of the basic memories: sitting on the floor with my friend Buddy, pointing out the cute boys. Having a major crush on the drummer of the Hollowmen and watching him dance his weird chest-beating dance while other bands were playing. Sitting outside with Jason and Buddy and harassing some kid who was high on something. Jason had him convinced to climb the tree out front. I talked him out of it because I was afraid he would fall out and hurt himself. Flirting with my high school crush before, during, and after shows. Buddy shaving part of my head about an hour before we walked the miles-long trek to downtown for a show I don't remember. We usually drove, but my car died a lot.

A couple of years ago I went back to Iowa City with some friends. I went downtown one morning and made a beeline for Gabe's. I was so happy to see that it looked as crappy then as it did fifteen years ago. I sat there for a few minutes, thinking about all the nights I had spent there. And then I took a picture of the flyer-covered door. It was good to see that some things never change....

Gabe's re-opening under the name Picador, whatever the hell that means. I am sure they will clean it up and make it presentable, unfortunately. The bands will still play there, but the filth, the history, and the charm that made Gabe's Gabe's, will be long gone.

This is a link to an article in the Daily Iowan about Gabe's.