Cedar Valley offers variety of music venues

Dustin Peverill/Staff Writer

Ever wanted to check out a show but never actually knew where to go?

One of the most popular places is probably The Reverb, recently merged with Spicoli’s in Waterloo. This music venue and eatery is a popular choice among touring bands. The Reverb is located at 3555 University Ave. in Waterloo. Head out there to get your face rocked off.

Next up is the 1108 house, located at 1108 Main Street. This venue is a classic place for house shows and is very popular among lesser-known local bands and out-of-town bands.
My personal favorite venue to see shows is at the Amvets Post 19, 32 Lafayette St. in Waterloo. The pits are brutal, the bands are brutal and the people are brutal. Everything at the Amvets Post 19 is simply brutal.

Another place to see some shows today is The Hub. Yes, it’s a bar located downtown, but they allow minors to see shows. Not many huge name bands come and play there, but that doesn’t mean they don’t host good shows. I’ve only been to about two shows, but they weren’t bad shows by any means.

Wanna see an acoustic show? Look no further than local coffee house Cup Of Joe. They host Open Mic Nights where touring groups will come. I don’t exactly know if there is a loudness limit, but these shows are never that intense, and usually feature acoustic instruments accompanied with a set of bongos. Cup Of Joe is located downtown, on the corner of 1st St. and Main St.

I have to mention the next venue, but they aren’t having shows. This place is legendary among local venues, but the owners didn’t like the tenants having shows and destroying the place, so they evicted them. The Phoenix Music Venue and Arcade located downtown hosted some of the most memorable local bands ever, such as Safie and Win The Fight. They also hosted some super good out-of-state bands like Fire When Ready. I’ve gone to at least 10 shows at The Phoenix, and I absolutely loved every single one of them. Admission was only $5 usually, unless they had a lot of bands booked to play or a really big name was coming through. Then it would bounce up to around $7, but that’s still not a bad price.

Now that I’ve mentioned some of the more popular places to see shows, I’ll give you ratings from 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 obviously being the best. The Reverb is a 6 in my opinion, ever since it moved it hasn’t been as fun to go and see shows. The 1108 House is a big fat 10. There isn’t a better place to see shows. The Amvets 19 is an 11; I know it only goes to 10, but that’s just how good this place is. The Phoenix would be a 100, but seeing as there aren’t any shows any more, it doesn’t actually get a rating. The Hub slightly makes it to the 8 range. It’s a nice place to go see some unknown bands and stretch your musical interests. Cup of Joe is a 7 due to the fact that sometimes Open Mic Night doesn’t always happen, but when it does, it’s brilliant.

Fees are usually around the same price, but they may vary. Usually from $5-$10. Maybe more for bigger or up and coming bands.
There’s a lot of things to do at shows. There’s people to meet, and heck, maybe you’ll end up in a band.

The local scene needs as much support as possible, so go out, have fun and help give the scene its backbone.