We just drove 2 1/2 hours in the snow for some fuckin asshole bartender to tell us we werent aloud to play at KC's Tap because our drummer is 20! I remember playing bars when I was 16, theyd slap two giant Xs on my hands and call it a night. Fuck that guy and fuck RI!

i'VE HEARD SOME SIMILAR THINGS.
oops.. caps.
gay as shit.

then again, I haven't been 20 for like 14 years.

That sucks.

thats pretty much what happens when you decide to play a biker bar in the shady ass end of already shady pawtucket.

That's what you get for taking a show at that shit hole kc's tap. That is one of the worst venues I've ever been to.

kinda wish i had asked before we went down there. its good to know others already know how shitty that fucking place is. but... theres always liqour

Well it's a bar. Bars have liquor licenses to maintain. Tell your drummer to get older.

HA. That place could be awesome. We haven't played there in like 3 years.

The place is a pretty decent venue, but we had the exact same thing happen to us with our old drummer.
I totally support the whole, let them in to play, then kick em out after they break down their stuff idea.

The venue and stage themselves are nice...but it's in such a shitty location and they're so incredibly anal about that shit. We did a show there a few months back, and although we were all of age and allowed to play, we made a big project out of getting everyone and all the gear there by renting a van when a couple members had transportation issues. There was a decent turnout, and I personally talked to a few people who said they were planning to stick around for the whole show, but almost everyone (including those people) left when their friends' bands were done. We had a very small audience, and ended up only getting paid about $30...after going through that effort and spending the money to get all 7 members and our gear there. Disappointing, to say the least!

we played there with THE ALMIGHTY BOVA and no one showed up....lol

also played there once in front of 5 people... shit venue

KCs tap...almost 10 years of wishy washy shows/turnouts yet people still clamour to play there.

Umbrella played there about 10 times, and it was packed one night, dead the other.... I always get into fights at that dump

I hear yuh...FUCK KC's tap.... Club Hell and Jerkys are the only decent venues in the area, it seems.

AS220
Firehouse 13

There's a ton of diy spots around with various names too.
Providence has it's fair share of venues.

You don't have to be 21 to "work" in a bar in RI. If your band is performing for the club/bar you are "working" that simple. Fuck them ass holes.

played there a couple of times....had problems with the sound guy...he said my kit was set up wrong(I'm a lefty), and he didn't know how to mic it properly....tard.

I've had good shows and bad shows over the years at KC's.

Like it was said above, the crowd is hit or miss. People don't like to leave Providence, even though KC's is only like 10 minutes north and right off the highway. I've played when there's been only a couple dozen people there, and I've played when it's been packed. No rhyme or reason to it.

I like the stage and sound. Their equipment is good. Comes down to who's doing sound sometimes. Years ago, it really depended who was working that night. You could have a great night where everything sounded great. You could have someone who didn't know what they were doing and everything sounded terrible.

I do like the beer. I'm glad they sell 25oz. beers and have at least a couple good beers on tap.

About the 21+ issue... They've been doing this for as long as I remember. It sucks when bands have 1 member who isn't 21 yet and they waste their time going to the club. However, they make this very clear. From their website: "All band members, fans, customers, etc must be 21+ to enter any part of the building. ID must be valid and not expired." and from their myspace page: "You MUST make sure all the bands you book know they and there crowd must be 21+ with a valid ID (No Exceptions). " Maybe you don't agree with the policy, but they do make it clear up front and put the responsibility of spreading this info to the person booking the show. Whoever booked this show and didn't tell you this wasted your time, not the club. It's just their policy.

Is this the greatest place in the state? No. But on a good night, it's worth playing there. I don't think it deserves the "FUCK RI" title. There are venues here worth playing at. This one included, if you're willing to take the chance of hit or miss attendance.

I detest that shit hole. The only good thing about it is you can usually just sneak into the back door.

i like RI.
..consistent surf that can get big in the fall and progressive ganja laws.

thats is by far the best argument ive heard yet, THANK YOU

AS220 (for us) is wicked hard to get in contact with. We've sent multiple e-mails but never get a reply. Is this the kind of place where you need to know someone who's involved with the venue to be able to play?

KC's is in a bad location for a venue.

The hilarious thing for me is that their actual bar is separate from the stage area. They could throw a guy on the door and make sure people don't slip through and I'm sure they wouldn't be in violation of their license.

However, besides the wasted gas, I'm sure you didn't really miss much by not playing.

I believe that, one of the guys from Armageddon Shop is a new house manager at the venue now. I'm not sure if he has a role in booking, though. Often, that's a whole other bucket of syrup.

But yeah, this is not the fault of RI. It's actually against the trend of RI to give a shit about these sort of laws. Providence is like the Wild West.

I know this is old news by now, but if you have band members under 21, find out ahead of time if that is an issue. That way you save your time, money and engery if they have a prob if it.

If they say it is cool and then have a prob when you get there, then just burn the place down after hours

And excellent waterfowl hunting and striper fishing. Get an older drummer.

i see what you did there, and i agree.

I think it really caters to RI based bands.
It sucks because the rent for it is extremely cheap vs the other Providence venues.
I've asked to rent it out as an outside promoter in the past, but they said they don't do that.
Armageddon does do some booking there so if you got in with them it might help.

Yes, I meant to make the RI based band comment. They definitely do that. Bsharp Music, the gear and repair shop in Providence, has one night per month there as well. That's actually how Mast has gotten our last couple of AS220 gigs.