(Literally) Underground Rock

Four up-and-coming rock bands played to a packed venue last Friday night. Holy Bible, Verktum, Lords and Raiders of the Lost Sparks came, saw and rocked the house. Literally.\nAnyone driving past the front of the house in question Friday night would have seen nothing out of the ordinary - an empty porch and a ceiling fan swaying in the open window. Walk through the front door, and one would see the typical student accoutrement of DVDs and piles of clothes. Only the shaking floor and the muffled sounds of guitars seeping up through the kitchen tile clue the unaware into what is really going on.\nWhat's going on is a rock show with four bands, more than 200 fans and no cover charge, rivaling anything found in the bars of Walnut and Kirkwood. The humanity is packed shoulder to shoulder in the house's basement and spilling out into the backyard. Granted, it is a rather large basement, but with so many people, it's like taking the entire Friday night clientele of Nick's English Hut and packing them into a space the size of a fifth- grade classroom. In this space, when one person moshes, he or she takes three people along for the ride.\nAnd the fans love every minute of it.\nWhat makes this episode even more interesting is most of the guys who live in the house were just along for the ride too. They agreed to lend their basement to two former house residents to put on the show, keeping alive an underground tradition that has flourished for almost three years.\nThe night before, David*, James* and Carl* didn't seem concerned with the impending flood of headbangers. In fact, they were looking forward to it.\n"It's a good time, just to get together with people," David said. "It usually fills up the basement and the yard. We don't get much attention from the cops."\nCarl said the tradition started with the former residents, who had friends in bands who needed a place to play.\n"People brought their friends and their bands, and it's a good place," he said.\nThat tradition has spilled into the streets, and now people from all around come to the house to see bands.\n"Honestly, if people know about these bands, or are friends of friends, a lot of those supporters will be there," David said. "But there'll be people here just looking for a good time."\nTo keep those good times from turning sour, David, Carl and their other roommates prepare in advance.\n"You clean up a bunch of stuff, like trash, and get rid of stuff people might take," David said.\n"Lock the door," Carl added from the next room.\nJames said people tend to appreciate the shows, so they stay away from thievery.\n"There's never really been any need for crowd control," he said. "Last year, anything that was pocketable, like DVDs, we put away. And most of the kids who come to the shows, especially since they're free, won't take advantage of us."\nBROUGHT TO YOU BY SPARKS\nThe drink of choice for the night's show was Sparks, a slightly alcoholic energy concoction reminiscent of Red Bull.\n"It's like legal speed," said one party-goer.\nBambi, 19, said the drink "tastes like Sweet Tarts" and helps get the party going.\n"The caffeine adds to the essence," she said.\nEven without the legal speed, the energy in the basement was high, as a result of the constant thrashing of guitars and bodies in a confined space.\nRechael, 22, and Kurt, 25, both got word of the show in different ways.\n"My friend Dave played in the band Holy Bible," she said. \n"I heard about it on an Internet message board," Kurt said.\n"(Kurt's) been going to shows like this for a decade," Rechael said.\n"These are the best shows, the ones in the basements," Kurt said as he recoiled from Rechael's remark. \n"Yeah, punk rock for free," Rechael said. "I didn't pay to see this."\nBloomington, long an epicenter for counterculture in Indiana, seems to have developed an acceptance for underground music shows. This basement in particular is made of stone, so sounds are contained relatively well and don't bother the neighbors too much.\n"They have nice basements here," Kurt said.\nFor Rechael's friend Dave, bassist for Holy Bible, Friday night was his band's first show ever.\n"I loved it," he said. "This basement's always good for music. I think it sounds amazing, but there are no vocals, ever."\nDavid said the presence of friends made the show a great first time out.\n"It's really kind of close-knit, but there's a mix of people," he said. "I know quite a few people here, and that's what's cool about playing here."\nRockit*, one of the organizers, was responsible for the bands and the Sparks.\n"It's guerilla warfare," he said in his best punk-rock voice. "We provide 'the goods,' and then we just party."\nUnlike some of his shows in the past, Rockit and his co-conspirators didn't heavily advertise the show.\n"This one was just word of mouth," he said. "But when it comes to music, people know bands, and they'll come. And if they know a name from an old band in a new one, they'll come."\nPart of Rockit's job is to keep things orderly in the backyard. For this, he puts on his yelling voice.\n"Get the fuck off the sidewalk and the fuck in the basement!" he yelled.\nBack in the basement, the dedicated stayed strong and slammed hard. Some people hit the floor, rising up with various cuts and bruises. But for all the roughhousing that went on in the pocket-sized mosh pit, everyone who fell down was immediately helped up by the people around them. Some mosh moments resembled a religious experience, with hands raised to the support beams while fans swayed back and forth in a Sparks-fueled show of musical solidarity.\nLords' drummer Stan, 27, said the band has been to the house four times. The fans here, he said, are "very appreciative."\n"It's the best time I've ever had every time I play here. I love a good basement," he said. "And for some reason, this happens more here than in other cities. This never happens in Louisville."\nAfter the show, fans stumbled out of the basement and on to their next party. Stan, being held up by three people, proclaimed his mastery over the Sparks.\n"Seven Sparks, bitches!" he said about his caffeine intake.\nDavid said the show was more fun than he and his roommates expected.\n"It's fun man, it's really climactic," he said. "It sneaks up on you."\nDavid said it was made more fun because Rockit and his co-organizer agreed to clean up the aftermath for them. He had so much fun, in fact, he'd do it all again.\n"Sure, why not?" he said.