Eugene, Oregon has a vibrant music scene, filled with many talented musicians, such as Spiller. I've been to a fair number of house shows and each house has a completely different vibe. Some places are welcoming. Others are not. I mean, it only makes sense that every house in Eugene (and the people living in it) aren't ready to become a house show house. A good house show house has a welcoming vibe with positive people and tries to make everyone feel comfortable in the space.
These are in no particular order because I love all these houses equally.
1. The Lorax Manner
This student co-op is efficiently run, and everyone there seems to be having an absolute blast. On the rare occasion I have had a bad experience with someone at a party, someone from the house always shuts it down and kicks the person out. I've always felt very comfortable here, and everyone living in the house seems to be welcoming and kind to party-goers. Plus, their backyard is AMAZING and the music performances are always a fun time. The Lorax Manner never disappoints me and I would recommend this house any day!
2. The Blue Room
The Blue Room
Unfortunately, this lovely location just had the final show, BUT these guys have amazing things planned, I'm sure! They worked so INCREDIBLY hard to create a welcoming environment, and these guys are some of the nicest people I know. I've taken a ton of photographs and written many articles about The Blue Room, so I will be very sad to watch it go.
3. The Campbell Club
Even though The Campbell Club is next door to the Lorax Manner, the two places have totally different vibes. The Campbell Club is still as friendly as the Lorax Manner, and their Tuesday Open Mic nights are always a fun time. One of my favorite parts about this house is the pool table and record player in the room right next to the living room (where the music is usually happening). It's such a lovely touch, and playing pool drunk while listening to live music easily makes for one of my favorite pastimes.
4. A new season always brings new houses to host shows
My favorite part of summer is the new house show venues. I love walking into a new venue for the first time and getting to truly appreciate everything (or decide it's not your style and that you never want to go back... there are many options here).
Eugene will always have a vibrant music culture, and the house show venues will continue to grow with the music. So, this last point is really just excited about the future and the lovely new houses I have yet to attend. Here's to rad shows in the future!
