It might have been the convenient thoroughfare of I-80 between some of the biggest touring states in the country that first attracted bands to the two-tiered venue in Iowa City. The legacies visiting bands have left with the locals there, however, have made Gabe’s the rock music staple it is today.
Situated snugly on the edge of Iowa City’s bustling downtown district, the grunge bar is notorious for its nightmarish bathrooms and beloved for its beer garden. The unassuming exterior blends in with the beige brick of its neighbors, but within the walls on the upper floor of Gabe’s lies the source of its history.
Since 1974, Gabe’s has been a haven for alternative, rock, metal, and hip-hop music for every patron lucky enough to trample its beer-stained floors during a particularly electrifying guitar solo. The compact space forms an up-close-and-personal atmosphere that connects performers to their audience like nowhere else in Iowa City.
“It’s very high energy up there. Some shows can be chill, it depends on the music, but when it’s a metal show, and everybody’s dancing… you’re like sardines in a can,” Joe Heurermann, a regular at Gabe’s, said. “There’s no music venue like it.”
Over the years, the illuminated sign above Gabe’s has read different names — The Pub, Fox & Sam’s, Gabe & Walker’s, The Picador, Gabe’s Oasis — but for fans like Heurermann, the charm has remained the same. Heurermann has been bartending at Gabe’s for a year and a half but has been a regular at the bar for 13 years.
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“There’s plenty of places to go like Trumpet Blossom, or PS1 do shows, but it’s not like the weird stuff you get here,” he said. “There are no seats, so you have to be in it. You’re closer to the music, and you can feel it.”
Most other music venues in Iowa City have to contend with the sizes of their auditoriums to ensure every audience member gets to experience a concert. At Gabe’s, these assurances aren’t necessary. The setup makes it impossible to escape the music, and that’s why Heurermann loves it.
The eclectic music selection has been a staple since the bar opened as well. While Gabe’s is known for platforming local artists and helping grow their communities, it has also seen its fair share of high-profile names take the mic.
“Chance the Rapper played here for five dollars,” Pete McCarthy, the general manager at Gabe’s, said. “So, most of those famous artists got big after playing here. We still book national acts, but a lot of the time we’re getting lucky. We’re catching bands that are routed from Colorado and were already driving past us.”
Gabe’s has had much luck in the past, seeing Nirvana playing on a weekday before hitting it big and hosting several Smashing Pumpkins shows after the band had blown up. Even on the odd occasion one of these headliner acts rolls into town, Gabe’s still honors its decades-long commitment to platforming local artists as opening acts for high-profile performers.
“We rarely have nights where there isn’t at least one local onstage,” McCarthy said. “We’re lucky to have this college town and eclectic group of people that really make a vibrant music scene.”
Iowa City has become well-known for its music scene – one that Gabe’s had a large hand in tailoring. The venue’s unique brand of performance has drawn in interesting performers from Iowa and beyond, but it has also had an impact on how other venues operate.
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“Gabe’s has held some of the highest caliber shows Iowa City has seen in recent years,” Englert Theatre’s Programming Coordinator Grace Merritt said. “Not just because of Nirvana but because it inspires local artists, too. People always get excited about their first time playing at Gabe’s.”
The Englert Theatre has collaborated with Gabe’s recently for the Mission Creek Festival, the annual Iowa City music and performance festival that hosts shows at a litany of venues downtown.
“People trust when they get into that room, they’re going to get good sound and good care from the staff. Engineers and artists know they will get a good experience,” Merritt said. “They know what people in the community want, and they trust that instinct.”
Through their willingness to book acts of all kinds, Gabe’s has inspired change around the Iowa City music scene. Other venues like The Englert Theatre, the James Theater, Trumpet Blossom, and even Hancher Auditorium have had programming decisions influenced by Gabe’s.
“In terms of the overall music community, Gabe’s has been a consistent fixture. There are a lot of venues that are no longer, like The Mill or Blue Moose, but Gabe’s has stood through all of that,” Merritt said. “They raise the bar for the rest of us.”
RELATED: Iowa City’s Sanctuary Pub closes after 52 years of business
Artists who start out performing at Gabe’s will often go on to perform at the Englert later in their careers, according to Merritt. Whether they be locals building their resumes or national bands who enjoy their experience in Iowa City enough to return, Gabe’s plays a role in keeping artists booked at other venues around town.
“You can’t have good acts at the Englert without having the place for artists to grow first. Gabe’s is an essential part of the ecosystem here,” Merritt said.
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The possibility of losing an artistic space is more real than ever in light of Iowa City’s loss of Sanctuary Pub, which closed in December after 52 years. This was a blow to University of Iowa Students and locals alike, who both enjoyed studying or socializing in the Sanctuary’s ambiance.
Though the Sanctuary was not a music venue like Gabe’s, it also hosted spoken word events, without which performance artists have one less opportunity to hone their craft.
For longtime regulars, the loss was even more devastating because the Sanctuary was a fixture in their daily lives for years. Gabe’s provides similar stability for its own regulars, like Brad Kastantin.
“I frequent here pretty much. Of the downtown bars, it is seemingly the most age-appropriate for the late 20s or early 30s people, so my friends and I meet up here a lot,” Kastantin said.
The younger demographic has been essential to Gabe’s success since the very beginning, when they deployed quarter-beers to attract students. Finding ways to keep the younger crowds coming back repeatedly has grown the bar’s roster of regulars.
“Part of my favorite thing is that the people are just respectful. They create an atmosphere that is positive to be around,” Kastantin said.
The kindness he described extended even to the often rowdy and crowded concerts.
Reflecting on one of his favorite shows, Kastantin referenced an impromptu metal show in the middle of the afternoon and when the rock band Missouri came to town. During one Missouri show, Kastantin curiously observed the performance without getting involved until the lead singer began doing somersaults into the crowd.
“He was getting everybody riled up, and everybody was having a good time. But at the same time, everybody is still being respectful to each other and making sure everyone was feeling solid and enjoying it,” Kastantin said.
Most people who have attended a show at Gabe’s, from regulars to music programmers at other venues, have a favorite memory. The charm of the wobbly stairs, cheap beer, and historic acts continue to bring music fans together.
“When Prof. played here he had already blown up. He was playing sold-out shows at First Avenue in Minneapolis, so when he came here, I remember him talking to his manager about how small it was,” McCarthy said. “When he played his show, the sold-out crowd was saying every lyric. Afterward, he put out this emotional Instagram post that went viral about how he was blown away by Iowa City.”
Acts like Worst Impressions, who recently headlined Gabe’s 50th birthday concert, Sinner Frenz, Led Zeppelin, Acoustic Guillotine, and plenty more share a part of this iconic venue’s history.
Half a century since its inception, Gabe’s has remained essentially unchanged, except for the ever-expanding wall of photographs of the bands that have left their marks.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The blueprint is set. It’s a rock club,” McCarthy said. “I don’t want to make it super clean and fancy because people don’t want it that way. People like the venue the way it is.”
Kate Wolfe contributed to this story.
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