By Hannah Rivers
Dec. 22, 2016
The holiday season is always full of activity. There is last minute shopping to do, treats to bake, presents to wrap and houses to decorate. People are leaving town or coming home and everyone is brought back together again. Added to the madness are all of the events that take place: parties, plays, gift exchanges, concerts. The latter may not be specifically holiday-themed, but music shows do fit in with the spirit of the season. They’re all about bringing people together — which is exactly what the JV Allstars show aims to do.
A two-night event, the JV Allstars will be performing at the 1867 Bar (101 N. 14th St.) on Thursday, Dec. 22, and Friday, Dec. 23. The show is presented by the 1867 Bar, The Bourbon and 104.1 The Blaze. The first night includes performances by Better Friend and Bed Rest, while the openers for night two will be FREAKABOUT and A Summer Better Than Yours. JV Allstars will be playing both nights.
The proceeds from the event will benefit Kampout for Kids — an annual charity drive that raises money and collects toys for local youth organizations that help children in need. This concert is just one of the many events that the Blaze has helped organize in their 25 years of coordinating Kampout for Kids benefits. Thursday’s show is for those 18 and older, while Friday’s show is 21 and up. Tickets are $12 in advance, with a $2 minor fee on Thursday. Two days passes have already sold out.
A staple of the Lincoln music scene, JV Allstars is a pop-punk band that began in 2000 and was active until 2012. Since then, they have continued to play shows together sporadically. Their most recent performance was last Christmas at Knickerbockers’ final show before it closed. Whether the members are playing in different bands or simply attending shows, they have continued to be an integral part of our community’s music scene.
With the show happening just days away from Christmas, there is sure to be more people in the Lincoln area and, therefore, more people attending the event. Jeremy Buckley, booking coordinator at 1867, thinks both shows will be at full capacity.
“The holiday season is annually seen as a time when a lot of people who have Lincoln roots are back in the area visiting family,” he said. “It’s a perfect time to play a show for people who were around when the band was in its prime.”
With Knickerbockers closed, the JV Allstars were forced to find an alternate venue to play at. Connections between the band and the 1867 made the bar a good location for the show. In addition, the JV Allstars were — in Buckley’s words — “interested in seeing a new music venue in Lincoln fill some of the void left by Knickerbockers closing.”
As was true in 2015, this year’s holiday season also provided the perfect chance for the JV Allstars to reunite and play a show. All the members will be in Lincoln and, since they still love playing together, they figured they would take advantage of the opportunity — especially since bassist Eric Mellow lives in Denver.
“When you spend years crammed in a van touring with your best friends, you become really close,” said Mellow. “I guess playing a show is an obvious way for us to get together because it feels so familiar.”
Even if no one came, Mellow would still want to play a show with his fellow band members. But as it is, people keep showing up to see their performances.
With the band’s well-established popularity and 1867 being half the size of Knickerbockers, Buckley is worried that the bar will have to turn people away at the door. Last year’s show at Knickerbockers sold out very easily, so he expected two night passes to sell out. Currently though, there are still one-night tickets available.
While some would consider this to be a reunion show, that’s not what Mellow would call it. The JV Allstars never technically broke up; they just began pursuing other things.
“We just came to a point when it was time to move on to other things, like spending time with significant others and getting jobs with health insurance and not living under a pile of debt,” he said.
At that point they just stopped playing shows, but they never said they would be done with it forever. The few performances the JV Allstars have done since their active years are proof that they aren’t finished yet.
Even though their favorite venue is now defunct, the band continues to put on shows. This time it will just be at a different location. Mellow has never been to 1867, but he loves the idea behind it. He’s excited to play there, although he admitted: “nothing will ever compare to playing a sold out show at Knickerbockers.”
The bar, which closed almost exactly a year ago, was the first real venue that the JV Allstars ever played at. They spent a lot of time there — playing shows, watching other bands perform, eating 25-cent tacos. Knickerbockers was where they would host CD release shows and where they would start and end the majority of their tours. Mellow considers the bar to be like the band’s second home.
“Knickerbockers will always be special to us,” he said. “But I’m really glad there are still other places in town that support local music.”
Mellow is sure that the 1867 Bar will be just as welcoming to the band. He even thinks there’s a possibility that it will become their new home venue.
“It’s going to be the perfect start to my vacation back home,” he said.
This year’s show comes at the ideal time — both for fans and for the band members themselves. Buckley is looking forward to seeing friends from across the globe who are back in Nebraska for the holidays, which Mellow agrees is the best part of the show.
“It’s usually difficult to see many friends because my free time is limited,” he said. “It’s nice to just be able to play a show and have most of my friends come to me all at once. It’s like a big friend reunion.”
The JV Allstars played a show last Christmas and they will be playing a show this Christmas as well. One then wonders: when will they be performing next?
Mellow answered the question best: “Maybe we’ll play a show next Christmas, maybe not. There’s really no rhyme or reason to it.”
Check out more information on the Facebook event page.
Hannah Rivers is one of KZUM’s tireless fall interns.
