Venue notes: Lawrence Opera House, Lawrence KS
Defunct punk club. Hüsker Dü played here twice, 12 May 1984 and 01
Dec 1984. Mike Blur's description, which he has generously given me
permission to reproduce from the
LOH page of his excellent
Lawrence Kansas alternative music scene history wiki, is much better than
anything I could do myself:
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Located in the 600 block of Mass Street, in the exact same spot inhabited by
Liberty Hall today [2009]. The Opera
House had none of the carpeting, and very little of the subtle lighting that
Liberty Hall currently employs. Most everything was painted black, black,
black, with garish spotlights throwing stark beams of light around the
cavernous venue. Around its heyday — 1979-1981 — the stagefront
was molded into a "U" to accommodate concert goers who wished to get REALLY
CLOSE to the action, along with sideboards for performers like Andy Partridge
and Iggy Pop to get up close and personal with audience members who weren't
in the front row.
A couple years later, the Opera House was "renovated" ("stripped") to provide
hosting for hard punk shows in mid-to late 1984. The horseshoe stage was gone,
and something resembling the wide-berth Liberty Hall stage was extant.
The Opera House shut down in late 1984, underwent a rehabilitation, and
reopened as Liberty Hall two years later.
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[Do you have more information about this venue? Please
email me.]
Return to Hüsker Dü dates page
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