The Fireside Bowl

:"For the series of live punk albums, see Live at the Fireside Bowl."

The Fireside Bowl (or the Fireside) is a bowling alley and music venue established in the 1940s, located at 2648 W Fullerton Ave in Chicago, Illinois.

History

The building was an ice factory in its early days. At some point, two of the ice factory's workers bought the building, and converted it into a bowling alley, cashing-in on the bowling craze that began in mid-20th century America. The Fireside also hosted rock shows (while still functioning as bowling alley), hosting shows every night of the week. The Fireside Bowl in its heyday was of the same spirit as ABC No Rio and 924 Gilman Street. The Fireside Bowl is located in Logan Square.

The artists were typically "underground" ska, punk, rock, indie, noise and hardcore bands. Many Chicago-area bands played their first and last shows there.

Some notable bands that debuted or played early concerts at the Fireside include: AFI, Alkaline Trio, Allister, At the Drive-In, The Ataris, The Blood Brothers, Brand New, Cursive, Death Cab for Cutie, The Dismemberment Plan, The Donnas, The Faint, Fall Out Boy, Finch, Jimmy Eat World, The Lawrence Arms, Less Than Jake, Murder By Death, My Chemical Romance, Rise Against, Slapstick, Smoking Popes, Thrice, Thursday, Xiu Xiu and many more. The entry cost was typically $5 with no age restriction. The stage and audience areas were restricted by a large orange plastic fence that prevented anyone from walking on the bowling lanes which were kept in near-total darkness. Regardless of its appearance, the Fireside Bowl was a very sought-after venue for bands because of the intimacy experienced between bands and fans while playing.Fact|date=December 2007

In 2004 The Fireside Bowl ceased hosting concerts; it was claimed that the bands and fans during the shows caused too much damage and the owners wanted to focus more on bowling.Fact|date=December 2007

Much work was put into the Fireside to make it a proper bowling venue; the building was cleaned up, including the bathrooms, which had almost been completely non-functioning. As of 2005, the venue once again started hosting occasional music performances, with concerts by Dave Matthews tribute bands and Mr. Blotto, although these were no longer all-ages shows.

Popular Culture

The bowling scenes from the 2006 film The Break Up, featuring Vince Vaughan and Jennifer Aniston, were filmed at the Fireside.

External links

* [http://www.mpshows.com The original bookers of the club]
* [http://www.firesidebowl.com The Fireside Bowl official website]
* [http://centerstagechicago.com/music/clubs/fireside-bowl.html Fireside Bowl description]
* [http://chicago.citysearch.com/profile/3727822/ The Fireside Bowl's profile on Citysearch]
* [http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/barsandclubs/27998,0,3777578.location?coll=mmx-visiting_heds Information on the Fireside at metromix.com]
* [http://petdance.com/csl Archives of The Chicago Shows List, a weekly listing of Chicago music happenings]