Today we are listening to the Reba from Liberty Lunch, Austin, TX listen along with us here. https://relisten.net/phish/1993/03/06/reba?source=163066. You can also follow the project @RebaProject or #RebaProject

As with New Orleans it’s impossible for me to pass up the opportunity to talk about the town and it’s music. Austin has a rich musical history.

Austin Texas is the self-proclaimed “Music Capital of the World “and with good reason. There are TONS of places to go see live music in Austin. When most people think of Texas they think of country music, and there’s no shortage of that in Austin.

Country Music is far from the whole story of this town.... The history and folklore tell you that The Austin music scene really started to become what it is today in 1972 when Willie Nelson moved from Nashville to Austin. It was much more than just Willie Nelson

He actually was following in the footsteps of Michael Martin Murphey, Marcia Ball, Gary P. Nunn, Jerry Jeff Walker, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Waylon Jennings. While this may be the origin story… It was a much larger movement.

Hordes of young people moved to Austin around this time. The rent was cheap and the town quickly became a haven for the creative and intellectual as well as rednecks and good ol’ boys. It was a perfect melting pot for the type of country music that was born in this period.

The town was the perfect incubator for the vibrant music scene that emerged. In January 1975 the iconic Austin City Limits show aired on PBS featuring none other than Willie Nelson. If you’re still reading at this point you have seen at least one episode of ACL.

By the 1980’s Austin was a stop for musicians of all genres. The Police, the Talking Heads, the Go-Go’s, the Clash and everything in between would make a stop in Austin.

Austin plays host to several modern music festivals the most notable are South by Southwest (SXSW) and the Austin City Limits festival.

If you want to see live music in Austin you don’t have to look far. 6th Street, the Warehouse District, Downtown, Central East Austin, South Congress, the Red River District, the University of Texas, South Lamar, and South Austin all have venues galore.

There is a lot more history than what I’m about to offer, but it’s worth noting that the first successful Rock and Psychedelic music venue in Austin was the Vulcan Gas Company which opened in 67 and closed in 1970. It paved the way for what was to come in the city’s scene.

The Vulcan closing made way for the Armadillo World Headquarters which is a venue that was created by Eddie Wilson out of an old Armory tucked behind a skating rink. There is too much history in this venue alone to get into it all here...

but to scratch the surface, Willie and Waylon played there frequently as did Ray Charles and SRV. Frank Zappa and Freddie King recorded live albums there and it was the site of the first US gig played by AC/DC. In short, the place has history.

Fast forward to 1981 The Armadillo was demolished and roof beams from that venue were brought over to support the roof structure of a venue called the Liberty Lunch. Which brings us to the site for today’s version of Reba

The now defunct Liberty lunch or “The Lunch“was a venue that went through several transformations. It started out with a dirt floor with no roof abd played host to a regular Tuesday reggae band and several comedy acts. Over time it went through several renovations.

Wood floors were added a new façade was put on the front of the building and two different versions of the roof were built. But it’s inside of the building is where the real story begins.

Fucking everyone played the lunch. To name a few: Bad Religion, The Neville Brothers, Dwight Yoakam, The Descendants, Dinosaur Junior, Living Color, Billy Bragg, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Wilco, The Replacements, Fishbone, The Violent Femmes, Green Day, Beck, Alanis Morissette,

Nirvana, The Foo Fighters, The Smashing Pumpkins, Social Distortion, No Doubt, Suicidal Tendencies, NoFX, Dolly Parton, Hot Tuna, The Flaming Lips, Black Flag, Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett, They Might Be Giants, Sonic Youth, Husker Du

Bob Mould, Iggy Pop, Björk, Oasis, Ween, The Meters,George Clinton, The Lemonheads, My Bloody Valentine, Mazzy Star, The Proclaimers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Butthole Surfers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, John Hiatt, Todd Rundgren, Iron Butterfly, Run DMC

John Lee Hooker Ana’s Gwar. The venue was forced to close 1999 but it’s rumored to be coming back.

If you ever get the chance to see music in Austin (Phish or otherwise) do not pass it up! Wander around the town, listen to the stories and read about the history. It’s an incredible place.