SPOT 14th Anniversary Party
Featuring Dinosaur Jr. and The Beat Buttons
January 19th, 2007
Words: PJ Cheng
Photos: Michael Spadoni

The best vantage point might have been from the third floor stairwell of The Fernando Noriega Garage. But only the true hardcores ventured inside the Cuban Club compound to witness Skatepark of Tampa's 14th Anniversary Party. The indie-rock jams of The Beat Buttons' opening session could be heard blocks away and the line for tickets spilled out into Palm Avenue traffic. Fourteen kegs of free beer (one for each year of SPOT's existence) didn't last long with this crowd and those who fought their way in were oddly treated to another line to get their booze bracelet and then another line to buy the elusive beverages. That was pretty lame and, at times, you felt the edginess amongst the packed house. However, the music and historic atmosphere made up for it. Club grooves pumped up the indoor house party while the outdoor scene thrived with SPOT people and the like who were casually waiting, mingling and getting their drink on before the main event starring recently reformed alt-rockers, Dinosaur Jr.

Things quickly changed once they took the stage. With no buffer between the stage and the skaters, raucous acts of crowd surfing, pit moshing, stage dancing and stage diving were rampant. Being a SPOT party, it was nothing new and only added to the feel of good rock show. J.Mascis continued to shred on his Jazzmaster and didn't seem to mind when one fan broke through the band's personal space to give him a hug. The brave soul then jumped off onto the front row, eventually vanishing below people's heads. Lou Barlow played his bass like it was a six string, ferociously strumming it with huge motions during The Wagon and Little Fury Things. Barlow also played the obligatory lost and found-attendant; between tracks, he would pick up errant shoes and keys in an attempt to find their proper owners. When a free skate deck was about to be given away, Barlow snagged it from the bouncer's hands and exclaimed, "Don't give it to these fuckers! They're crazy! They'll just start hitting each other with it!" Without a doubt, Tampa knows how to throw a party.