But the Santa Cruz Music Collective , which puts together many of this town's underground gigs, won't be stopped that easily. Since there aren't any regular venues for local bands anymore, indie promoters will be forced to find new spots and stay a step ahead of the cops and a city that almost seems to have a vendetta against its otherwise thriving youth music scene. Okay, I'm being cynical.
Neighbors have rights, too.
The trouble is, we've got some 50 bands in town with nowhere to play, let alone a small venue for regular all-ages shows. We've got a real problem here. The PA must have been manufactured in 1960 and the vocals consequently sounded like someone screaming from inside a Coke bottle, but I'll be damned if all four bands didn't kick ass anyway. Torches to Rome , a San Francisco trio with a powerful sound that reminds me a bit of Fugazi , opened the show. Between songs, they talked a lot about the importance of creating true local communities and challenged the crowd to think about why they are into these bands and this music.