In the fall of 1991, some friends and I went downtown for a rock show. I was 19, and most of my other friends were under 21 as well. Back then, there wasn't a lot to do in downtown Albuquerque if you were between 18 and 21. Actually, there wasn't a lot to do downtown if you were over 21. It was a very different place back then. There was one club (Beyond Ordinary) and a couple of theatres (El Rey and the Sunshine) that occasionally put on shows. We were heading to the Sunshine.

It was an all ages show, which was also very unusual. If you were a touring band, you either played Tingley (which is all ages, but a huge place--I saw Aerosmith, Motley Crue and Iron Maiden there--not on the same bill, of course) or one of the other bars and clubs scattered throughout the city. If you were under 21, you couldn't get in the bars and clubs.

But that night at the Sunshine was a band called Fugazi and a couple of local bands (I remember one was BigDamnCrazyWeight). The show was $5. The price and the fact it was all ages was mandated by Fugazi. They only played shows for all ages, and for $5 (no Ticketmaster involved). I hear they raised their price to $6 in recent years. The economy, y'know.

Anyway, this was the first punk show I ever saw. And it was an accident I was there. The accident was completely unaccidental, though. A $5 all ages show when you're 19 and have no where to go? Yep, I'll stand in that line.

A few weeks ago, there was a big fight downtown. Reports put numbers around 200 kids, plus a bunch of cops. The fight, apparently, started between the kids, moved into the street, and then turned on the cops when they tried to break it up. I haven't seen anyone give any explanation for what actually happened, other than the 20 arrests and one chase down Central.

Immediately, however, there were pronouncements about ways to fix the problem. Increased cops downtown on the weekends, more barriers on cruising the downtown streets and possibly not allowing all ages shows at venues that serve alcohol.

Downtown is a different place in 2005 than it was in 1991.

There are four clubs where local, original bands can play most nights of the week. There are about fifteen clubs in the blocks between 2nd and 7th on or right off of Central. Weekend nights downtown mean a lot of different people, most trying to have a good time and having lots of different places to go. A couple of clubs do all ages shows.

The Sunshine and the Launchpad regularly (at least once a week, if not many times a week) stage shows where kids 16 and up can go and enjoy live music of all kinds. Both venues separate the kids from the drinkers. The Launchpad has a Plexiglas garage door that comes down between the bar and the stage. You cannot take drinks near the stage when the kids are there. The Sunshine has an even more elaborate maze to keep the drinkers from the kids. I've been to many all ages shows at both venues, and I've noticed a couple of things. One, the kids have more energy than us boozers. And, two, everyone is rather respectful of each other.

I would be lying if I said nothing bad ever happened at these shows. Most famously, a young Santa Fe girl was raped, killed and stuffed in a locker at the Sunshine a little over a year ago. She was not found for a day or so. The killer was a janitor at the club and had been convicted of similar actions in the past--he was out on probation, though.

Isolated incident? Yes. Devastating? Yes. Many of us thought the Sunshine might get shut down after that. But many changes were made (management and ownership of the club), and security is much tighter there than it used to be. The most recent knee-jerk reaction by our mayor smacks of political grandstanding, but everyone is taking it seriously.

The Sunshine and the Launchpad make a great deal of their money from these all ages shows. They couldn't survive if it was just us drinkers supporting them. Kids aren't as jaded, have more enthusiasm and fanaticism about music than people over 21. Maybe some of it is the drink. Maybe it's just that as most people get older, they see music as one of those "childish" things they can do without. Personally, I've found being childish about such things is more fulfilling than trying to be an "adult."

I know if those two clubs were to close, the music scene in Albuquerque would be severely wounded. Being in a band that plays in downtown bars and clubs, this is a concern for me. It would cut the number of places we could play, and the number of people we can play for. It might begin to reverse all the positive advances our downtown has had in recent years. I'm not saying it'll become the ghost town it used to be in the early 90s, but it certainly isn't a good trend.

If you're in Albuquerque and care anything about the music scene here, find out what you can do to help keep it open for everyone. We need the kids to be excited about local bands. We need to have places for them to go. And we need their enthusiasm. If we push them away, our music scene will cease to be seen.

Matt Worley has been lurking in the back of the Albuquerque local rock scene for longer than he has fingers on his hands.