Venue(s) alert: The return of the Fulton and ... the Wilson Theater?

Plus, Motel Drive collaborates with Poor Man's Poison and that time Fresno broke breakdancing.

If you’ve been paying attention to local gig fliers lately (both the digital and the physical kind posted up in windows) you’ll have noticed something odd.

Two long-shuttered Fresno venues seemed to have popped up again.

These are named we haven’t really seen since the 1990s.

The first is the Fulton, aka the Fulton Bar, which was a dive bar indie punk space on what used to be the Fulton Mall. Any number of local bands cut their teeth on the Fulton stage, along with some really rad touring acts. I’ve been told that the Norwegian rock band Turbonego had a epic performance there to maybe four or eight people.

The space has undergone several incarnation and ownership since. It was a Mexican restaurant and an pizza/calzone joint and one of Fresno’s first craft beer bars, though most people will remember it as the hipster third space Peeve’s Public House.

Most recently it has been operating as a restaurant/bar/music and nightclub under the name La Maison Kabob.

It’s not 100% clear whether this is a full rebranding for the space, but it sounds like the restaurant will also be taking on the new (old) name and doing some tweaks to the menu.

The Fulton already has several show booked, including a comedy show Sept. 30, headlined by Saul Trujillo. Rapper Dizzy Wright performs on Friday. Zodiac Shows is bringing B. Foundation through the spot Oct. 6.

Also seeing a rebranding is the Wilson Theater, which was one of Fresno’s remaining historic theaters. It operated as a movie house until the 1970s and became a much-used music venue during the 1990s, before being taken over by the Cornerstone Church, which has been using it for worship services and other mostly Christian events.

It appears, the church is looking to expand into more family friendly (possibly less Christian, but still content appropriate) entertainment at the theater.

And for that, it’s bringing back the Wilson Theater name. That starts with a concert from “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood, who performs at the theater on Tuesday as part of his 40 Years of Hits tour.

You can check out more on the theater at wilsontheaterfresno.com.

Motel Drive, “If We Were Vampires”

Last week, Motel Drive released the first single from (or maybe just a teaser for) their upcoming album. It’s a cover of Jason Isbell tune “If We Were Vampires,” done in collaboration with Poor Man’s Poison.

Musically, Motel Drive’s version doesn’t stray too far from Isbell’s alt-country original, while managing to capture something new from the song. Much of that lies in the instrumentation and vocal harmonies, so seems owed to the collaboration itself.

The track was recorded at Rabbit Hole Studios, which has produced some really good work in recent years (see Underlord, Dying Suns, etc.).

We haven’t heard much from Poor Man’s Poison in recent years. Here’s hoping this means a return is in the works.

From Fresno to the Olympics?

Apparently, breakdancing might be in the Olympics in 2024? Which is cool, but also an opportunity to remind people about Fresno’s connection to sport/culture.

Last week, The Red Bulletin, had this piece on the influence of the West Coast on the early days of break dancing. Not far into the story we get this:

“In the agricultural hub of Fresno, California, Sam Solomon, aka ‘Boogaloo Sam,’ improvised upon the Bay Area’s funk dances to produce ‘popping,’ a paroxysm of jerky arm, leg, chest and neck pops—as though the dancer was practically popping out of his skeleton.”

“By the late 1970s, the poppers from California’s Central Valley had teamed up with dancers from Long Beach to form the iconic pop and locking crew, the Electric Boogaloos. And when these moves were fused with the ground-level gymnastics of New York’s B-Boys, breaking truly took off.”

This isn’t the first time this story has been told and it only hints at the legacy of breakdancing culture in the Valley, but hey, the reminder is always nice.

That’s it for this week. Remember you can now hear me on the Homegrown Show Sundays at 8 p.m. on New Rock 104.1 FM. If you have anything you think I need to be looking at or listening to, feel free to let me know: jtehee@gmail.com