The Alaskan pizzeria carpark that became a renowned gig venue
There are plenty of places where artists always dream of performing, whether it’s an iconic venue, a stadium or an outdoor festival location, but for all of the Coachellas and the Glastonburys of the world, sometimes you can’t beat a performance held at a more unusual location.
Perhaps ahead of everything else they’ve achieved as a group, the fact that Metallica can claim to be the only major band to have performed in Antarctica is one of the wildest performances the band have ever committed to, and while their audience was admittedly only just over 100 attendees largely comprised of scientists, this is the sort of thing that’s likely to remain in the memory forever.
Not only will the band themselves remember it vividly, but those who weren’t even in attendance will be able to recall the fact that the iconic thrash metal band have played on every continent as a result of this bizarre stunt. Regardless of whether it’s Metallica or not, the fact that there was even a gig held in such treacherous conditions in an unusual location is what makes it memorable, and this is ultimately what some promoters with a penchant for the esoteric look for in a venue for their shows.
Now, it may not be anywhere near as glamorous as Antarctica, if you can indeed call its freezing cold climate glamorous, but perhaps one of North America’s most unusual and remote summer showcases used to take place in, of all places, a pizzeria carpark in Anchorage, Alaska, and for a number of years, it proved to be an unusually popular destination.
While Anchorage is by far the largest city in the ‘Last Frontier’ state, its lack of proximity to other major cities in North America, let alone the US, means that it rarely finds itself on the itinerary for the tours of any major bands, and therefore, the chance of seeing any major names feels somewhat slim to locals.
However, the folks at Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria in the heart of the city managed to spend a considerable amount of the 2010s putting on summer events that drew in the likes of indie royalty such as MGMT and Modest Mouse to hip-hop legends in Nas and Wu-Tang Clan.
After beginning this venture in 2008 with a Third Eye Blind concert, they eventually managed to convince iconic groups like Primus and Jane’s Addiction to play in an intimate environment usually reserved for their pie-eating patrons to park their vehicles, with the latter’s appearance in 2015 being memorable for how the band persevered through a torrential downpour to play a spellbinding set that charmed their Alaskan audience.
While the last edition of their summer showcase took place in 2018, with their 2020 plans curtailed by pandemic restrictions on live music in the state, for a decade, the establishment best known for their bread and cheese-based delights had somehow managed to make a name for themselves for their eclectic approach to concert promotion.
They may no longer have their annual summer bash, but Moose’s Tooth continues to have smaller local acts performing in the bar, as well as contributing to other events in the Anchorage area. It might not seem like the most glamorous location to have a show, but it may well be exactly the sort of thing that lives in the memory forever.
