Apocalypse Know

The Know was more than an earsplitting punk dive.

The Northeast Alberta Street bar, which will host its final show Nov. 27 before taking over the Blackbird's old spot on Sandy Boulevard in early 2017, was also a fine place to watch the Super Bowl with friendly regulars. It was an ideal hideaway for afternoon benders with heartsick buds. It accommodated loners and loudmouths alike.

Related: "The Know Is Closing."

The same could be said for countless watering holes. But from 8 to 11 pm every night, the Know became something truly special—a breeding ground for the best loud, fast, angry, punishing and beautiful music in Portland, and the world. There was no place like it.

Don't take my word for it, though. Listen to the folks who played, worked, danced, raged and found meaning there. CHRIS STAMM.

David Rose (the Know booker)

"It's pretty surreal looking back over the show posters for the Know since I began booking for them in spring of 2010. I mean, literally the first show I worked was for Jonathan Richman! It's always been that kind of place. Many of the bands and artists could play any venue in town, but they choose the Know because it has something special that can't easily be quantified.

"That said, one of my strongest memories of the Know is perhaps one of my earliest. The bill was Warcry, Criminal Damage and Fy Fan in March 2008. I remember there were these awkwardly large, torn-to-shit booths kinda arbitrarily placed along the walls of the venue. The place was packed, and I ended up clamoring onto a booth to get a better vantage of the bands over the thrashing audience. What I saw from my perch was incredible, and something I'm thankful to have been involved with."

Tekiah (Macho Boys)

"The best show I ever saw at the Know was the Mob the first time they came to Portland. The Mob has been one of my favorite bands for years, so I was really excited. I remember walking in and seeing Mark, the singer, and I just started bawling. He came up to me laughing and hugged me. I was starstruck, I guess you'd call it. I took a picture with him and told him what an inspiration his band was to me. The show that night was great. I had seen the Mob at Chaos in Tejas that summer, but seeing them at the Know was way more intimate."

Mira Glitterhound (Sweeping Exits)

"After four months in hibernation we'd landed a show with Divers, which was huge for us. I did my typical manic stage antics, beyond excited to see [Divers singer-guitarist] Harrison [Rapp] watching from the back. Then Divers came on and decimated the stage, lifting everyone's spirits. The beautiful thing about that night was that you felt like you were in your living room, but you also felt like you were in a movie. That, to me, is the Know."

Related: "Sweeping Exits Invites You To Live In Its Glam-Punk Fantasy World."

Mike Moshburn (poster artist)

"I will never forget seeing our friend Jonathan Richman three nights in a row in 2012. But credit for my deep affection for the Know goes to the staff and community coming together to support each other, express themselves, make friends, mourn friends and build a beautiful community in a true punk spirit. The Know is bigger than a dirty old building on Alberta thanks to all those people—Jonathan Richman included."

Nathan Carson (Witch Mountain, Nanotear Booking, WW contributing writer)

"I saw some great shows at the Know, some by 'historic' artists. But what sticks in my mind is a set by Seattle prog-grind trio Spacebag, who threw down epic virtuosity in the most irreverent yet undeniable manner. The Know was always thoroughly unpretentious—except for punk pretension. The folks who came out for Spacebag were there for a good time, they got it, and they didn't smell bad. I loved the family vibe, the low-key atmosphere and the good beer—all of which offset the mediocre acoustics. Can't wait for the same vibes in a new room."

NorthernDraw (Thirsty City)

"The MNDSGN show was crazy. We do DJ sets after live performances from 11 pm to close, and MNDSGN was supposed to spin records after his set for a while, but someone forgot the Serato box. Pointing at my box of records, I said, 'Why don't you just spin from my collection?' We ended up going one-for-one the rest of the night, passing each other records back and forth, laying down the funk."

Kelly Fay Vaughn (DJ Suzanne Bummers, Not OK PDX)

"At the Eddie and the Hot Rods show a couple years back, I was initially bummed by how many people weren't there, but that quickly changed when they started playing and the small crowd went wild. I crowd-surfed to 'Do Anything You Wanna Do' and danced with strangers to their cover of 'Gloria.' They were incredible—the band, not the dancing. Our dancing was terrible. There was a moment of complete bliss when I realized I was in love with my partner at the time and the unity that I thought Portland had lost was in full swing. We were all alive."

Laken Wright (Blowout, the Know sound engineer)

"Some of the raddest moments I've seen have been in the wake of the Know's end on Alberta: a guitar getting chain-sawed in half onstage, the opening of multiple piñatas midset, and 'Fuck Trump' scrawled on the walls. No local venue could top the lively, community-driven energy felt at each show. I'll miss the light heckling of the Salt & Straw line and waiting for my beer-soaked hair to dry."

Keith Henderson (the Know bouncer and bartender)

"Memorable shows for me are the ones I wasn't expecting to be all that good and weren't all that well-attended or -promoted, but then they turn out to be my new favorite band. That happened with Dirty Fences, for sure. Spitting Image from Reno; Wand—that band rules. My favorite shows were the ones I didn't realize I'd be so psyched about. Then, of course, there were the shows I was psyched about—and those ruled, too."

Jose De Lara (Stress Position, Drunk Dad)

"Platitudes about 'punk institutions' and such can come off as contrived in these modern times where such things are easily purchased and affected. However, there is no other way to describe the Know [other than] as a space for the heavy, the loud, the weird and the raucous.

"Favorite memories and shows are innumerable, but seeing the Body play there and being punished by bowel-crushing, low-bass frequencies sticks out in my mind as something I will never again experience and will forever cherish.

"The changing landscape of high-rises and the boutique reselling of culture exists in spite of something that can never be faked. Friendship, challenging ideas, off-the-wall music, and feeling like you are a part of something that actually matters can't be synthesized, and the Know is the most organic lab for that that we will ever know. Long live."

SEE IT: Bi-Marks play the Know, 2026 NE Alberta St., with Long Knife, Wild Mohicans, PMS 84 and Sweats, on Sunday, Nov. 27. 8 pm. $7. 21+.