The night Des Moines started to feel like home

Bury Your Dead played at People’s Court in 2010.

September is here. School is back in session. The Iowa State Fair is over, which is Iowa’s official way of announcing that summer has packed its bags. It is also my birthday month. On Sept. 11, I will turn 41. I have lived in Des Moines since 2007. I moved here from Denver, where entire neighborhoods seemed to come alive at night. Bands played at places such as the Ogden Theatre and the Gothic Theatre; when the shows ended, everyone seemed to scatter into the surrounding bars.

As a 22-year-old moving to a new city, I had no idea what Des Moines would be like. Whenever I asked about nightlife, the answer was essentially the same: Court Avenue. That was about it. The East Village was still a year or two away from becoming the destination it is today. There were dive bars scattered around town. Lime Lounge, at 2706 Ingersoll Ave., always seemed slightly out of place. GT’s was there. Alpine was alive and apparently on its third life. The Locust Tap was where many of my soon-to-be friends tended bar. But for a night out, Court Avenue was the place.

At 216 Court Ave., People’s Court occupied the second floor of a three-story building. Above it was Liar’s Club, owned by Frankie Farrell before he opened the Gas Lamp in 2010. Liar’s Club was not really my scene. People’s Court was. It was a solid, medium-sized venue, similar in feel to Wooly’s. Down the street was Vaudeville Mews, the darling of downtown and a place that remains sorely missed.

Halestorm played at People’s Court in 2010.

People’s Court had an interesting history. It began in Ames as People’s Bar and Grill, at 2430 Lincoln Way, opened by Tom Zmolek. It became a popular stop for some of Ames’ legendary punk bands, including Total Passover and Grain USA. Then, in 2007, the landlord decided not to renew the leases of several tenants. People’s Bar and Grill closed May 31. That same day, People’s Court opened in Des Moines. The new venue could hold as many as 900 people and boasted 100 beers on tap. It also had a brand-new sound system, which probably came in handy considering it had to compete with whatever was coming through the floor from Liar’s Club.

You entered from the street and climbed the stairs to the second floor.

Around it were restaurants that are now part of Des Moines history: Spaghetti Works, Court Avenue Brewing and, my favorite, 4th Street Italian Beef. Java Joes on Fourth Street stayed open late, providing coffee and sandwiches for those who needed to sober up, fuel up or simply keep the night going.

In 2012, I saw Gwar’s “Return of the World Maggot Tour” at People’s Court. It was the last Gwar tour I would see with Dave Brockie onstage before his death in 2014. Ghoul, Municipal Waste and Legacy of Disorder also played that night.

I remember walking out onto Court Avenue afterward covered in fake blood and various bodily substances. The twenty-somethings were not ready for this.

I vaguely remember walking to 4th Street Italian Beef after the show. The restaurant was on the bottom floor of the Randolph Hotel, where I sat while Tommy Farrell showed me a magazine featuring his brother — for the third time.

Today, 216 Court Ave. is home to The Stuffed Olive. People’s closed in 2019. 4th Street Italian Beef is gone. Java Joes closed in 2021. The buildings remain, but much of the city I knew at 22 has disappeared.

Maybe that is what birthdays are really good for. They force you to notice that the places you once thought would always be there are not. The bars close. The bands move on. The restaurants disappear. And, somehow, you become the person telling younger people about the places they missed.

That is why I was especially happy to receive a recording of Total Passover’s final show at People’s Bar and Grill in Ames in 1993, courtesy of the band’s drummer. You can listen to it for free at Iowa Basement Tapes on Bandcamp. Give it a listen. It is a little piece of Iowa history — and a reminder that while the buildings, bars and bands may change, the best part of a city is what we carry with us when we leave them. ♦

Kristian Day is a filmmaker and writer based in Des Moines. He also hosts the syndicated Iowa Basement Tapes radio program on 98.9 FM KFMG. Instagram: @kristianday | Twitter: @kristianmday