Photo By John Anderson
BACK ON THE CHAIN GANG
Tucked away between Cesar Chavez Street and Town Lake, near the mouth of Waller Creek,
Chain Drive at 504 Willow St. has been Austin's main leather bar for more than 20 years. (For the hopelessly obtuse, "leather" means it's popular among motorcycle-riding gay men.) It has one of the nicest patios in town, and for the past year, at least on Wednesday nights, it's also been the city's most unlikely venue for indie, punk, and experimental rock. "I always used to joke that gay bars are our McDonald's – it's the same shit on the menu no matter where you go," says
Terry Sawyer, who books the first and third Wednesdays of every month; his next show is
Baby Robots,
Faceless Werewolves, and
Xcella July 5. "I think there's a huge pocket within the gay community of people who don't listen to [techno] and really like live music," says Sawyer, who also serves as DJ between sets. So far he's met only minimal resistance, both from bands who beg off with "that's not our scene" and Chain Drive regulars concerned that the shows could lead to the bar's being overrun by hipsters. "Honestly, the kind of people that have been showing up for the shows aren't hardcore scenesters of any kind," Sawyer says. "They're people that just want to drink cheap beer and see a good free show."
