VFW Hall Shows Promise as Future Music Venue with "Do-it-Yourself" Rock Show, Record Swap

Five local bands, including some with members from the Three Village area, played to approximately 100 people at an all-ages show last Saturday night at the VFW Hall in East Setauket. Doubling as a record swap, the event showcased bands that ranged from the punk of Sister Kisser and Rations to the lighter, melodic rock of Make it Plain.

The grassroots night was spearheaded by Rations band member Wells Tipley, a longtime resident of the Setauket area. Involved with "do-it-yourself" punk and post-hardcore rock shows for over a decade, Tipley is excited about recent developments for a local music scene that tends to go in waves.

"There's been a DIY punk and hardcore scene on Long Island going all the way back to the beginning," Tipley said. "It ebbs and flows, but the last few years have been awesome."

He attributes this to there being a number of bands around as well as cornerstone foundations such as Dead Broke Rekerds [sic], which has been putting out local records and holding shows which group local with touring bands.

Brian Donnelly, who grew up in Setauket and also plays in the band Rations, has been playing in punk bands for several years. He recalls that in the late 1990s there was a "thriving DIY community" in the Setauket and Port Jefferson area, with punk shows happening regularly at West Meadow Beach and at Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai.

"There are a lot of talented local bands," Donnelly said. "It was great to see such an amazing sense of community at the Setauket VFW hall show. Everyone respected each other and was there to have a good time and listen to music. That's what this has always been about for me."

Krissy Agathos, a student at Stony Brook University, was happy to be there and would like to see more going on.

"Long Island needs more places like this," she said, referring to the VFW venue. "This can definitely become a great community space for kids all over the island to experience and share art and music. The bands were great and there were really good vibes. I applaud the folks who put this together for providing something that is all-ages."

Tipley is looking forward to having more shows at the VFW Hall in the near future.

"Good regular venues for these kind of shows are hard to come by," he said. "A lot of times, shows are thrown in basements or living rooms or backyards around Long Island. Those are great, but it's good to have a proper venue available for bands to play at too."