Following the success of two sold-out concerts in its opening weekend, the Maintenance Shop promises more local shows throughout the rest of the year. Funky local favorites Mr. Plow, with openers Trend 86 and Index Case, took the M-Shop stage on Thursday, Aug. 24, playing to a sold-out crowd of about 200 people. “That was crazy,” Mr. Plow bassist Sam Johnson said. “We were really psyched. We didn’t expect it to sell out. We hoped it would though.” Ames punk-ska band Grubby Ernie also performed for a capacity crowd on the Saturday of the M-Shop’s opening weekend. Grubby Ernie lead vocalist Brad Thoen was invigorated at the crowd’s response. “I expected a good turn-out,” Thoen said. “There were lots of people there I had never seen before.” M-Shop director Boonie is a large force behind the local music movement at the venue. In the two and a half years that Boonie has worked at the M-Shop, he said no local bands had ever held sold-out shows there before this fall’s opening weekend performances. “I think we do have an advantage,” Boonie said. “We’re not geared toward financial gain. We can do a show for the sake of doing a show and just let the bands do their thing.” Fifty Mr. Plow tickets were sold in advance through Ticketmaster, and the rest were snatched up within 20 minutes on show night, according to Johnson. People who hadn’t been lucky enough to get tickets to see Mr. Plow were standing outside the M-Shop hoping to catch a tidbit of what was happening on the other side of the doors. In the past, Mr. Plow has played several sold-out concerts at People’s Bar and Grill, 2430 Lincoln Way. However, in order to play all-ages concerts at People’s, bands must take the stage in the afternoon and early evening. The M-Shop, which is smoke free and serves alcohol to those 21 and over, is open to music lovers of all ages for every performance at any time, day or night. “The great thing about the M-Shop is that we don’t have to have shows at 4 p.m.,” Johnson said. “It’s a real concert – it’s not sunny outside; it’s not during the day. It’s a show at a bar. People don’t like to go out to shows during the day as much as at night.” “It was a good vibe,” Johnson added. “Everyone was just there to hear music. There were lots of new faces, and there were the regulars that are at every show. We love our fans, and they’ll go crazy no matter where we play, whether it’s at People’s, at a party or at the M-Shop.” Although some people were surprised at being turned away after tickets had sold out, Boonie said the energy level of the crowd inside was high. “People were always moving during the Grubby show,” Boonie said. Thoen attributed some of the Grubby Ernie show’s success to good advertising and the popularity of opening bands Minus Zero and High Jinx. “The bands promote themselves well,” Boonie added. “Lots of credit should go to the bands,” Such impressive turnouts may also bring positive attention to the M-Shop and what it has to offer fans of all genres of music. “Before the show I had people come up to me and ask where we were playing, and I’d say the M-Shop, and they wouldn’t even know where it was,” Johnson said. “People go to the Memorial Union and walk by it every day and have no idea what it is.” Thoen feels the M-Shop has an obligation to students and to the local music environment because of its position as a university organization. Both Mr. Plow and Grubby Ernie expect the two successful shows will be a helpful push towards booking more regional talent. “Us and Mr. Plow showed the people at the M-Shop that local music has as much pull as national acts,” Thoen said. Johnson is just excited to make a difference in what the students and community will have a chance to attend at the M-Shop. “People are more likely to go there to see national acts once they have been there to see local bands,” he said. In the next few months such local acts as the Mediocre Superheroes, 38th Parallel and Pookey Bleum will perform at the M-Shop. An events calendar can be found at the M-Shop’s web site, www.m-shop.com “It all comes back to Boonie and Eric [Yarwood, M-Shop Coordinator],” Johnson said. “They have been involved in lots of local bands. They are raising awareness for local music. It’s an actual venue aimed at the bands and the music. That place has really blown up.”