The Poison Control Center to reunite for Asklandaganza 8

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Courtesy The Poison Control Center.

Ames rock mainstays The Poison Control Center will make a rare appearance at the Vaudeville Mews on Saturday as part of Asklandaganza 8. 

Waylon Sternhagen

Ames music legends The Poison Control Center, renowned for their loud, high-energy stage show, will reunite for a one-off performance at the Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines on Saturday.

While the band played a staggering 284 shows from 2010 to 2011, PCC has been relatively quiet in the years since. With members spread from coast to coast in five different states, gigs have been few and far between, primarily limited to friends’ weddings.

Nevertheless, the band has made it a point to appear annually at Asklandaganza, the birthday bash of Vaudeville Mews booking agent Ladd Askland.

“The first Asklandaganza was eight years ago and seemed like such a legendary show,” said Devin Frank, PCC guitarist and vocalist. “We had to do it another year.  And year after year, it’s been a blast.”

According to Patrick Tape Fleming, who also plays guitar and sings in PCC, Asklandaganza has become so engrained in the histories of the band and the Vaudeville Mews that it goes without saying that they will play the show every year.

“This year [Ladd] didn’t even ask [if we would play],” Fleming said. “All the sudden it was posted on Facebook… he didn’t even ask, he just assumed. But we’ll do that for Ladd, because we’re good buds with him and the Vaude and the M-Shop have always been the two homes of PCC.”