In 1968, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham crammed into a tiny basement room on Gerrard Street in London. Page was just trying to salvage the remains of the Yardbirds. They ripped through "Train Kept A-Rollin'" and, according to Page, immediately realized it was a life-changing musical communion. Within weeks, they were touring Scandinavia. Within months, they were recording the debut album that changed rock forever. The official "Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin" photo book has actual shots of these earliest gigs, showing them sweating it out in small clubs before they became stadium gods. What other band had a first rehearsal or early gig where they instantly knew they had lightning in a bottle? Drop the stories below.

There is an unmatched, chaotic energy in band photography from the late 70s, right before massive stadium tours smoothed out the rough edges. Looking at AC/DC between 1976 and 1979 is the perfect example—they don’t look like global rock gods yet, just a gang of guys who plugged into a wall and turned it all the way up. We need to get better at archiving this specific era of photography on the wiki. The unpolished, cramped-stage, cigarette-smoke-in-the-lens shots are pure history. The stadium years are documented to death, but the club days are where the actual story is. Who has the best pre-1980 band photos? Drop your favorite unpolished shots of legendary bands before they blew up.

After the 2025 cancellation and the whole $400+ ticket price controversy, Sick New World is back for 2026. System of a Down headlining again (they've headlined every single edition), Korn co-headlining, and a lineup that's arguably the best they've ever put together. Are you buying in? Did you get burned by the 2025 cancellation, and you're sitting this one out? Or is this lineup too stacked to miss? Drop your take below.

Is it worth going?

We always talk about The Cure like they arrived fully formed as these untouchable goth pioneers, but looking back at their actual early years, it’s a miracle they survived at all. Their first label was a German disco imprint that dropped them because the music was too depressing. Then there’s the time they got kicked off a Generation X tour because Lol Tolhurst stumbled into a backstage bathroom and accidentally peed on Billy Idol. Even when they hit their creative stride recording 'Pornography', they were basically living in a literal mountain of empty lager cans and sleeping on the floor of the record label office. And let's not forget Robert Smith's dad making him go back on tour after he quit during a fistfight with Simon Gallup in Strasbourg. It makes their massive stadium success later on feel even more insane. What’s your favorite unhinged story from a band’s early days? Is there any group that had a messier come-up than early Robert Smith and co?

Think about the best local band you saw in high school. Did you think they were going to be the next Beatles? Lookout Records founder Larry Livermore did. In 1988, he watched Billie Joe and Mike play to exactly five kids in an off-the-grid cabin in Mendocino County. They were 16. It was their third show ever. Livermore decided right then to make a record with them. He eventually walked away from Lookout because the music business got too corporate—treating artists "like soap powder"—but not before launching the biggest punk band on the planet. Decades later, they looked him in the eye from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stage and thanked him. What’s the smallest crowd you’ve ever seen a massive band play to before they blew up? Let's hear your best "I saw them when" stories.

Everyone talks about the massive 90s comeback or the Armageddon soundtrack, but early 70s Aerosmith out of Boston was entirely different. They were gritty, unpolished, and arguably the most dangerous rock band in America at the time. Look at any live shot from the 'Toys in the Attic' or 'Rocks' era—it's pure chaos. Are we in agreement that 1975-1976 was their absolute creative peak, or does someone want to make a serious argument for the late 80s 'Pump' era?

Before getting hired by Circus magazine, Mark Weiss was just a high school kid stuffing a camera under a baggy sweatshirt and paying the Madison Square Garden door guy three bucks to sneak in. He was literally selling 8x10s out of his locker before landing a gig shooting Van Halen at the Asbury Park Convention Hall on August 11, 1979. He eventually became their go-to guy. By the 1982 Hide Your Sheep tour in Chicago, David Lee Roth was calling Weiss's hotel room to demand he come take photos of him climbing a tree to rescue a stuck kite. It makes you wonder how much incredible, unauthorized rock history is still sitting in some guy's attic because he snuck a camera into a legendary gig. Who are the modern-day rogue photographers doing this right now at your local venues? Drop their names, I want to dig through their archives.

British rock band Queen faces Los Angeles thrash metal icons Metallica in this week's hard rock head-to-head poll. Will you choose London's 1970 legends or the group formed in 1981? Cast your vote now before voting closes! Cast your vote on the contest page, then make your case here — why does your pick take it?

They’ve been working on this Travis Barker documentary for 10 years. *Louder Than Fear* covers the whole timeline—from being a trash collector in Laguna Beach, to filling in for Scott Raynor, to surviving that horrific plane crash. We all know he’s the machine behind Blink-182 and The Transplants, but getting a raw look at his recovery and how he got back on the kit is going to be heavy. It hits Disney+ in August. In honor of the doc dropping, let's settle this: what is the absolute best Travis Barker drum track? Is it something off *Enema of the State*, a Transplants deep cut, or a Box Car Racer track? Drop your picks below.

There is something incredibly wholesome about seeing one of metal’s most intense frontmen geeking out in the crowd just like a regular fan. It’s that exact energy we love tracking.

Going to SNW for the first time? Here's what veterans wish they knew: Getting There: There is NO on-site parking. Zero. Don't even try to drive to the festival grounds. Rideshare drop-off is at 810 Circus Circus Dr (south end of grounds) The Las Vegas Monorail stops at Sahara Station — short walk to the entrance from there After the show, Las Vegas Blvd gets closed. Walk to nearby hotels/casinos to call your ride Hotels: Resorts World is the move — walkable to the venue, nice rooms Circus Circus is the budget option but you get what you pay for Surviving the Day (11 AM to midnight): Late April = 80s F desert heat. Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses are non-negotiable Free water stations throughout the grounds — use them constantly Gates open at 11 AM but first band starts at 11:10 AM. If you want to catch openers, be in line EARLY Merch lines have historically been 2-4 HOURS. Decide if that's worth missing sets Wear broken-in shoes — you're standing for 13 hours on turf and concrete What to Bring: Empty water bottle or hydration pack Sunscreen (reapply!) Earplugs (protect your hearing, seriously) Portable phone charger Light jacket for after sunset — desert temps drop fast What NOT to Bring: Professional cameras Outside food/drinks Oversized bags (small clear bags or backpacks only) What tips would you add? Drop them below for the first-timers!

There’s a new exhibit in LA right now showing Kevin Cummins' photos of Oasis from 1993. This is right after they signed to Creation Records. Before Definitely Maybe, before the massive stadium fights, and way before the current reunion madness. Looking at these archives, the craziest thing isn't how young they look. It’s that Liam and Noel already carried themselves like they were the biggest band on earth, even when they were just playing tiny clubs in Manchester. The arrogance was there from day one. It makes you wonder about music photography now. We have a million iPhone videos of every indie band's first gig, but do we get iconic, raw documentation like this anymore? Or did the mystery die when everyone got a camera in their pocket? Who do you think is the most photogenic band of the 90s besides Oasis?

British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac emerged from the London blues scene in 1967, while Australian band AC/DC arrived in 1973 with brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Both bands share a blues rock foundation. Cast your vote for your favorite before voting closes! Cast your vote on the contest page, then make your case here — why does your pick take it?

People are asking the documentary, here the YouTube link

There's a lot of footage floating around of Bad Omens playing the Canal Club in Richmond on an early Sumerian tour. It’s wild to watch now. No massive LED walls, no insane production budget—just the band crammed onto a tiny stage, sweating it out in a packed 300-cap room. Obviously, their current arena shows are visually stunning and they've earned every bit of that success. But watching these old club sets makes you realize how much the dynamic shifts when a band blows up. The raw, unpolished intensity of a tiny room and the direct connection with the barricade is impossible to replicate in a 10,000-seat venue. Do you think the massive production of their current era makes up for the loss of that intimate club energy, or is the Canal Club era the definitive live Bad Omens experience? What’s the smallest room you’ve ever seen them in?