Betty Is A[n Indie] Punk Rocker: Sala Potemkim…

So last night, I had what’ll probably go down as the BEST night I’ve had in Salamanca–and all because I went to this place:

…Sala Potemkin!!!!…

But what makes Potemkin so special???…It’s a nice little dive bar where there’s live performances of alternative music–punk, indie, folk, blues rock, metal, you name it…I found out about it a few weeks before coming to Salamanca when I read a description of it in Lonely Planet: Spain–and for a weird indie girl like me who LOVES alt. music and subcultures, this sounded like the dopest place in townt!!…Plus, I’d never been to an intimate live show in a club before, and I’d always wanted to–therefore, I was determined to go to this place!!…

I had been trying for weeks to get somebody to go with me–because, let’s get real, a show wouldn’t be that much fun to go to a solas (plus, my Mom would have a heart attack)–but, there wasn’t much luck there…Thankfully, Nick wanted in–which is lucky, because we only have 2 weeks left in Salamanca, and I’ve seen no ads for shows in May–so it was pretty much like, it’s now or never…

But, before any epic event, one must eat dinner, so Nick and I went pincho bar-hopping in Van Dyck–a street famed for having the best tapas in Salamanca (thanks for buying, man!!)…

…una vieira rellena (a stuffed scallop), and…

…una hamburguesa sin pan (a burger without bread)…Both delicious…

Afterwards, we met up with Nick’s friend Christie (Kristi, Cristi???–idk [I’ll stick with Christie]) and hanged out at Molly Dutmers–a really chill, Irish-y bar–where we ran into Marta, our fabulosa Cultural Instructor, who just happened to be there with a friend…When we told her about where we were going and who was playing, she was like, ¿Boikot en Potemkim?–¿¿Cuando [When]?? in a real excited voice–so, I got a feeling that it was a really big deal…

When we got to Potemkim, there were people out the wazoo, with those who’d already bought tickets being admitted first…I was a little worried about us not getting in because we didn’t already have tickets, but luckily, we were allowed in at 15 E a head (once again, thank you, Nick!!)…

Oh, yeah, and about the band that was playing…In case you didn’t catch it earlier, their name is Boikot, and their music can best be described as high-energy punk with some epic metal-like breakdowns…According to my Wikipedia-garnered knowledge, they’re originally from Madrid, and they’ve been on the scene since 1987…From what I’ve heard, they were more successful like about a decade ago–but, they’re still popular (or otherwise, they wouldn’t be playing for 15 E a head [which is pretty steep for a show like this])…

Here’s a song that’ll give some idea as to their sound…

The interior of the club was pretty interesting–it was pretty dark, and rather cramped, but that made for a rather quaint environment…I have pictures–but be warned, neither of my cameras are of that high a quality…

And I did something that night I never thought I’d do: moshing…For those of you who don’t know, “moshing” is when a bunch of people at a concert (usually a punk or metal one) form a circle, and then rush into said circle, pushing and slamming into each other intentionally in the process (for funsies)–sort of like this…

Now, “moshing” is distinct from a “Wall of Death”, where some fools take it too far, and actually start punching and kicking each other (“for funsies”)…But, there wasn’t a Wall of Death that night, so it was all good!!…

I didn’t go to the show intending to mosh–I actually spent most of it around the edges of the pit (I still got shoved quite a bit, though)…But at one point, I went to the center of the floor to join up with Christie and Nick, and then the moshing just broke out…Hey, I’ll keep it real–I was a little flustered at first, but I didn’t get knocked down to the floor or anything, and once the adrenaline kicked in, I actually got into it…Granted, I didn’t go back in (I didn’t have the energy)…Granted, I was a little sore when I woke up (at Noon [maybe the show had something to do with that]) but it was fun none-the-less…

Oh, and if you didn’t get the allusion in my title, it’s this…

Ah, man–What an awesome first show this was!!!!–Anyone else been to Sala Potemkim???…

Oh, and speaking back to music, I’m currently obsessed with “Over the Love” by Florence + The Machine–Flo kills this song, and it kinda makes me want to see The Great Gatsby even more!!