Wholesale Speak In Tongues: Cleveland's Infamous DIY Punk Venue

Published by Microcosm! An Oral History of Cleveland's Infamous DIY Punk Venue Speak In Tongues was a underground music venue in Cleveland that operated on a DIY basis in the late 1990s. The venue fostered a flourishing creative culture, where you could enjoy a puppet show from a spray-painted couch or meet other punks to start a band. On any given night, you could see hardcore punk, experimental jazz, or thrash shows with fireworks set off inside the building. Traveling bands regularly booked went on to greater fame, like Modest Mouse, Lifter Puller, Jimmy Eat World, Alkaline Trio, and J Church. There may not have been a bar, but a BYOB policy ensures that everyone’s memory is different, resulting in a place that truly was what you made it, a source of lifelong friendships and endless lore. SiT tells a story greater than the sum of each person’s recollections--a picture of a unique, weird, special place that deeply informed the next 20 years of of Cleveland’s underground culture.