The late Randy Hein first opened Providence music venue The Living Room in 1975. The club changed locations over the years, including the classic big bubble incarnation named for an odd-shaped window. Max Creek is one of the groups most closely associated with The Living Room although a range of punk, metal, alternative, reggae, blues and jambands made it home over the years (including numerous acts that we cover at this site, such as: Phish, Widespread Panic, The Disco Biscuits, Assembly of Dust and The Slip). Hein passed away in 2006 and the venue lost some of its steam without its founder. In turn, the Living Room has announced that it will be shutting its doors effectively immediately. A statement on the venues MySpace page explains:

This past Friday, in a very fitting way, six local metal bands played a show at the Living Room. There were some newer bands, young and full of hopeful optimism, and some scene veterans, doing what they love as they have hundreds of times before on that stage. It was the kind of show that kept the doors of that club open for the last fifteen years, and it was the last show.
Randy always said the reason he loved musicians so much and why he kept the doors of the club open when logic and reason both probably dictated otherwise, is because musicians are the last great dreamers of the world. Randy felt it was a dream worth getting behind and he did so with a contagious optimism. The dreams of countless musicians were given a home inside The Living Room, and the scene flourished within its doors. From the hard working veterans of the local scene, to the touring acts, to the teenagers playing their first show on a Monday night in front of their girlfriends and parents, Randy made everyone feel welcome. He always encouraged and supported the bands and his employees in any way he could.
The current staff of The Living Room has taken an enormous amount of pride and put a lot of hard work into keeping Randy’s dream alive. It is with heavy hearts and for reasons outside of our control that we will be unable to continue hosting shows at The Living Room. We sincerely apologize to any bands with shows booked that will not be able to take place. Please look for further announcements about shows that are being moved to other venues. We would also like to thank every single person that ever performed, drank, fought, danced, puked, sang along, worked or dared to dream within the walls of that club, or the two locations that preceded it.
What the future holds is still uncertain, maybe a new location and a new set of dreams. But in the mean time, if you see Papa Joe or Little Pete, any member of the Hien family, DJ Venom, Max Creek, or any of the people or bands that made The Living Room what it was to you over the course of the last thirty years, say thanks. A lot of blood, sweat and tears were shed on that stage and in that room, let’s not forget why and who made it possible for us all to live the dream.
What dreams may come
_Aaron Jaehnig and Gregory Rourke _