Firehouse 13

Disgusting, trashy place that smelled like rotton shellfish. If you want to stand around like cattle packed into a box, come here. They only serve crappy beer, but that is par for the course considering it’s located in the projects. I was so pissed my boyfriend brought me to this shithole I made him swear to never take me back there. The smell got to me so much, I went outside to wait for my boyfriend. If it’s a must see band, I guess you gotta do what you gotta do but otherwise, don’t bother.

Pretty cool local small venue. Great to see them allowing localish small band here too. Went to see midnight madness from mystic ct breath of fresh air pop punk and a few harder bands. Staff is very friendly and the place really has the divvy rock n roil retro look down path

It’s I guess what you call rock and roll war torn. This is not a place to bother with fancy shoes or anything because no one will care and it’s not worth it. While we were there for a show, a few cars were broken into out back so make sure you park in the front. They take cash and credit but the selection is standard. Stage is an okay size but this isn’t one of my favorite venues.

I really forgot just how long firehouse actually is. It was nice to not be in a venue and have a blast of cold air rush by whenever the front doors were opened because we were standing so far from it. There is so much space here, I’m surprised they haven’t installed a bar further back, since the lone bar up front can get over crowded or difficult to get to once the show is in full swing if there is an active audience. The set up of the seating areas is a bit weird, as some low tables are scattered closer to the entrance, but do not off any sort of view of the stage. This could be the spot for a bar.
Speaking of the bar, they only serve beer and wine. They do try to make a few fun cocktails with the different bud light canned «margaritas» but its not a great as a real cocktail. They were lovely enough to hand out samples so that one didn’t have to commit to the crazy concoction without trying one at least.
The sound was great throughout the night, nothing super loud, no breaks, cracks etc in the sound and the sound guy managed to handle a metal rockabilly hybrid, a punk band, folk band, and acoustic soloist without blinking an eye.
The area seems far less rough than it did the first few times I went there, yes I still probably wouldn’t walk around much, but the ⁷⁄₁₁ and McDonalds right near it have both received updates. On street parking should really be expected at this point in Providence and there really is a good amount of it here.

Trying to bring the old small concert venue approach back to the Providence Area.
Went to see the band Gypsyhawk the other night, really didn’t know what to expect. The place is old firehouse converted into small concert venue. They usually book heavier more eclectic bands.
Here’s what I like:
Cheap beers — 3 to 5 dollar range, which going out to see a show is great, some quality craft bottles for that price as well
Cheap ticket — usually most shows are 10 bucks and under
The sound — the place sounds great for little dumpy venue, whoever setup it took some time and care to make sure the system pump out great sounds. Even crappy low budget bands sounded pretty good.
The Bands — they came and hung out in the crowd after
Unlike’s:
Strange parking setup but manageable
Overall, a simple old school small rock venue with great beer prices and cheap admission. I would have to say a winner.
Thanks

This is a cheap date’s dream: local music, cheap booze, and a McDonald’s across the street. Need I say more?

This is a cool little place.
The bar is pretty bare bones, you won’t find any espresso martinis here (then again if you want one of those, you may be at the wrong spot)
The live music is what makes this place kick.
The stage is high and the sound is great.
Shows are usually all ages.
The only drawback is parking, it’s not something that they have control over so I won’t count that against them.

Great venue to see local art and music. The cover for shows is hardly ever over $ 5, and the beer and wine selection is fairly cheap.
I really like the décor in the bathrooms, although they tend to get a little dirty throughout the night.
The parking is meh. The lot is reserved for residents only, so you have to park on the street. Usually you can find a spot, but I have to cross my fingers and hope that I don’t get a parking ticket on some occasions.
The lighting in here makes taking photos a bit challenging, but I have to say that the acoustics are fairly decent for the space.

I had heard of Firehouse 13 from my sister. She’s a big Throttles fan and has seen them at this venue. This place is small but that’s not unusual for RI. It seems nice enough. I didn’t go for a band, I went to see Lisa Gourley Photo Show and Rock N Roll Punk Party. Lisa has been photographing all different kinds of rock shows as well as abandoned buildings and complexes for over 20 years.
If you’ve ever been to the clubs in RI you will notice many of them in Providence (and not only in Providence,) have cruddy parking arrangements (if any at all). Blame it on streets designed back before the invention of cars, and of course the pathetic planning and maintenance of Rhode Island’s government. That aside, expect to look and look for safe parking or be ticketed.
I like this place. It helped that my sister and I planned our visit so we could actually see Lisa before the bands took the stage. It was quiet and there were few people perusing the walls and photos that decorated the old building. The walls were a dark brown and a blood red but didn’t look dingy. Maybe because it was afternoon and very sunny out. I’m sure that this place gets crammed easily when there’s a show. The arrangement is relatively simple so finding the toilets and the bar is not hard to do even if your tossed off your @ss.
Since this area of Providence has been cleaned up a little it’s not as scary in the day time. Still the skidder that walked the sidewalk with his eyes closed and dangling a water bottle was a little creepy. I’ve seen worse in Providence and I’ve definitely seen much worse on Broad Street. Central Street parallels Broad Street and is right behind the Mc Donald’s.
I plan on trying to make it up tomorrow since this show is going on all weekend. The McGunks, Hank Sinatra Jr. and Six Star General should be playing as well as others. If you go too say «Hi!» to Lisa, she’s a really nice person who knows almost all of the Providence bands.

Maybe the sound has gotten better but I always thought it sucked (playing and listening). I never had a problem with the people that worked there but I just never really like the feel of the place. The few people I knew who lived there were spoiled rich kids who would get food stamps to look more down and out while mommy and daddy would pay for everything else they did. I have never really paid much attention to the art there but I blame that on the specific shows that I have seen and not on the space. As for parking there is not ample parking, there is a McDonald’s that doesn’t tow (so far that I know of) or on the one street it’s on since behind it is a school so there are no other streets around. I’ve heard they built a stage which I’m sure helps see a band if there is a crowd. There wasn’t when I was there last so I can’t comment on it. Most of the time it was a venue to see crappy shows (like I said my bands could even play there) that would have been at one of the divier venues a few years back. All the classic dives got closed and now firehouse 13 has become the 5 lb bucket where we throw 9 lbs of shit and sprinkle an occasional good show on top of. Oh and they serve beer, but even that can’t make most of what I saw there better.

Great place to see local art and music. A funky old long and narrow firehouse with simple décor (local artists and photographers), decent beer selection (draughts and bottles), and interesting bathrooms (be sure to check out the toilet art). There’s a random glass opening between the venue and the apartment above. We saw a little kitty who was jamming out to the bands. Our show was sold out but there was still plenty of parking around the venue.
We stopped by for the Slackers show last week and were treated by two amazing opening acts. Be sure to check out the Rudeness (a la Sublime/​Vandals) and Boo City (rock/r&b/blues/&SOUL!) if they are in your town.

When you walk through the front doors to Firehouse 13 on Central Street in Providence, the outside atmosphere kind of gives you the idea of what you’ll see inside: Uncomfortable. When I walked in, the guy taking the money looked to me and my friends and said «$ 9». This despite the fact that the flier said seven dollars. (Later on in the night, though, the guy came to us with his correction and gave us our two bucks back).
The first group that went on was The Boston Typewriter Orchestra whose instruments were, big surprise, typewriters. They were really good and pretty funny. At that point, it was nine o’ clock and only about twenty people were there.
People were somewhat intrigued by the somehow disturbing art pieces that were for sale on that wall. There was caution tape and random props everywhere.
This may sound odd, but the place smelt a little off. It had the aroma of sweetened mothballs and apricots. As i realized later, that was just the smell of happy hipster. The crowd was a little snobby and collegiate. Even the band seemed to be snotty hanging out at the bar with a smug look.
We got picked up at eleven, which the band hadn’t gone on yet. This pissed me off so much. It was like a waste of seven bucks.
On the other hand, though, I did love the costume contest that went on that night. There as a taradactyl and even spiderman climbing in the outside trees. It was really nice to see stuck up people let loose!
Either though this place is pretty cool with some cool acts, the place just makes you feel uncomfortable. I dont know if thats because of the artwork (that I enjoyed) or the people that were there, but I think I’d give Firehouse 13 another chance. It really is a pretty cool venue that supports local artists. And to me, that’s good enough.

Just saw What Cheer here and some other local bands. This is a great space to see local artists and musicians. It’s small but deep with dexenyly high ceilings, soyou can either be right up in the musicians’ face or back a ways and still hear. The walls were filled with art and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Really fun experice — nice to get to a fresh place outside of Boston.
Makes me miss that small gallery that got ripped down in the China Town dev. (oni?) anyway lot of fun to see the South Coast representing and lots of cool kids and adults;).
WEEEEEEEE
Quintessential An exhibition of recent painting and sculpture by emerging South Coast artists:

It’s a fun old firehouse that’s been rehabbed into artist studio’s with a large first floor space used for rotating artwork as well as indie rock shows and hipster dance parties. The place is right next to Jones Warehouse and the Pearl Street Lofts but it is sort of out of the way and difficult to find if you don’t know the area. Check out one of the nights they have a show or party. Plenty of shenanigans.