First Church of the Buzzard

Few venues in the Bay Area carry the raw, underground energy of the First Church of the Buzzard. This is Oakland's DIY underground at its most unfiltered: a no-frills space where the music is loud, the crowd is committed, and the whole operation runs on the kind of community spirit that no amount of money can manufacture. The venue has hosted some of the heaviest and most extreme underground acts in the region, with past performers including Arizmenda, Blood of Chinnamastika, Carrion Bloom, Haggus, and Altar De Fey. It operates in the tradition of Oakland's storied warehouse and underground venue culture, offering a space where bands that don't fit into polished club environments can find a real audience. If you are a fan of extreme, experimental, or underground music and you want to see it played by people who mean it, this is the room.