With the days dwindling down before the lights go out for the last time at Red River punk/metal/indie rock bunker Emo’s Inside on Dec. 30, club management has put out a new, nine-piece puzzle poster highlighting some of the more prominent shows in the club’s closing lineup of bands.

That run effectively begins this Friday with a reunion show for departed Austin indie punks Canoe, who were regulars at the club during their run in the early 2000’s and one in a long string of bands who considered Emo’s something of a home base since it opened in 1992.

Looking at the lineup, bookers paid special attention to the club’s early roots—heavy in punk, hardcore and metal, with scene veterans like Pocket FishRMen, Dixie Witch and Jesus Christ Superfly coming together for one last turn on the small, dingy stage, while newcomers such as OBN III’s and The Flesh Lights affirm that those sounds are in no danger of dying off once the club closes its doors.

And for a “Wow!” factor, how about metal vets Clutch on Dec. 18^th

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an early touring regular at Emo’s that played Austin City Limits Festival in 2009. They also headline the new, much larger Emo’s East the night before on Dec. 17^th before heading north to pay tribute. Or there’s instrumental surf-punk rockers Man Or Astroman?, who have played all over the world and built the first Web site for Emo’s.

And for the club’s last hurrah there’s Wisconsin noise rockers Killdozer, who have played only sporadically since their heyday in the ‘90s and will make the trip south to try to make the walls of Emo’s crumble with their bass-heavy sounds.

“Killdozer was one of the first big shows at Emo’s when the club opened, so having them come back and play the last night was a big deal to all of us,” said Ross Bennett, the club’s marketing manager. “For the final lineup of bands, it’s about realizing the past of what Emo’s is about, and that means lots of older bands, lots who have gathered themselves back together to play again since they don’t play out that much anymore. And for the younger bands playing shows, hopefully that’s a really cool thing for them, because we want to show them that we love them and that we’re all about our roots in punk and hardcore music.”

Max Vandever, guitarist/vocalist for Austin punk band The Flesh Lights, said he’s looking forward to playing the penultimate night at Emo’s on Red River—with Quintron, Mind Spiders and Manatees—and reflected on his earliest days at the club.

"The first time we got to play there I was 13 and in a band with my cousin, Alyssa (Ussery) and to us that place was the mecca of music and it couldn’t get any bigger than playing there,” Vandever, 21, said. “I think the next time I was there was a couple years later when I was a little more rebellious and I spit on the band that was playing, so the bouncer ended up throwing me out onto Red River and all the street people who you used to see around there said ‘Now that’s how you get thrown out onto the street!’

“It’s the only club I’ve seen where the employees help you load your gear and it’s weird that it’s going to be closed so soon now. It didn’t matter if I was playing to a huge crowd opening for Stiff Little Fingers or playing to four people with a band from Germany, it was always a great place to play and I’m going to miss having it there downtown as part of that scene.”

The final lineup at Emo’s Inside:
Dec. 9 - Canoe, Ovenbirds, The Nouns
Dec. 10 - Korpiklaani, Arkona, Polkadot Cadaver, Forged In Flame
Dec. 11 - Black Tusk, Monstro, Kyng
Dec. 12 - Pocket FishRMen, Baby Dick, Total Unicorn
Dec. 14 - Dixie Witch, Honky, El Pathos
Dec. 15 - Dead End Cruisers, Motards, The Chumps, Jesus Christ Superfly, Bulemics
Dec. 16 - Man Or Astroman?, Fuckemos, Thighmaster, Cunto
Dec. 17 - Agony Column, Flash Boys, Blunt Force Trauma
Dec. 18 - Clutch, Chronolung
Dec. 19 - Black Cobra, Zoroaster, The Body, Skycrawler
Dec. 20 - Skrew, The Blood Royale, Mala Suerte, Beyond The Blood
Dec. 21 - The Brigade, DSGNS, The Artillery, For Every Empire
Dec. 22 - Dikes of Holland, The Young, Gospel Truth, Creationists, Crooked Bangs
Dec. 23 - Riverboat Gamblers
Dec. 26 - John Wesley Coleman, Blower, The Negatives, Scrabble Robot
Dec. 28 - OBN III’s, Video
Dec. 29 - Quintron, Mind Spiders, Manatees, The Flesh Lights
Dec. 30 - Killdozer, Women In Prison, Rituals