Venue Flux -- Cripes, nothing ever remains the same -- and that's triple-true for live music venues in this town. Currently on the outs is the Detour, the all-ages venue which had been serving the Spokane music scene gallantly for the past couple of years by catering to both the under- and over-21 crowds. Well, it's all gone now (the venue's last show was on Oct. 18). According to owner Christopher Lewis, disagreements with the landlord topped the club's list of troubles. Lewis says he hopes to open up again in another location sometime soon. Keep your fingers crossed, mates.
Now for some good venue news: In a fabulous position to pick up the Detour's slack, the Spike coffeehouse's "underground" venue space (it's underground -- literally) is heating up with an ever-expanding calendar of live music events. If you haven't checked out the Spike's newly expanded digs yet ... well, you should. Another club that has recently opened its doors to performing local bands is The Blvd -- located, appropriately enough, on Spokane Falls Boulevard in the old Arizona Steakhouse building across from the Opera House. (Check out the 10 Minutes Down Halloween party there this Saturday night.) Stay tuned to this page for show information as it relates to both of these new clubs.
We'll See Yours and Raise You... -- Yeah, we admit it, we thumbed through pages of 7 a few weeks back. But unlike our usual flip 'n' toss of their weekly issue, we found ourselves deeply saddened and scarred after reading the "Best Songs of the Northwest" story. So they tried to find the "catchiest, most noteworthy songs created by Northwest musicians" -- and while we appreciate their search, we'd hate for their shoddy picks to be made the standard for unfamiliar listeners out there. Come on -- albums like Transatlanticism and Your Majesty are barely out of diapers. And Woke Up Falling? Whoa, guys, let's not get too liberal with the picks, here.
Our choices? How about Nirvana's Bleach? There's an album that set the tone for the ragged-edged Seattle sound. What about the Makers' All Night Riot? That's one that arguably re-defined what Northwest garage rock was all about. Instead of Soundgarden's "Outshined," we'd pick "Pretty Noose" for bringing odd timing into the mainstream. Elliott Smith? We'd sidestep the one song he avoided performing ("Miss Misery") and would go with "Pitseleh" or "Ballad of Big Nothing." We also wonder about those that can only be excused as 7's sing-along faves, like "White Christmas" (a song written about Christmas in Los Angeles) and "Louie Louie." We'd replace those with some of our own faves, particularly the Dandy Warhols' Dandys Rule OK, the Young Fresh Fellows' The Fabulous Songs of the Pacific Northwest and the Melvins' Ozma. And we're not even going to touch their Sir Mix-a-Lot pick with a 10-foot stick.
Publication date: 10/28/04
