to be clear: there are still smaller rock shows in detroit, and i've been to several of them. i think the deficit of underground rock shows is more of a reflection of a quiet scene, right now.

it's more that mid-size shows don't have anywhere to play anymore. they had the magic stick, but they converted it into a techno bar (and it never really did well as one). then there was el club but it's been turned into a hip-hop club. and, st. andrew's has just been very mainstream since the day i moved here (and it's also a heavily policed space, which kind of sucks. they'll throw you out for smoking pot.). so, the closest thing left to an affordable, mid-size rock venue is the loving touch in ferndale - a nice space, but an hour bike ride from downtown. i mean, it's at tenth mile, meaning it's ten miles up. what that means is that a lot of bands end up playing in grand rapids or kalamazoo or ann arbor or lansing and then expect you to drive from detroit to see them there. it's not a particularly expensive bus trip out to these places if you buy ahead online, but dedicating the time to do it isn't always reasonable, either. i mean, i'll do it if it comes up, but it hasn't in a while; boris, for example, is something i'd check out if it wasn't complicated, but isn't worth the headache when it is.

it would be great if there was a venue like that closer to downtown, but there seems to be an array of forces that doesn't want it to exist. so be it.

but, i don't think i'll have another summer like this, either. i'll be 39 next summer...this is probably it.