A Damn Shame

The Northside just lost a good venue. The folks over at The Ice Factory have decided to stop throwing punk shows at their place. The decision was announced as a blog and a bulletin on their myspace page. It eloquently states the dilemma they face of wanting to continue to throw proper DIY shows under the watchful eyes of new neighbors and the police. The Ice Factory was never my favorite place to see shows but it was always a good place to have ready, as this not-quite-underground, not-quite-official multipurpose arts venue. I became acquainted with the place a little over three years ago at an underwear party (remember that summer when everybody was having underwear parties?) and then through The Urban Sandbox and The Ice Capades. They called their punk shows The Ice Factory Hardcore Youth Outreach and their absence, following The Studio and The No Exit's decisions to stop doing punk shows, leaves a big gap on the Northside. Here's their letter, announcing the decision:

My guess is many of you sensed it was coming, but it was voted this month that The Ice Factory will no longer be hosting punk or hardcore shows. This is a source of great sadness for us, but we it is decision we feel we had to make.

It was a hard decision and there were many factors. The biggest reasons are increased complaints from our neighbors, a dramatic increase in police attention, further scrutiny from our landlord and a general shift in the goals of the space. It was conceivable to attempt to work these shows in with dramatically stricter constraints in an effort to appease those in neighborhood whom have been offended. However, it was agreed that to do so would be compromise the shows so much (like no drinking and noise limitations) would compromise the integrity of scene and the music.

It may be noted that to eliminate a style of music and culture from our repertoire contradicts our creed of openness and community. That is probably a fair assessment. The space has changed dramatically since we began having punk and hardcore shows in 2004: it has almost completely different residents, a different process for accepting and hosting events and generally speaking, different artistic and domestic goals. We have also gotten older and more serious about our jobs, and have turned our attention more towards recording and intimate shows like film and jazz. Unfortunately, punk and hardcore shows were deemed to compromise and put at risk the principle endeavors of those working and living at the space.

As stated before, this was a hard and painful decision. Those involved in the space have always had a profound respect for the punk and hardcore scene, especially its artistic and moral integrity and its ability to support and sustain itself without mainstream media. In many ways, these shows demonstrated the best of what the space is capable of: people opening their home to an all ages and accepting community for the sake of packing the room for some loud, rowdy music. And it was all achieved independent of the structures and institutions that stifle creativity and humanity. Everyone can remember some truly amazing moments and it is genuinely unfortunate we are not able to continue.

We hope most of you understand why we felt we had to make this decision. And those of you who don't, well, we understand why you don't. As vibrant and diverse as the scene is, we have no doubt punk and hardcore will always have a great home in Chicago. And while in an ideal world, we would be able to continue as before, we would like to think that for a short while, we played a little part in keeping Chicago punk and hardcore as strong as it is.

Finally, we really want to thank everyone has booked here, including Mariam, Darius, Mike Thrashburg and Dave Swan and everyone who has played here. And most of all, we want to thank everyone who came out to support the space, especially when we needed it most, particularly our fund-raiser in February '06.

My one problem is that this stinks of taking the easy way out. I don't know if The Ice Factory does what some spaces do and send a representative to community meetings but it does a lot of good. Of course, if they have tried everything and found that it's still impossible to continue running their space as they'd like it, then more power to them, but caving to pressure continues to relegate punk rock as "low art" or something other than art altogether.

There's an obvious stigma against punks, who are perceived in the media as goons, just like there is an obvious stigma against hip hoppers, who are still frequently painted as thugs, and in both cases it leads to the scrutiny of those who support the scene by opening their homes and spaces to it. Unfortunately, the bands playing The Ice Factory, for the most part, weren't just privelaged white kids being noisy and acting reckless. A lot of the shows consisted of Hispanic bands from Pilsen and Little Village who have few outlets to play all-ages shows up North, young bands who are closed out of most venues wherever they go, and underground bands from as far away as Japan and Sweden that wouldn't be tp make as much money or draw as much of a crowd at a 21 plus joint like The Beat Kitchen.

But still, three years is an incredible run for a punk venue, and these things never last, so there's not much room for hard feelings. Hopefully, pressed with the task of filling that void I mentioned, some new people will realize that they're willing to sacrifice their floors or their yards for the scene they enjoyed. It happens every year and sometimes it sticks. I just wish had a bigger place of my own to offer up in the mean.