Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Whither the Southgate House ?

The closing of the Southgate House is kinda sad, the fact the people behind it intend to continue on in a new location is good news, not specifying a new location doesn't fill my heart with confidence.
While it's great to have the big union entertainment like the Reds, Bengals, Ballet, Symphony & Opera and the BOC passing through the Aronoff & GestapoBend are great, it's the smaller places that offer innovative & creative types a venue that really mark a community as a cultural leader.
Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the avant-garde arts organization Art Damage. They celebrated with an eviction notice. A number of small theater groups like ETC & Know seem to be going strong but the music scene of 1980s Cincinnati are sorely missed. Not the actual local acts so much as the venues & promoters that graced Bogart's & The Jockey Club. Bogart's has turned into….. - nothing good. The demise of The Jockey seemed to have helped spawn The Southgate House.
Sill, The Southgate House ballroom just wasn't really big enough to host a lot of acts. Hope those guys can find a good new location that's a bit bigger so they can thrive & keep the Cincinnati region on the radar of upcoming bands well into the future.
UPDATE: the Fishwrap unravels a sordid tale of family intrigue
HT to Cincinnati Blog & Each Note Secure

No comments: