Return to Torreon

Today brings some big news on the all-ages front, which we were talking about only yesterday. The Ice House dudes are relocating to El Torreon, which has been closed all summer following a liquor permit fiasco. Now, I’ve been in the “Radiant El Torreon Ballroom” within the past week, and the place is in pretty bad shape. I’m not saying a few enterprising lads can’t clean the place up properly, but if they’re going to half ass it, then I can’t say I’m very excited. There’s junk everywhere inside — in fact, at last look, both the El T and the Ice House had a stockpile each of rusty, second hand bicycles. Recently, when it rained, there was a giant puddle right where a concert audience would have been. The bathrooms are atrocious. It was actually a lot nicer when it was hosting all-ages metal shows than it is now. There’s no reason not to have a nice venue that bands enjoy playing and people enjoy going to, even if it is under-the-radar, all-ages punk, metal or unheard-of local band shows. Good business practice shouldn’t be sacrificed merely to host shows that would skip town otherwise (and that only a handful of people would go to anyway).

Then again, those historic punk venues that everyone remembers — the Foolkiller, the VFW Hall, etc. — were certainly legendarily filthy, as was CBGBs in New York. It’s a matter of striking a balance between cool dinge and nasty-no-want-wants-to-go-there dinge. I wish them luck.

All shows that were booked at the Ice House are now scheduled at the El Torreon, beginning Tuesday, October 3 with Fight Like Hell, CDC, Nervous Wreck and Bullyrag. Check out the lineup through the end of November here.