Live That Shit

Peter Jenkins & Aaron Shepherd

@ The Artistery

By the time you read this, The Artistery will be no more.  After ten years of raucous happenings and thousands of shows, this all-ages arts venue was finally shuttered up in March 2011, gone without a trace but for the ringing in our ears.  Much ink has been spilled on the loss of yet another esteemed venue here in Portland and the lack of venues catering to the teenage Saturday night in general.  Artistery founder, Peter Jenkins, however doesn't get too hung up on the void this closure brings: "It's not about where the kids are going to go," he insists, "It's about what the kids are going to do".  He hopes that the artists who cut their teeth there are inspired to pick up where The Artistery left off, creating new spaces to make art and experience live music.  Both Aaron and Peter were adamant that this space wasn't simply a place for shows and shows alone, but was a zone for people to gather and be creative together.  Hopefully that creativity leaves a mark on the future long after this place gets torn down".  It's a bittersweet moment for PDX right now; venues are closing, but the underground is thriving.  House shows rattle windows all around town; impromptu concerts spring up on the streets, warehouse parties keep us dancing all night long.  Venues come and go, but as long as the mode of the music changes as well, the walls of the city will shake.  Plug in and play it loud; live that shit.