I think I'll miss you most of all, Bruce Lee mural.
As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours, and when it comes to local venues shutting down, we're currently drowning. Shortly after word broke Wednesday that Little Hamilton's recent state of disrepair would
force it to close shop even sooner than planned, it was also discovered that another venerable (to use the word so loosely that it loses all meaning) all-ages music venue would also being going the way of the dinosaur. The Muse, the 11-year-old punk-rock outpost adjacent to a dirty bookstore on Fourth Ave.,
is finally shutting its doors at the end of the month.
This, of course, comes as a surprise to exactly no one — not even Scott Buttrey, who had been booking at the venue since 2005. He explained to the Scene via Facebook that “since 2009, it has gotten harder and harder to get fans out to the shows.”
Well, yeah. Ever since Rocketown drank their milkshake in 2004, The Muse's concert calendar has been in shambles. For every potentially great gig secured at the venue, there was a sad, muddled slurry of Juggalos, the dregs of the local rap scene and acne-riddled Operation Ivy covers. It became a place that local bands dreaded, knowing better than to chance electrocution, double (or even triple) bookings, stolen gear, trigger-happy tow yards, non-payment and just about every other disaster conceivable.
But that wasn't always the case.
