Girl at the Rock Shows

I spend more time at venues across the Twin Cities than I do at my own house. They become my homes away from home, my little oases in this messy thing that’s called life. My sanctuary, my church, my everything. When a venue dies, it breaks my heart and, sometimes, it can feel as bitter and painful as losing a friend. I was recently in the West Bank area of Minneapolis for a show at The Cedar Cultural Center. Not only did I have to face the empty building that used to be Palmer’s, but I also had to stop at a stoplight in front of the now-converted Triple Rock Social Club. That was my home. That was my everything, to the point that I have the venue memorialized as a tattoo on my wrist. I thought about how amazing it would be if that place was still open but then I went dark and twisty with it. If it were still open, would it still be my church? Maybe, maybe not. That’s kind of what “Dead Venues” from Too Late, But Still is about.

As the band puts it, “Dead Venues is a post-hardcore reflection on growing older, watching your community drift apart, and realizing that some of the most important places in your life can never be rebuilt because they only existed in a specific moment in time.” That’s so painful to think about, but so true, and I love how, although it’s a scary and sobering thought, Too Late, But Still presents it with a sense of power and a taste of angst that really brings all of the emotions that this subject matter evokes to life. This song is definitely a post-hardcore anthem. It’s intense, with shouted vocals over glittery guitar work and slamming drums. The band isn’t afraid to use space and air to drill home a particular line of words, but they also aren’t afraid to use a sense of power or a strike of a note to help really drive a point home. For me, “Dead Venues” is a highly emotional song and the emotion that the band puts in it just helped me get lost in my own head and have this almost memorial of sorts for venues (and people) of years gone by. It was cathartic, powerful, beautiful, and perfect, so if you find yourself longing for the good ol’ days, throw this song on for a spin and see if it can help you see that you can always look back fondly, but you have to keep pushing forward.

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