Tour of Defunct Chicago DIY Spaces: Part Two
For part two, I wanted to expand the tour beyond what I highlighted in part one. The places I described in part one only tell the story of a very specific type of music at DIY venues. But Chicago is so diverse that there are entire scenes I only know in passing. I admit those biases aren’t entirely erased as my familiarity with the south side section of Chicago DIY is significantly lesser than the northwest side. Anyway, below is a hodgepodge of different venues starting from the late 2000s up until right before the pandemic in one case. It is much less genre-specific, with some places leaning more towards indie rock, whereas others are hosting significantly less palatable music.
Floodhouse (2635 N Emmet, Logan Square)
In doing research, the last show I could find was a show in March of 2020. I remember pretty distinctly that day, stumbling my way there. Someone was obviously there with Covid, but I thought nothing of it. When I looked through Facebook, there was some mention of some programming during the pandemic. But based on what I heard from Julia of Ratboys during a recent show, it got turned into a condo. It looks like, according to Redfin, it was sold for over 800,000 dollars in March of last year. It seems to be a recurring trend when I look at all of these different venues. With DIY spaces, you are constantly aware that you are subject to the whims of capitalism. All it takes is a landlord deciding to sell their house for a whole community to be lost. Anyway, Floodhouse was about what you would expect with a basement show. I sometimes even mix it up with Margaritaville in my head, partially because both spaces were very sweaty. It resulted in some people filtering outside to get some fresh air in the backyard.
86 Mets (2450 N Milwaukee, Logan Square)
My friends that I made in the latter half of the 2010s talk about 86 Mets with such reverence that I had to include it. The drunk punk or FEST type of stuff would play there. The original thought of starting it was to help friends out. You would get bands like The Brokedowns and The Dopamines playing there. It was located in the heart of Logan Square. I pass by the building unknowingly, which locals recognize as Estero nowadays. It reflects just how much Logan Square has changed in the past decade as the neighborhood feels increasingly antiseptic and, like any other gentrified area in the country, replete with a Sweetgreen and Target nearby.
Vito Nusret (MP Shows, Promoter): Well, one minute, we’re playing foosball and drinking Four Lokos after a show at Ronny’s, and the next, we’re loading in Big Eyes or Bible Children for impromptu sets. I can’t quite remember how the ’86 Mets went from Brickfight’s practice space to a viable locale for house shows, but it was always of strategic value due to geography and a welcoming vibe for our little clique, with residents jump-kicking the ceiling fan and people engaging in double-decker shotgun sessions. More fondly than the shows, I wistfully remember the shenanigans.
Jim Gies (Boilerman, Rash): I have known all the people who lived at 86 Mets for a long time. I used to go to their old house that used to have shows in Wonder Lake when I was a kid. My first band after high school played our first or second show out there with Screaming Females on their first tour in 2007. They all moved to the city, and I met them again at Piece Pizza, where I worked at the time. We were all friends, so it made sense for us to play at 86 Mets. We toured with Boxsledder. Multiple members of that band lived there on and off. At a certain point, everyone who lived there worked at Piece Pizza, so I always saw those people.
The first time I went there, I thought it would be more of a party because these guys drink a lot and like to hang out super late. But there was always someone watching the door. There was always someone collecting money. There was always someone making sure things ran tightly. The only thing that sucked for me was they smoked a lot inside, so I would be dying by the end of the show because I don’t do well with cigarette smoke. People showed up. It was an easily accessible place. The people who showed up were enthusiastic and not idiots. On party houses on tour, someone would always be acting up and getting kicked out. That was never the case with 86 Mets. People respected the spot, and a lot of the people knew the people who lived there. It was a relatively friendly and supportive scene in general.
Auxiliary Art Center (3012 W Belmont, Avondale)
I went only a handful of times to Auxillary Art Center during my early years of being involved in Chicago’s scene. It was a bit different by the time I went in 2016, operating a tier above your typical DIY venue. It was 21+, and they would sell beer. But it had a relatively friendly atmosphere. I think the last time I went, there was in 2017, for the last show for Yeesh after my radio show. In reading an article in the Chicago Reader, it seemed it was planning on ending in 2015, so I’m not sure what made them choose to keep doing shows. In July 2021, a Facebook post showed that the City of Chicago ordered the business closed, which came just as shows were returning. It seems to be another example of pandemic having a large effect on DIY spaces.
Mousetrap (Ukrainian Village)
For years Mousetrap was the home for all things aggressive music, ranging from power violence to what gets called “mysterious guy hardcore”. I was planning to go for the first time in 2020 to see Snuffed and Sea of Shit. On that flyer, there was an acknowledgment of its longevity, stating, “I think by now everyone knows where it is.” The most distinctive feature was the checkerboard floor, which is visible in many pictures taken there. To my knowledge, post-pandemic, it has not reopened its doors. Though I originally thought it was because of the pandemic, the answer is much simpler. Everyone who lived there for years has since moved out. Sea of Shit, who was one of the de-facto house bands, was still practicing there. But even without this fact, Mousetrap is partially indicative of what happened to many house venues at the beginning of this decade. Some survived, and others had very unceremonious deaths.
Josh Snader (CSTVT, Sea of Shit): Robby Komen no longer lives there. The building is in pretty poor shape. It’s a super old building that hasn’t had proper work done to it. It is not a safe spot structurally. Mousetrap was really cool because the show space was held in what used to be a bar. Where the shows were would have been the first floor of the building. It’s one of the greatest house show spaces Chicago ever had, up there with Albion House.
Rancho Huevos (2966 S Archer, Bridgeport)
Until its closure in 2019, Rancho Huevos was one of the longest-running DIY spaces in Chicago. It lasted for about sixteen years, which feels like a lifetime in the context of DIY. It was mainly a home for hardcore and was situated in the south-side neighborhood of Bridgeport. The last show in 2019 was a two-day release show for Distort Midwest. And as someone who still goes to many hardcore shows now, its absence has been felt. Thankfully, We have had newer spots like Grandma’s House and others pop up, but it is hard to put the impact Rancho Huevos had for over a decade in perspective. Once again, Chicago Reader did an excellent job contextualizing the venue and its impact if you want to go deeper.
Situations (2202 N Milwaukee, Logan Square)
Leor Galil (Chicago Reader): It was a bit of a party house to me. They were non-discriminate in the music they would put on. They had a show for my friends who were in a Counting Crows/Sheryl Crow cover band called The Crows. At the same time, they hosted a memorial for Ray, who was a DIY super-fan. He was in his 60s and passed away from cancer. Many of the people there were fond of Ray, talked to his family members, and had a moving memorial service that I wrote about. It benefited from the proximity to being next to a bar and under the L tracks leading to California. One of the members from Oozing Wound lived there. Sarah Squirm was associated with them. Almost everyone who played their farewell show had some association.
Young Camelot-(2733 West Hirsch, Humboldt Park)
Like a lot of DIY venues, Young Camelot was short-lived. It didn’t even make it to the two-year mark, lasting from about October 2014 to the first month of 2016. In a short time, it was able to foster a sense of community so much that a Chicago Reader retrospective says that people would come just because it was Young Camelot instead of because of the bands. Young Camelot had a bit of a collective feel, with members calling themselves knights, and each had different tasks throughout the night. The eventual closing of Young Camelot would be somewhat loud, with them hosting an afterparty for rapper Kirk Knight. There would be a fight that happened that night. Once again, if you want more details, Chicago Reader did a great job documenting Young Camelot in its final incarnation.
Lucky Gator Loft (3950 W Grand, Humboldt Park, 1278 N Milwaukee, Wicker Park)
Lucky Gator loft predates the 2010s by a couple of years but is still notable. Before operating in Humboldt Park, it would be in the heart of Wicker Park. It was near where Shuga Records is now. It would eventually move to Humboldt Park, which I imagine could be due to rising rents. The grand location would also be a little more spacious and have some room for parking. While Lucky Gator Loft was active, it occupied a similar as 86 Mets did a few years later, hosting shows for Underground Road to Candyland and Sass Dragons. It would also have a short-lived record label, which is a staple of many DIY venues.
Jason Duarte (Turnspit, Rex Catapult): The first thing that comes to mind about the Lucky Gator Loft is the humidity and summer heat-induced sweat that ran down everything and everyone in the place. There was no stage. It was June, and Night Birds were coming to Chicago for the first time. They had released only a couple of 7'’s, and ‘The Other Side of Darkness’ would be released later that month. I was stoked, as I was a big fan of The Ergs!, Full of Fancy, Hunchback, and the various other NJ bands at the time whose members congealed into this hardcore/punk/surf supergroup. They played right before local favs Canadian Rifle, who was headlining that night. Guitarist Mike Hunchback took running slides on his knees into me and others in attendance as he went into his lead guitar solos. Brian (vocalist) was as provocative and energetic as any hardcore frontman could be. I remember sitting on a couch talking to Joey Erg at one point — about what, I had no idea. It was a 6-band bill (Culo, Pukoid, The Credentials, and Divine Right also played), and I’m exhausted thinking about that now.
I recall the next time I went late that August, ‘Expect the Worst’ by The Dopamines had recently been released, and The Brokedowns, Vacation Bible School, and Brickfight opened for them. It was a showcase of some of my favorite Chicago/Elgin bands at the time. I had, the year prior, played with most of those bands at the Gasthaus in Elgin with my then-recently defunct band, Rex Catapult, so it felt like a show put on and made up of friends in that hot, sweaty loft. For some reason, Jon Weiner had a triple VHS box set of the Star Wars trilogy that he was holding up and giving away that night. The energy was chaotic, fun, and fueled by lots of beer. Even the beer in coolers up there turned warm quickly, it was so uncomfortably hot. Still, I have nothing but fond memories of the shows I’ve seen there, and it remains one of the best DIY spots I’ve ever attended.
Vito Nusret (MP Show, Promoter) : For a time in my life, the Lucky Gator Loft location on Milwaukee was like home. I was going through a breakup with a live-in girlfriend, so I split my time spending drunken evenings at the loft or sleeping on the floor of our office space over Reckless Records. Ryan Scaccia first took me to Lucky Gator Loft after a lackluster Young Livers show at Ronny’s ended with us coincidentally crashing a party at the loft space above his with the boys from Gainesville in tow. When the Sass Dragons apartment burned down, The Scaccia boys built out rooms to let Mike and Jimmy move in. Later me and my now-wife would make googly at each other during sets from the likes of Shang-A-Lang, Spokesmen, M.O.T.O., Bread & Bottle, Das Kapital, and of course… The Brokedowns. Joe Gac even recorded The Brokedowns/Sass Dragons split there, interrupting Ian and I’s game of Wii Sports Bowling to do backup vocals for the song “Viking Birthday Party.” There was also free beer at most shows, but most people were rocking orange Sparks tongues (which was the style at the time).
In true sequel fashion, the next Lucky Gator Loft location was bigger, badder, and a space better suited for shows despite the location. I didn’t spend quite as much time at this space due to the lack of public transportation, but the Sass Dragons reunion show was a sweaty standout, and an epic late-night show with Shellshag and Underground Railroad To Candyland was one for the record books as we left down Grand Ave. into the rising sun. Years later, Ryan, Eric, and I were trying to get another Lucky Gator Loft going in Ukranian Village, but it wasn’t to be. After enlisting my intern Corinne to help them move, we drowned our sorrows with burgers at Fatso’s Last Stand.
Fuck Mountain (1278 N Milwaukee, Wicker Park)
Just above Lucky Gator Loft was Fuck Mountain. Having shows was just one of several things that they did, including screen printing and recording music and audio for film. A show review on Impose noted it was Fuck Mountain’s first show in six months, so it seems like they weren’t booking constantly. The music seemed a little wide-ranging. I was able to find an event that was just DJS but also another one featuring Iron Lung, which represents two completely different scenes. I could not find any information on when Fuck Mountain stopped, but it seemed well into the 2010s, they still hosted shows from the few YouTube videos I could find. That it survived for so long is an anomaly in the DIY scene.
People Projects (2129 N Milwaukee, Logan Square)
People Projects predates the 2010s by a few years, but it came up in conversations I had in doing research. Thanks to a capture of the Wayback Machine, I found that in 2008, it already stopped doing business. Looking at some of its friends on Myspace can tell me a little bit about the type of booking, which includes grindcore band Hewhocorrupts and math rockers Maps and Atlases. Unfortunately, that is about the most information I could find, but you can see the thread Strangelight would pull on accident a few years later.
B.S. (Random Yelp Review): One of, if not the best, DIY spots in town. A fairly diverse range of bands play in the basement, and most people are super friendly.
Vito Nusret ( Show Promoter/Booker, MPSHOWS): People Projects was in the Congress building, and what I remember most was that it had a personality/aesthetic that was beyond the shows. They put art on the walls and had a big cardboard backdrop of TVs behind where bands played. I remember seeing The Repos with Failures and Weekend Nachos there. Japanther is on another show, if memory serves. It was cool, like very cool. Sorta the Empty Bottle of house spaces at the time. Would book stuff that could definitely do large numbers at venues.
Mortville (2106 S Kedzie, Little Village)
On their Blogspot, Mortville describes itself as “an art/music warehouse that builds large installations and has awesome bands come to play in them.” That seems high-minded, but the approach seemed different from other house venues I’ve been in, replete with art installations and other types of decor. It helped to engender sentiments like the one by DIY historian Charles Joseph Smith to describe the space as a utopia for him and all the people who frequented the space.
Animal Kingdom (Avondale)
The original impetus for Animal House was the same as anyone else: Kelly Nothing wanted somewhere to play shows. She was inspired by seeing shows at Mortville. But even if Animal House was created out of necessity, they accidentally created something that had an impact. It became an incubator for indie rock, with Nothing’s band, The Lemons playing frequently along with Twin Peaks. Eventually, in 2014, only two years after starting, it would have to stop due to enough complaints from neighbors to get the local alderman’s attention. If you want a more in-depth explanation of the space and its eventual demise, Chicago Reader has a good feature on it.
Casa Donde (2106 S Kedzie, Little Village)
Casa Donde was located on the first floor of the same building as Mortville. From looking at their Facebook page, they seemed to book a lot of the indie rock that would play through Kickstand Productions in later years. Pile and Fat History Month would play there. It made it a little bit different from the spaces that occupied the same building.
Glen Curran (Sooper Records, New Diet): Dylan Kelly, who played in New Diet and Longface, did a lot of the booking at Casa Donde. Mostly, Casa Donde was a lot of indie rock bands. A lot of the Exploding In Sound bands were coming through Casa Donde.
Guesthouse (746 N Armour Street, West Town)
Erik Anderson (Lautrec, Lord Snow): I moved to Chicago when I was 18. I’m from California. I went to college at Columbia downtown for a bit. I was in the dorms there for a bit and mainly moved out because we were interested in the music scene. We were just interested in doing shows because where I grew up, there were no basements.
It was Mac Haertl and then Ann Lacy as well. In Wicker Park, we had found this house. It was kind of a weird little house. It was maybe a ten-minute walk from the Damen blue line. It was really convenient for people. We were just practicing there at the time. It was Lautrec for me. Mac added a different band, but he was in Lautrec too. From there, they went on to do Guesthouse 2, which I think was near the Division Blue line. It was near Rockstar Hot Dogs.
The Keep (Roscoe Village)
The Keep came out of the ashes of the mass exodus of Mortville/Treasure Town/Casa Donde. After The Keep ended, it would become Bricktown, which still hosts shows and events now.
Steph Medrano (Lord Snow): We only had a handful of shows. We were at The Keep from 2011 to 2014. Because everyone was older and had just gotten evicted, they were kind of traumatized. They were like, “We don’t want to move again.” So they were really cautious.
Glen Curran (Sooper Records): Nnamdi was always involved in these different DIY spaces. His first one was Nnamdi’s pancake house in high school, which was in Lansing, Illinois. That’s where early iterations of Ratboys and a lot of that Chicago Midwest emo stuff were happening. Then Nnamdi moved into the city and this massive complex of DIY spaces in Little Village. They had Casa Donde on the floor. There’s a through between that scene Nnamdi had on the thee southwest side and then into that kind of DIY complex, and then they started to get more touring acts.
A bunch of Nnamdi’s bandmates from Itto moved into this place called The Keep that was in West Town for several years, and they had a lot of shows. There was this old church Cultural Center that they ended up renting out for many years. Many people from Casa Donde, Treasure Town, and Mortville went to The Keep. All the people from The Keep had lived at one of those places. Itto would practice there. Ten or something people were living at The Keep. It was a really big building. They built a bunch of bedrooms and had this huge open space in it.
Erik Anderson (Lautrec, Lord Snow): We all ended up getting out of there (Treasure Town). And then, a group of us ended up finding a place that we named The Keep. It was a pretty nice neighborhood overall, but there was this industrial street with all these other warehouses that were zoned as live work. There was this house, and in the back, there were these two giant levels of warehouse. There weren’t bedrooms on the basement level, and we added four down there. We had an identical floor above with nice wood floors. There was an office in the back. We had our own recording booth back there. I did a lot of different albums in there. It was a pretty versatile place. It wasn’t just about shows there.
We tried to keep The Keep as lowkey as possible because, at that point, I’d been forcibly removed from three other spots. I didn’t want to get evicted because of shows because it’s annoying. But we were also trying to do work there too. It was where I first started doing what I do now, which is game engine and video game things. It was a lot more oriented around that. It was a mixed match of work and music.
Shitspace (Wicker Park)
Erik Anderson (Lautrec, Lord Snow): Shitspace was my baby. There wasn’t really anyone else in that house actively booking anything. My roommates were friends of mine from college, and they liked that we had house shows. It had three bedrooms. We had this hall area that was really, really big. My room was next to it. We would throw shows in that room, move all of our stuff, and then move back when the show was over. It was an odd smattering of shows. I didn’t do it very often because it was a nice neighborhood. I had to space it out so the cops didn’t get called on us.
2040 (2040 West 19th Street, Pilsen)
I unfortunately never went to 2040 before it stopped running shows in 2019. I still regret skipping CHEW’s release show for Feeding Frenzy. In my head, it occupied a similar terrain as Rancho Huevos as an incubator for hardcore, but in looking at event pages, that was only a portion of what was hosted. Plenty of stuff that wasn’t down-the-middle hardcore was there, including noise punkers DEN and more indie-leaning LUME. It made for a varied enough booking to draw different audiences out to Pilsen for at least a night.
Mopery (2734 N Milwaukee, Logan Square)
While living on the northwest side, I have passed what used to be the Mopery many times on my way to Crown Liquors, Logan Theater, or any number of places on Milwaukee Avenue. For a few short years, starting in 2008 and ending in 2010, on that strip was The Mopery. Though I was unable to track down anyone who could speak to the space, the few comments I’ve gotten from people is it’s where more “weirdo shit” could be seen. A couple of members from Lechulligas lived there, whose music was full of inclinations that could push some people away. My music writer brain might make some half-hearted Butthole Surfers comparison. But if you want some idea of what The Mopery would book, the flyer of the last show is a good guide, featuring ONO and Paper Mice.
Like many other DIY venues, The Mopery was started by transplants. In this example, they came from Denton, Texas. The original intention wasn’t to start a space but for a place to live and practice. The group decided on what was essentially a big warehouse that you could compare in some ways to the Mortville/Treasure Town complex. The closing would happen due to the landlord’s request, following the trajectory that many DIY spaces before them once did. But for a few years, as Chicagoist explains, it was a haven for “little-known local noise and experimental artists.”
I also made a full map of most of the places I mentioned in the series below: