Venture Compound

Visit time/day: weekday evening
Atmosphere: artsy, DIY, underground art/music venue

There's at least one of these in every large city - a DIY underground venue hosting art and music shows. Even though I have been a DIY musician for many years and played in these types of venues all over the US, I'm always a little weary to visit one for the first time. They are usually run by art school kids under 20 years old and I'm at that age where I feel 'old' around that demographic. But I still love DIY non commercialized original music so I headed to the Venture Compound on a Tuesday night.

The woman collecting cover ($5) was super nice, older than 20, and really helpful.  The building looks like maybe it was a garage in the past. The inside walls are covered in art. There were 5 bands playing and each band was setup in a different area - what a great idea - makes for quick transitions between bands - so smart! The bands were really diverse (from an acoustic vaudevillian gipsycana band from ATL to a noisy heavy am-rep local 2 piece) and the audience watched all the different bands. There wasn't the 'I don't know you so I'm not going to watch' or 'this isn't the kind of music I'm into' vibe. Having lived in Nashville for the past 5 years this accepting attitude was so refreshing. Also, there was a pretty diverse crowd - some really young (high school?), some older folks like me, hipsters, nerds, and regular looking people.

I will definitely be back (and hope it stays open)!