TODAY

Another blow has been struck to the suvival of all-ages venues in Sacramento. While the first part of 2008 made for something of a thriving time for the small-time show here in our fair city, police and city pressures–and the simple strains of making a venue out of your home–have conspired to effectively limit the venues available to the under-21 crowd.

“The Witchdome, so named by local musician and weirdo Hailey Chaise (also known as Night Nurse and MOM, and involved in myriad other noisy products) for a strange tent-like structure she’d constructed in the basement at a house on 22nd street,” has been host over the past few years to a wide and impressive array of national and international touring band on their way through the capital city.

And, while most of these bands won’t register a tick in the Bee, or on MTV, the audiences that care about what these bands are doing, places like the Witchdome were doing something huge for the community.

I lived at the Witchdome for several months, from October of last year through May of this year, and while it was hardly the place to study–surrounded as I was by musicians, from roommates to neighbors to guests–there was, for all of us there, the distinct sense that we were doing something, making a sacrifice for the sake of the larger culture of music in the area.

During that first half of the year, we played host to a wide array of touring band, from as far away as the United Kingdom and as near as three blocks away. Difficulties in keeping that household together–a revolving cast of sub-lets, sometimes as many as seven in the simple two-bedroom home, helped make simply paying the rent a continual struggle.

The dearth of all-ages venues in Sacramento has been a problem many people have had with the city for many years, now. With the move and gentrification of the Capitol Garage a few years ago, to the city-hassled demise of the Fool’s Foundation, the former host of many of the shows that until recently had been going through the Witchdome, the under 21 crowd has had to settle for suburban shows in Orangevale or Roseville, or take their chances at an illegal house show.

Until recently, the premiere option for that has been the Witchdome. Other residential venues have had their share of prominence lately–a house on N street has housed such luminaries as the Dirty Projectors for years now; the Funcastle, also in Midtown, appeals to the Witchdome crowd; the Luxury Dome and Off Thy Grid, both in Oak Park, each grabbing a different audience–and each has done their part to keep the young would-be concertgoers in front of bands.

With an increase of police action and neighborhood awareness of these home venues, however, keeping something as noisy and crowded and rife with underaged drinking as a house show under wraps has been increasingly difficult. Because of this, a new legitimate store-front operation has taken root in recent months right in the heart of the City’s gentrification, adjacent to the new Luigi’s Slice in the new strip-mall-like face on 20th street at J (across from the News & Review building), known as Luigi’s Fun Garden.

Longtime underground music luminary for the region Rick Ele, known more widely as DJ Rick over at KDVS heads booking and promotion at the new venue, which has received a great deal of support in its first few months of operation. But like most others involved in trying to keep live music available to people of all ages in Sacramento, Ele is less than hopeful for city support.

“I don’t think the city has ever been involved in anything insofar as helping an all-ages venue happen. If anything, their only role is to enforce the rules concerning permits,” Ele told the Sacramento News & Review earlier this year.”They don’t really have the proper permits.”

Hopefully this simple caveat, apparently ignored or missed by so many other wide-eyed, idealistic promoters over the years has been dealt with by the Fun Garden. The collapse of the Witchdome necessitates a new place for these acts to play; Sacramento, after all, seems to hold steady at a specific number of venues. Every one that topples generates another in its place.

For more information on local music happenings in the Sacramento area, including events at the venues discussed in this article, go to www.undietacos.org.

Cody Bishop can be reached at [email protected]