Times are - once again - tough for all-ages venues in Tacoma. Of course, it seems like there's never much of a break between those times in this town, but this feels especially dire. At the end of the month the mostly hardcore all-ages joint, the Viaduct, will bite the dust. This, following the discontinuation of Hell's Kitchen all-ages shows at the end of last year.
I spoke with Jeremy Bushnell, a sort of all-around Viaduct employee, outside the venue recently, as a hardcore band blazed through their set inside.
"July 31 is the last show of the Viaduct, and there's actually already a new tenant that's moving in," says Bushnell. "(The new tenant) is going to be doing an all-ages venue, but more of, like, a DJ/reggae type of club.
"There were five owners of the Viaduct," Bushnell continues. "On a monthly basis, they were paying anywhere between 50 and around 300 bucks out-of-pocket to keep the place open. It got to the point where they couldn't do it anymore. ... The beginning of this year, around January or February, is when they were really getting to the point when they were like, ‘We might have to think about doing something else.'"
The closing of the Viaduct is another unfortunate blow for all-ages venues and the all-ages scene in Tacoma. But Bushnell tells me he has plans to open a new venue fairly soon, if everything comes together.
Of the new venue, Bushnell says, "Although the bands I play in are hardcore bands, and I've always been into hardcore, I don't want this to be a hardcore venue. I want this to be a Tacoma all-ages venue. I want everybody to come, everybody to play."
Bushnell also tells me of his plans to make the new project something more than just a venue. He hopes to keep it open six days a week, with the inclusion of a record shop and zine library.
"(I want it to be) a cool place to hang out in Tacoma," says Bushnell.
For Tacoma's sake, and specifically the displaced hardcore youth of the soon-to-close Viaduct, I hope it will be.
The Viaduct's Final Show
Featuring Shook Ones, Make Do And Mend, Hostage Calm, Cowardice, Oblivion, Wreck, Cool Runnings, Power, Sixes, Open Fire!, Swinglow
Saturday, July 31, Cover TBA
5412 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma
253.226.1820