Ain’t No Democracy
Tiny Wine stares into the eclipse at Silhouette Lounge on Monday, 8 April 2024.
Tatooine Punk Scene and See You At Rogers sandwich the triple-stack bill.
Ever been to a show at the Democracy Center?
The location in Harvard Square has put on shows for years. Hosting local, national, and even a few international artists. Not just music shows, of course, the community center provides space to all sorts of arts, culture, and activist projects. Everyone’s invited.
But the long running series of shows put on by the Democracy Center Show Collective is now in peril. Along with the rest of the community groups who have come to depend on the center for the cubic footage required to make stuff happen.
Maybe it doesn’t sound like a big deal? Just go meet in a basement somewhere?
It’s a big deal. Without a clean, reliable, professional space to meet, many community initiatives that are long on contributing to the common good, but short on cash, would never get off the ground.
When a community marks out space to let good things happen, a common meeting spot, it sends a message. When it doesn’t, a different message is sent, and it’s not good.
Let me direct you to the header of the Live Review where I went into a little more depth, along with my Cambridge Day header on the topic.
But what do you need to know now? The outlook is cloudy for the Democracy Center. The funding organization behind it – the Foundation for Civic Leadership – is doing an about-face on its mission, closing July 1st for unspecified “renovations,” and offering no timetable or promises to reopen to the community groups who have made a home there for decades.
There’s a second community meeting scheduled for Monday (4/15) from 7-9PM, in-person and via Zoom. RSVP here.
The first meeting was an unholy farce. No one from the FCL Board of Directors showed up, instead sending a representative with neither the knowledge nor authority to answer the critical questions.
If you go to the meeting, do everyone a favor, don’t drone on about how hard you’ve worked for your community group, how many years you’ve put in, how much good you’re doing for the Boston area. The FCL has demonstrated that it doesn’t care. The only thing that’s going to make an impact is publicly embarrassing them for being unable to answer a few of the following simple questions…
Ask these questions:
Will the Democracy Center reopen to community groups after the “renovations”?
If yes, what is the timetable and will the rules for community group be revised in any way?
If no, what has changed in the DC/FCL mission to discontinue the decades long relationship it has maintained with community groups?
If maybe, what are the principle items under consideration to decide the matter, yes or no, to reopening to community groups.
The DC/FCL are trying to handle this quickly and quietly because the planned closure is contrary to the spirit and letter of their mission. Non-profits don’t want to be seen mobilizing their good will, tax-free status, and donations to execute policies contrary to the mission that they dutifully type into all those grant applications and development initiatives. It’s embarrassing. And if it’s not straight-up illegal (it might be…?), public knowledge of what they’re doing will at least make it more difficult to pass the hat for money from all their donors down the road.
Quickly and quietly. Don’t let it happen.
See You At Rogers
The five-piece See You At Rogers delivered power pop with moodier vibes. The vocal duties got traded up and down the line throughout the set.
Shout out to the eclipse-themed stage banter. Sounds like there is a six-song SYAR EP on the way, with the vocals being recorded about a week from the date of the show. Extra points for the Pedro Martinez t-shirt on the drummer.
Tiny Wine
Dover’s Tiny Wine explained the origin and meaning of their moniker. But it was one of those explanations that leaves you more confused than when you started.
The four-piece kicked out sweet melodies with lo-fi textures and vintage indie strums.
As they played the massive Narragansett banner in back of them gradually peeled off the wall, revealing some sort of new illuminated “Wensday” at the Silhouette promotional placard.
Is the misspelling of ‘Wednesday’ a callback to the misspelling of ‘lager’ on the Narragansett sign? Look closely, the banner’s been spell-corrected with Sharpie pens and tape…
Tiny Wine trotted out their new single “Replace It” and had their EP Archer for sale at merch.
Tatooine Punk Scene
The Punk Scene in Tatooine was down a punk on Monday, making them a three-piece.
In general, it’s much easier to go from a four- to a three-piece than from a three- to a two-piece. With three musicians a rock band can still do the guitar, bass, drums thing. But a two-piece, presumably with guitar and bass, starts to get into real minimalist territory. Still totally doable, and there are more than a few national and international acts that make their living off one guitar and one drum kit.
Tatooine Punk Scene can flex the emo energy, but their set in the backroom at the Sil was more indie pop than anything else. Playing a few new songs on the night?
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