A Serious Blow To The Metal Community
Intimate music venues have dropping off the map at much too fast of a rate in Edmonton lately. The Pawnshop, my favorite venue in the city, has succumbed to the same fate. I’m actually saddened to see it go. The venue was a fantastic place to catch a metal band. It was the go-to place to see a metal show, supporting local talent and brining in international players. With the metal scene growing exponentially in the Edmonton area in the last several years, its disappointing to see a venue that continuously hosted some of the best close its doors.
The Pawnshop was located centrally. After several venues closing on the west end, it was one of the closest for those of us living west of the city to travel to. While I’m personally not a big fan of Whyte Avenue, especially on weekends, it was an easy location to access. The laid back atmosphere was welcomed. There were no questionable dress code reinforcements and everyone felt at home, yet staff were responsible in ejecting or denying re-entry to those who deserved it. The staff themselves were great, being attentive and yet not overbearing. The same cannot be said for other venues. It is a real shame that high rental fees forced The Pawnshop to close. I do take this explanation as a valid reason as the rent on Whyte Ave is ridiculously high. Even with its crooked toilets and bathroom stall doors that haven’t closed properly in the last five years, I will miss this venue.
Some of the best, most intimate shows I have attended have been at the Pawnshop. While it was a small venue, it never felt claustrophobic. The ability to go outside, and be able to easily re-enter seems to be a growing rarity. The Pawnshop offered this. They didn’t try to wrangle people into ridiculously crowded smoke pits and they made it easy for those who wanted fresh air or a quick break from the excitement to do so.
Shows scheduled for the Pawnshop are set to move to the Union Hall. Like many others, I have few good things to say about the Union. While the building may have worked as a nightclub, it fails to work well for live performances. Some serious renovations would have to take place to achieve this. Apparently the staff from the Pawnshop will also be relocating to the Union. Hopefully they can teach the current Union staff a few things about good service and building good relationships with concert-goers. The best I can say about the Union until this point is that shows have been “just okay”. I’ve had some downright awful experiences there, from it being impossible to find a good vantage point if you are unfortunate enough to not be one of the first through the doors, to some ridiculous and discriminatory dress code reinforcements, to a lot of warm beer and inattentive bartenders, to downright rude staff and total disorganization. Especially now that the Pawnshop has ceased to exist, I truly hope that the Union can make some serious improvements.
In all honesty, the closure of the Pawnshop has cast a bit of gloom on the metal community surrounding this city. From my standpoint, if a show was at the Pawnshop that I wanted to see, I wouldn’t think twice about attending. If a show was at either Starlite Room or the Union Hall, I would have to seriously consider whether I wanted the accompanying hassles that always seem to come with either of those venues. At least Starlite provides an atmosphere were you can comfortably see the stage from almost anywhere in the room. And it still has a central location for those who travel from the outskirts of the city, or from outside the city. BUT we needed more venues (not less) like the Pawnshop; the attitude was superb and the support for the artists playing the venue was apparently excellent. It was a bit of a gem in this grimy city and it will definitely be missed.
For another personal lament about the Pawnshop:
For a few news articles regarding the closure:
