A place where things can happen

This evening surely was something! I have just discovered an amazing place only a few minutes away from my home. I believe it has potential to grow into something really beautiful and meaningful.

There is an old cinema near my house. It has been shut down for maybe fifteen or seventeen years now. I still remember old children movies we used to watch there when I was a first grader. Since they stopped playing movies the main room has served as a theatre and a conference room.

Next to the main entrance there are stairs which lead to other rooms. On the top there is a professional recording studio, at least one rehearsal room and one big Art House room.

It is an utterly underground place (despite being on the third floor). Walls covered in scribbles of any kind, doodles or just stupid things not worth mentioning. There is one long crack arching in the red plastic floor. Couple of sofas and chairs, which have seen better days, wait for the lucky, the rest has to sit on mattresses, blankets or old “multifunctional” tyres. Low ceiling only intensifies the atmosphere of a place where you can hide and enjoy yourself. You can imagine it as a punk lair, where people hang around, drink beer, talk politics or just plain rubbish. There’s even going to be a tattoo studio in one of the corners.

The reason why I’m writing about it is simply because of the progress and freedom I can feel from the place. Now, how can a place like this be called “progressive”? Let me put it into a context.

I live in a small town. To be more precise, I live in a small part of this small town, where nothing interesting could be found maybe two years ago or so. However, since a burger restaurant (not fast food, but good,  proper “homemade” type) was opened here I have had this strange feeling of things moving forward. Roughly a year ago a sushi restaurant was opened, and both of these restaurants seem to get on pretty well. Different businesses have emerged too (like a wedding salon dangerously close to my house!!!).

Therefore, a place like the aforementioned club room brings yet another energy to this old part of the town. It is a bit ironic that is is right next to the church. And here lies a problem.

I mentioned freedom as the second feeling I get from the place. As I have learnt today, it is not completely true because people living nearby have complained about the noise. That’s why the guys responsible for the premises (they have them rented from the owner of the building or something) have to be really careful about silent hours and other things punks usually tend not to care about.

This evening there was a concert in the room. A guy whose name can be translated as Samco (familiarised version of Samuel), brother of earthworms played his guitar and other instruments such as children’s keyboard with animal sounds, a flute, a grunting toy pig or a fleshlight. Even drill and an egg slicer were used in one song. I  am not going to mention everything the guy used and did because there was too much happening. I will just say it was all one ridiculous satire of pop culture as well as current political situation here in Slovakia. A performance which perfectly fits into a place like this.

I will conclude this by stating that I hope the whole idea of the Art House will survive and get on better than well. This place simply deserves to exist, because it serves a similar purpose than the church right next to it, where seniors go and pray for things to happen. The lair is the place where things can happen.