Very soon, the Masquerade Atlanta will be throwing it's last event ever on August 13-14, 2016 (The Wrecking Ball) in the current building. Like many of us in Atlanta, I am extremely saddened by this news. I have so many memories attached to this space. It was the first venue I ever really attended to see my first concerts at age 13, and the first time I had a place to discover punk and metal and get into the mosh pit as a very pissed off teenager. It is also where my mom embarrassingly showed up at a Face to Face concert I attended in high school and dragged me out because I forgot to call her to let her know I got there safe. It is the place I held my graduate school photography thesis show and screened my first film, Atlanta Metal, in 2015. It is the place I have danced more times than I can remember at 80s night and goth nights. It is the place I have met several of my ex-boyfriends. I have laughed, cried, danced, moshed, photographed so many bands, partied in, and kissed silly boys in this venue. Not to mention this space is literally in my backyard and is one of the main reasons I bought a house in this area! Needless to say I have over 20 years of memories in this place and I am actually quite affected by it's loss.
The area of Old 4th Ward is changing dramatically. Not all of it I am happy with since this is my neighborhood. But such is life. The Masquerade is NOT CLOSING mind you, just moving to a new location on the West Side. As the AJC stated,
"The new Masquerade – which, yes, will retain its iconic name – will occupy about 30,000-square-feet of a single-level warehouse, which Green believes housed a battery factory in another lifetime. One of the unique designations of The Masquerade is its trio of floors – Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. Even though the new venue is single level, three performance spaces with those names will be in place, thanks to a sound-buffering design."
I have been to the new space and I think it will be a good substitute for the old one as it has a similar industrial rawness to it. I also think that the parking situation might be improved as well. Since the space is all one level, I am curious to see how it is going to look when it is open!
So go buy tickets for the Wrecking Ball and say goodbye for the last time to our dear friend.