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Music

Edmonton Is Losing Its Artery

The Beloved Edmonton Venue is Slated for Demolition. Here's Why That Sucks

Photo by Stephan Boissonneault

On March 31, Edmonton’s beloved hole-in-the-wall music venue The Artery will shut its famous red door for good. The City of Edmonton, which purchased the building, plans to demolish it, citing the structure as unsound. Once it’s smashed to rubble, construction will begin on an Edmonton Valley LRT station in its place.

According to The Artery’s owner, Philip Muz, the closure has nothing to do with finances. Business was booming, he says—there were 83 shows booked for after March 31. With the small window of time he was given to wind down, many of those 83 shows will not go on. “I’d say about 25 per cent of the shows just won’t happen because of this,” says Muz. In a busier city with more venues, rescheduling wouldn’t be a problem. In Edmonton, it's just not feasible. “It was an important show to us,” says MJ Cumine, who sings and plays bass in the band We Were Friends. “We had never played at The Artery before. We were excited.”

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Muz and his staff suspected that the Artery’s days might be numbered—the building had been on the market for years. But they had no idea their notice to vacate would be a mere 35 days.

While owning and managing the venue, Muz made The Artery much more than just a concert hall. The Artery has hosted performances of many creative mediums, from visual art and poetry to theatre. Muz is also a tenant of the building (he lives upstairs with four roommates). Visiting bands would often sleep on their couch. “It’s not just a place where bands play a couple shows a week,” says Muz. “It’s heritage.”

One person who helped shape this heritage is well known musician Christian Hansen, who launched his career in Edmonton in 2007. Hansen says he felt distraught when he learned the news of The Artery’s misfortune. “The thought that I would never be inside it or step on the stage again filled me with sadness,” he says.

Hansen, who played many shows at The Artery with his band Christian Hansen & The Autistics, including the release show for his debut album, says the venue’s dive bar vibe was part of its charm. “It has that sketchy ‘wrong side of the tracks’ feel, but no one gives a shit, ‘cause we love music.”

Hansen recalls two wonderfully weird shows that happened during The Artery’s early days. One was an art show he attended, which featured shirtless men climbing pillars with blowtorches. “I remember thinking, ‘wow, this kind of show could only happen at The Artery,’” he laughs. (The other was a 2009 Halloween show he played with now-defunct theatrical metal outfit Brontoscorpio.)

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“I think that’s what great venues like The Artery do,” says Hansen. “They create a time and a place.” As a former longtime resident of Edmonton, Hansen believes the city’s “power brokers” didn’t contemplate the repercussions The Artery's demolition would have on Edmonton’s arts culture. He feels the city should have considered renovations to the venue instead. On The Artery’s Facebook page, Valeeshia Young called the venue her home. “…I am so grateful to have been part of an amazing family that I could never have dreamed up. The memories, friends, and experiences that began there are something I will always cherish…Thank you so so so so very much for building such an amazingly beautiful community, Philip.” Photo by Stephan Boissonneault

“I don’t know if Edmonton’s upper echelon fully realizes how important it is to ferociously defend places like The Artery, places that are creating the city’s culture,” he says. City councillor Scott McKeen agrees. A supporter of Edmonton’s arts scene, McKeen says he was outraged by the short amount of time The Artery received to evacuate the building. “I was angry when I first heard,” says McKeen. “The way it was handled was ham-fisted and callous.”

McKeen understands how important independent music venues like The Artery are to Edmonton’s lifestyle. His son Matt’s post-hardcore band, Flint, plays local venues regularly. “These sorts of places just pop out of the ground organically,” says McKeen. “They have a soulful ambience that is created by people who love live music. And then we screw with them at our own peril.”

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McKeen is working to negotiate an extension on The Artery’s eviction date. If the proposal to the city is passed, there would have to be regular structural inspections of the 108-year-old building due to its weak foundation. The councillor recalls stepping into The Artery for the first time and feeling welcome. “When you’re 55, some places don’t feel too welcoming. Some seem too hip. [The Artery] didn’t have that Too Cool For School feel.” McKeen says he is working with Muz to find a new location, ideally within the downtown area. “I’m no magician,” he says. “But I’m going to do everything I can to help.”

While McKeen works on getting an extension and finding a new home for the venue, The Artery has dutiful support behind it from other promoters, and even other venues. Veteran promoter Steve Derpack, who owns The Mercury Room, says The Artery was “my home away from home.”

“There aren’t a lot of places that are mom-and-pop run like The Artery. Anything [Phil] needs, I will drop whatever I’m doing.”

Muz hopes to open up another venue in Edmonton, under a different name. Even without The Artery, Hansen says the city's music scene will forge on. “Edmonton will continue to have that stubborn ‘fuck you’ mentality. There will be another place like The Artery, and people will fill it.”

Stephan Boissonneault is an Edmonton-based writer.