On Venues: Crush
WORDS BY TEURAN NORDMAN-RILEY, ART BY HENRY STIBITZ
–Crush (noun: a type of popular cigarettes)
Crush, a relatively new Madison venue, prefers the path of evolution of the space. Typically, a venue consists of an area for music, a lobby area and a space outside. Crush leaps from this and provides multiple floors of lounging rooms, multiple outside spaces, a room in the basement near the music and even a balcony that functions as a second stage; simply put, the whole house is the venue. One of the owners stated, drawing inspiration from the venue Madison Manor, “I really like the idea of a lot of places, I know it can be really overwhelming and overstimulating at times [...] people might get tired from moshing and they take a breather outside,” citing their initial show, which included a DJ set on the top balcony. From the depths of the bone rattling music in the basement to the second floor’s beautiful balcony, people can choose wherever they feel most comfortable. At Crush, there exists a flexibility for the community to enjoy their desired level of energy throughout the whole space.
A departure from tradition does not end with the venue; the use of the space in an artistic form evolves as well. Crush self-describes as “ very flexible and open to anything artistic or different forms of art.”
“We don't even want to stick with just music,” another owner says, “We're planning on a photography show or paintings.” A new interpretation of what a venue can be for a scene is on the horizon. How could one not be excited?
Venues are by nature vulnerable places for artists, owners and fans. If this vulnerability is ever breached on any front, the life of the space quickly rots away. The integrity of the owners and artists tends to be upheld in most venues; unfortunately, the needs of the fans can often fall by the wayside during shows.
Crush is painfully aware of the oft-neglected safety of fans at venues, and is adamant about the creation of a new standard for safety. “ If you come up and tell us something happened, we're going to kick the person out. We're going to actually stay with you throughout the rest of the night. If it does come to getting police involvement; we're not scared of that. We're here for you,”
For the future, Crush has no intention of leaving the scene for “at least like another two, three years,” and the owners are considering moving to a bigger house to accommodate the growing fanbase. Crush’s prospective innovations and emphasises on the larger world of art is assured to become a cornerstone of the greater Madison scene. A new standard for what a venue can be may very well be on the rise.
Q: “What piece of cutlery would Crush be?
A: “ I kind of want to go Chopsticks. … You can do a lot of different things with them”
"Using chopsticks" by hiromy is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Q: What would your animal mascot be?
A: “I think a little raccoon [...] smoking, like a little camel cig. I think that would be really special.”
Raccoon Smoking a Cigar | Henry Stibitz