a smoker outside 5 Arlington, Ottawa circa 1993. no diss to the guy in the photo, i just found it ironic seeing someone wearing a Youth of Today t-shirt smoking... maybe more straight-edge kids should smoke, or smoke-up, and they wouldn't be so tightly wound and feel a need to kick the shit out of one and other in the pit. don't get me wrong, i fully endorse a non-smoking, inebriant-free, animal-free lifestyle, i just think most sXe kids are a little too in your face and need to lighten up. especially since they will eventually fall when they turn 19 or 21 or 25...
5 Arlington, located at 5 Arlington Avenue in Ottawa was the best local music venue i have ever encountered. it fostered the whole Ottawa hardcore scene of the early 90s spawning the likes of Okara, Union of Uranus, Shotmaker and also hosted amazing shows with touring bands like Drive Like Jehu, Jawbox, Sparkmarker, Franklin. the PA may have been crappy and the space decrepit, but unlike all other Ottawa venues before (One Step Beyond, Club SAW, various community centres) and after (Two Steps Above, Club SAW, Liquid Monkey, various community centres) the "Five" acted as a centrepiece to build a community. as well as two to four rock shows a week, it hosted film nights, potlucks, activist meetings, had a bit of a library and provided kitchen space to food not bombs.
sure we have shows nowadays at Club SAW or Sandy Hill Community centre, and a punk/hardcore community is slowly building with punkottawa.com, the hardcore sports league and miscellaneous bowling and movie nights, but without an autonomous and dedicated space it takes a lot longer.
5 Arlington is now an antique/curio/junk store.
link of the day
word of the dayshad - n. any of several food fishes related to the herring.
right: "Jacob moved out to Nova Scotia and spent the summer netting shad."
wrong: "The campers, far from any washroom facilities, shad in the woods."
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