For those who attended the several previous Gold Leaf parties, not to mention attended the many, many Hosiery art and music shows over the years, it came as (almost) devastating news that the space is no more.
Last week, the warehouse’s owners, I Street Associates, warned the operation to cease and desist.
To quote an announcement email that has been circulating around:
Mike Abrams (gallery owner), Ken of ECB, and the Gold Leaf Crew made valiant efforts to find alternatives/negotiate a solution, but ultimately the gentrifiers won.
For those of you who got to experience the Gold Leaf/Hosiery, you probably know how great our party would have been. That vibe has not been seen/replicated in DC since I have been here in the past two years. Due to contrary belief, these parties were safe, controlled, positive events that put no one at risk. Just pure positive vibes that put the power in the hands of the attendees, artists, DJs and bands.
We will continue to work on finding another spot for the near future as we obviously have the momentum going...
Washington City Paper has the story here
Previously in I Heart DC:
- 2/8: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 2/8: Perfect Date Outfits + Outings
- 2/7: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 2/6: DC News You Can Maybe Use:
- 2/2: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use:
- 2/1: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use:
- 1/31: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 1/30: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 1/30: Capital City Diner: Up All Night
- 1/27: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
God loves a cheerful giver.
Ehh sad, but it's how DC is. Anything that is truly good, inclusive (to a certain extent) and generally awesome will lose in the end... DC is just not fated to be a well known hub of... I guess, anything. I've Been here my whole life and it's been the same song over and over. Maybe it's a blessing, the further we stay from common majority culture "cool" the better off we are. The other bright side is a soon as one place goes down several others pop up.
I hate to say it, but I saw this coming. I've been lamenting the loss of these parties before they even saw their demise. My heart is pounding in my chest as I type this but I just gotta... What made these parties so awesome was that they were almost secret. The thrill of arriving at this undisclosed warehouse in the middle of an otherwise unnoticed alley and walking into an amazing party that you felt like no one else in the world knew about is what made it so great. I love you, BYT- I truly do, but I have to say that I knew that these parties would come to an end as soon as you guys started posting about them. Some things are best kept secret and only promoted by word of mouth, by friends of friends to friends of friends. You guys do so many great things to keep us all updated- but really, when word gets out too fast to too many-this is exactly what happens. I'm not trying to point fingers, but I can certainly say that I saw this coming. teach your kids, "mum" is not a dirty word.
Katie, while I love you too, we only ever posted things about 443 that were sent to us FOR PURPOSES OF POSTING by the people who organized said parties: flyers they made, photos Ryan took at his own event etc....
Never more, never less.
Svet,
Then might I suggest some type of "members only" section of BYT? I don't at all mean to smack of elitism, I'm just saying that you guys are starting to get a lot of attention from anyone and everyone looking in the Express for something new and "different" to do on the weekends (which by the way, advertised "Gavid Holland" as a DJ for NYE. Hahah!). Or maybe just post myspace bulletins but not necessarily promos on byt??? Let's keep secrets! Everything loses its luster once it's been "found out". ya know?
Damn! Who saw the !!! (Chk Chk Chk) show at the Hosiery? That was the most insane show. Seeing Devendra Banhart there was also amazing.
Sux.
Geez katie they said they were on EYE street, not "I" St. How much more secret do you want?
Kittie: the warehouse didn't close down because it became popular but because it was up for gentrification.
The secrecy factor is really only relevant in big cities. In DC, the community that is possibly interested to visit a low-key BYOB art - cum - dance party event is relatively small. It is highly unlikley that such an event is run down by the massess no matter how much promotion you have for it.
Double damn! I played shows/attended parties at the Hosiery (refuse to call it "Gold Leaf" - sorry) and LOVED them. I'm super saddened to hear this, but worried it was coming too once I saw all the press the place was getting. A guy in my office (in his mid forties) used to go to parties there all the time in the late '80s so I guess it's been around for a while as a successful secret. Oh well. All good things come to an end, I suppose. POOP.
I'm not cool enough to ever have heard about any of these events. Not that I was inclined to go, natch.
i don't get it. did the whole building (studios etc.) close, or just the parties? this sucks and i don't think we should give up without more of a fight!
svetlana speaks truths, we asked byt to promote the gold leaf events. we debated it of course.
fucking FUCK! I never went to these, and kept saying "next time". Well, as the great Louis Prima tells us: "there'll be no next time". Fuck. All I can say is this: mortality is necessary for all things, including underground parties. Detroit had a vibrant, completely underground scene that went through the same cycle of exposure - you need that, in order to lend it urgency. There are plenty of underground events going on right now, let's find them. Or create them. This is fun -
diy or die, dudes.
parties happen... you just need to find them...
come see some dirty sweaty garage rock, and some indie rock by way of sounding like sonic youth. you can even dance, if you want to.
katie kitten, go piss off. you're obviously blabbing out your asshole, cuz your theories are shit. that building was going to get torn down from the getgo, around summer time, and they were making the best of it before that time. i truly hope they find another place/warehouse. going out and spending 70 bucks just on drinks really hurts the heart.
katie kitten. that was completely callous of me. forget what i said. im in the wrong with a message like that one.
god this saddens me. i only attended the last two gold leafs but they were freaking amazing. i suppose it was only a matter of time though. please please pleaseeee find a new venueeeeeeee
so sad.
[...] Gold Leaf Party snuffed out by gentrification - Wow, I’ve never heard of this place, but apparently it was a long standing underground party in DC that is getting kicked out after 10 years of violence free fun. Apparently, the owners of the warehouse was about to sell his space to Condo developers and wanted to make sure the space was clear of the “riff raff” before he closed in January. From the pics, the party looked pretty tight. Hopefully they will set up shop somewhere soon (and can y’all alert me next time???) [...]
hey dennis. nice flyer.
There's always a party in my pants.
Can the real estate change in that part of town really be called gentrification??? It's not like the location was on Alabama Ave in SE. Not to ruffle any feathers, but to me that party and a bunch of these other scenes that have popped up in the last couple years or so are some pretty poignant symbols of the change gentrification has brought this city.
Katie -- Did you go see !!! or Devandra when they played at the Hosiery? Those shows were much, much higher profile than the Gold Leaf shows -- I'm talking mentions in the Post and the City Paper and on bigger-than-D.C. music sites -- but the place survived. That's why I doubt BYT had anything to do with the end of Gold Leaf. There have been plenty of rumors about the space's closure in recent years.
I had a great time at the last few Gold Leaf shows, and I have much respect for all the bands and DJs who worked behind the scenes to make things happen.
Thing is, the D.C. area has always had a tremendous underground scene, ranging from shows at Kansas House and 611 Florida to Fight Club, and the after-hours parties in warehouses near Nation or clubs like the Sanctuary or Red. When a space closes down, people show a remarkable resilience for finding another venue and keeping the scene going. That's the ebb and flow of the city, and with $2000/month apartments across the street, the Hosiery's days were numbered. The only question is where the next parties will take place.
word.
The building was sold looooong time ago, so we've known that this was coming. I miss my Eye Street Studio (an awesome 1K SF space with a concrete floor, 14' concrete ceiling, & old factory windows on two sides). Interesting that the BYT following only rambles about the woes of losing a party. The true loss is that of affordable studio space for the working artists that called 443 home.
Perhaps a few of us (okay, more like 25 of us) can put together funds to bankroll a new location? I'm all for dropping duckets to promote indy parties...
Everything real happens in books.
Cam speaks the truth....wake up, people.