What's Up! Magazine

Epic nights are always marked by lost earrings, and The All-Nighters’ show on the Saturday after Thanksgiving was no exception. A turqouise hoop imprinted with baby skulls went flying into the impromptu moshpit sometime toward the end of the show. As I retrieved its mangled remains from the beer-soaked floor at closing time, I reflected on the end of an era. No more live shows at the Rogue Hero. At least, until they fork out cash to install a #($(*& sprinkler system.

It’s sad to see another live venue in Bellingham fall by the wayside, especially one that carries so many fond memories. I can honestly say that I don’t think I ever saw a show at the Rogue that I didn’t enjoy.

But if one must go out with a bang and not a whimper, the All-Nighters, with openers Choker and Spindle, were that bang. By the end of the show I was being tossed around like an autumn leaf in the enthused crowd of liquour-laden diehards. The All-Nighters’ bottomless and varied fountain of instrumental rock pumped the crowd’s booze-induced sentimentality to sky-high levels.

It was all warm and fuzzy until someone (I think it may have been my boss) was thrust into my nose at far too high of a velocity during a cover of the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop.” And a gush of blood ensued. But hey, no lasting damage to report this morning, I think.

I have high hopes that the stage at The Rogue will not gather dust forever. Until then, I’ve got the smashed earring and swollen nose as a memento for past memories and future hopes.

Nothing good ever dies, right?

Sigh …