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DIY spaces in Chicago are frequently done in by their own success. As they put on bigger and better shows and attract more attention, they inevitably draw they eye of city authorities and police, who have little sympathy for the people who run these spaces (generally as labors of love); one person’s priceless contribution to Chicago’s cultural vitality is another’s fly-by-night firetrap. Whatever the city’s motivation–whether it’s actually concerned with public safety, proper permitting, and enforcing building codes or whether it just wants a cut of the action and knows it won’t get it from spaces that rarely charge admission beyond an optional donation–it’s hounded plenty of DIY venues out of existence.
Since admission to shows was usually a suggested donation, and on most nights nobody bothered asking for it anymore once the first band started playing and everyone started drinking, the space depended on its four permanent occupants to stay afloat–they had to be able to make the rent themselves, without much (if any) help from show income. As emotional MySpace blog postings and between-band show announcements attest, the departure of two of the occupants, along with theft of $176 from Go-Go Town’s collective cash reserves, put an unbearable strain on the resources of the remaining two and left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.
