By Will McGuirk

What a real treat to have Arkells play the TwoTwoTwo in Oshawa as part of their back to the roots preview shows for their new album, ‘Between Us.’ By all accounts it was a fun time for all involved and the band managed to bring their now arena sized show into a much much smaller venue without losing anything. So so great but there’s always a rub, isn't there, so here’s the rub.

First this is Arkells, one of the country’s biggest bands, and they are playing Oshawa in a place that once was an all ages basement venue called the Dungeon. So by playing they are acknowledging how that venue, that crowd, this city, played a part in their own career, their own success. The Dungeon gig which they played with Attack In Black, was an important stepping stone for them and they came back to demonstrate that by playing this show. There are other artists, Hayden comes to mind, who have shouted out gigs in Oshawa as being important pivotal points for them as pro musicians. So small places matter, beginner hubs matter. Take note please, council members for the City of Oshawa.

Secondly for the Arkells to return there has to be a Dungeon to come back to. There nearly wasn’t one. The Dungeon, like the rest of what was once the Canadian Autoworkers Building at 44 Bond St East in Oshawa, sat empty for years. I hosted a TV show one time interviewing bands about their roots in this city. We brought them back to places that were of import to them and all of those places were gone.

Cuff The Duke mentions the Different Drum burning down in their song ‘Rossland Sq’. Yes, the Drum is gone. So is the Orange Hall which hosted the Star Club, the Moon Room, the Purple Onion, the Velvet Elvis, the Moustache. Yes bars and venues have a lifespan, and yes the internet, streaming, video, have all taken their toll on venues, so venues closed and not just in Oshawa it has to be said but all over the world.

But in fact Oshawa may be bucking the trend in that, at present, venues have been opening up in the city. Private investments are being made, award winning festivals created, and music is a vital component of this economy, such as it is.

The city has high unemployment. Drug use, and the territorial wars spawned by the dealings, are part of everyday life in the city, in particular the downtown where people shoot up in public and empty streets are dotted with addicts, unhoused, and mentally challenged people. Reports of shootings, stabbings, and arsons in the area occur often in news coverage. There is little to recommend the city of late and yet. . .

There are places offering live music events all across the city, with several concentrated in a two block radius in the downtown. And many are owned by people from Oshawa, one is actually owned by the City of Oshawa itself. Oshawa is investing in itself and it is choosing music as part of that portfolio.

The family who own 44 Bond St. have invested heavily into the building, putting in a lounge, a cafe, a market style eatery, a 1200 capacity large venue, and of course the TwoTwoTwo, the former Dungeon, yip, all in one building. They host a variety of events across the different rooms including an open mic, and in a nod to the roots of the basement aka the Dungeon, every second Thursday they host an open all ages band jam for musicians of all levels, a place to hang, connect, build, and a place where the barriers to playing and seeing live music have been removed, on at least one night every two weeks.

So yes fab to have Arkells back in the Dungeon, fab to relive the memories, but lets acknowledge the investment, that means real dollars, the folks at Bond St have put into creating a venue bands can return to. I can only hope folks at large will also return to Bond St and support the venue, at all times, not just when big bands come through. I saw the crowd outside lining up. You will see the videos from inside. You will hear the stories and wish you had gone or been able to go. But why wait for the big bands when you can go any night of the week in Oshawa and hear live music. Without your support, and this goes for all the music infrastructure in the city, without your support it will be for nought and it will disappear, just like those aforementioned venues.

And the next time some big bands want to shout out Oshawa and how important a city it is to Canada's artists well. . .