Mourning Eclectic

(January 06, 2007)

It's 4:16am. Let's not even get into it, because I've had this diary since way, way before "blog" entered the common lexicon (heh) and if you go all the way back to Day One you'll find about eleventy-nine entries saying "oh wow I can't sleep, oh boy, it's x o'clock in the morning." Boring. Old news. Yes, I'm up. Even as a child I was never a good sleeper. It is 2007, I have been up since the 1970s. I went to bed after Three's Company but then I read, with a flashlight, under the covers all night. I heard my parents having sex. I saw Santa leaving presents. I saw huge bales of pot being carried into the house and hauled to the attic. Bales. Ever see a bale of weed? Probably not. You were probably sleeping. Well I saw it. I was up. So when you read Diary of a Low Budget Superhero, just assume I'm typing it while you're in deep slumber. And I will assume you automatically check when you wake up to see what I was thinking about during the night.

Good morning, Sunshine, how'd you sleep?

Story time....

So, I'm at work today, and I catch some activity out the window, out of the corner of my eye. I look up, and on the roof of Pan 9, I see some guys. I can't see who it is, but can tell it isn't any of the four Pan 9 residents that I personally know. Must be some of the 20 or 30 others I don't know at all. "Hey Sooz," I say "Pan 9 guys are out on the roof. Is there a party tonight, do you know?" She didn't know. I figure, it's so unseasonably warm, they could be getting ready for another party/show and planning to have the roof deck open.

This is a good time to initiate the unaware: If you don't know, Pan 9 is an artists collective and they occupy one of the buildings in what's known as the "arts district" or "warehouse district" in the Allston section of Boston. Allston, as in, where I live and also where I work. The building I work in is across the road diagonally from Pan 9. Braintree Street, Rugg Road, Denby Road, that whole area of Allston is big warehouse-y buildings, several divided up into studios rented by painters and bands and graphic designers and endless other kinds of folks who need a place where noise and messes can be made freely. When I'm at work I can see the Pan 9 roof. And when I'm at Pan 9 (say, smoking on the roof such as at the Fluttr Effect party some months back) I can see into my office. Pan 9 puts on shows pretty regularly and the collective is known as an eclectic melange of music, comedy, performance art and music. It's just a great thing, like their organic, uncontrived version of Andy Warhol's Factory. I am way not cool enough to be in their inner tornado, but paying attention to local art and music as I do, I receive the macrobursts and downdrafts in the form of CDs and videos.

Not long after I notice guys on the roof, I find out the terrible news.

Pan 9 has fucking burned down. There was a fire on December 29th, the top floors are basically gone, and the whole building is evacuated. Those roof people were clean-up crew. No party; Charcoal and waterlogged ruins.

Fuck me, this is really really bad. The Pan 9 people are the kind of people that every underground community needs; it's genuine bohemia, and has been working pretty well for like ten years. Much awesome shit has come out of the Pan 9 group. It's open and weird and awesome and fertile. And now it's over. Okay, that may sound all doom and gloom, but I am logical to a fault -- I just know there is no way that the city is going to let that space resume as before. I mean, it's always operated kind of under the radar. It's like all exposed walls and loft-fabulous garage-sale chic, with Christmas lights and...Jesus, it probably went up like a freakin' haystack. What a nightmare.

There's a firsthand account on the Pan 9 website, by Thom. I don't know him personally but I think of him as the "main guy" at Pan 9 and when I see him out I always go, "Oh there's that Pan 9 guy that designs the Dresden Dolls CD covers."

It seems that today, Saturday the 6th, there's a 5pm meeting of sorts to donate clothing and see what can be done to help. I'm planning on going to that, if I can find out where it is...it's not clear from the website.

Can you imagine. Waking up with the house on fire.

Fucked up.