Remember Lounge Ax in Chicago? It was closed down in January of last year so that the new yuppie owner could put in a more upscale bar. “At night the bars and restaurants around us,” said Lounge Ax co-owner Julia Adams, “are overrun by baseball-cap guys and yahoos and they’re not particularly fond of the kids with piercings and tattoos that come to Lounge Ax.”

Well, the pierced and tattooed in Detroit hang at the Gold Dollar. And now it’s closing too. Damn.

Sad, but true, and at least it’s not happening for the same reason that Lounge Ax did, but it’s still a damn shame. For those of us that support local clubs and local music, it hurts when we see that our scene is shrinking. For those of you that don’t get it, or think you wouldn’t care, I highly recommend you check out this wonderful Detroit club. Yeah, it’s in a bad area. Yeah, it’ll be smelly and hot. But that’s the point: It ain’t another McVenue full of corporate-purchased tickets and people who are concerned with getting home to go to work the next day.

So go catch a show there before the end on 8/18—any gig is bound to be at least worth the few bucks they charge. You won’t regret it, especially if you go see one of the bands that’s more representative of the Detroit punk rock and roll scene, like the Gore Gore Girls on 8/11.

I’ll be there; I’m the guy with a tear in his eye.