Rock on, kids

When I was a bit younger, after being released from my high school classes, I commonly wandered the streets of Olympia, Wash. Back then I could enter any number of all-ages venues of my choosing. Olympia has always been great for that.

Most of my teenage life was spent going from punk show, to metal show, to hip-hop show and so on. Hell, I even put on a few shows myself. Though one day, a common all-ages venue closed down and was then replaced with a new 21-and-over club. A former avenue of escape and place of community for us under-agers was shut down. Where were we to go then?

It goes without saying how pointless and irrelevant the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) is in the first place, and how many of us would just like it to go away. But with the recent ruling by the OLCC allowing minors to attend establishments that serve alcohol, I couldn’t help but think, “It’s about damn time!”

A ruling like this would have been useful back in Oly, and it is certainly useful now, here in Portland.

It offers minors access to places where alcohol is served, provided that the establishment has an approved “minor control plan.” What this basically means is that the establishments wanting to allow minors into events such as concerts must come up with procedures that ensure minors will have no access to booze while they are there.

This is good news for many people. The acts that perform at these venues will benefit, as they will now have a wider audience to perform for and sell merchandise to. The venues will also do well, as they will share this same growing audience to sell more tickets to. Frankly, anyone else who can make a buck off a minor’s presence at these places will do well, too. Portland businesses will certainly see a few more dollars coming in.

It is also good news for the under-21 community, which has been left out of much of the Portland art scene the city boasts. There are but a few venues that host all-ages events, so this allows a much greater opportunity for minors to engage in Portland culture.

Mostly, the events previously open to minors were well-known touring bands, though Portland has a music scene that is far more local and community oriented. The venues that host this music scene were, for the most part, unattainable for minors. Now, minors can become further involved in the community once closed to them.

Another take on this issue is that “idle hands are the Devil’s tools.” Meaning, something positive to occupy a youth’s time will keep them from engaging in negative activities. Just as a good after-school program has been shown to keep minors out of trouble and have a positive effect on their lives, activities such as these can do that, too.

Some kids just don’t go to the football games or dances or social clubs that high school offers. Some minors are stuck in that twilight zone between high school and their 21st birthday. And some kids who just got a break from the OLCC just like to go to shows, play in bands and listen to music. At least that’s what I did.