CLUB CLOSING The Well runs dry BY JOSH ROGERS

July 31 will be the final show at the Well, the Salvation Army–run club on Forest Avenue in Portland. The news of the chem-free, all-ages club’s demise came in the most recently emailed schedule, manager Ruth Klemanski writing, " The Salvation Army has put a whole lotta’ love into this space and keeping it running for the past two+ years, but the funding is no longer there. " Although the Salvation Army is accepting donations to cover closing costs, there are no plans to attempt a last-minute fundraising campaign.

" Unless you know someone wanting to part with over $150,000, " writes Klemanski, " The Well as we know it will cease to exist. " Even if a patron saint was found, the Well’s future looks grim: " If a huge donation came in, " writes Klemanski, " then perhaps ‘The Army’ would be able to keep it floating another year . . . However, I can assure you that we as a staff have an operating calendar which only extends to July 31. "

This is bad news for the devoted following the club has gained in its short existence, a following that successfully petitioned the higher-ups at Salvation Army HQ last year not to close the club down.

The Well’s chem-free, clubhouse environment made a welcome home for high-school punk rock and ska bands like That’s What She Said, Idiots for Hire, and the Jimmies, but the venue was never able to draw big-name (read: money-making) ska and hardcore acts like the all-ages Edge in Augusta. Still, despite the club’s policy of censoring bands’ obscene lyrics, a lot of different acts passed through there — from underground hip hoppers Buck 65, ADeeM, and Mr. Dibbs, to bar-rock acts Swamp Witch Revival, Ransom, and the Pontiffs, and even bigger acts like Paranoid Social Club, Pete Kilpatrick, and Willard Grant Conspiracy.

With its techno and goth dance nights, pool tournaments, open-mics, and hang-out nights, the Well served as a community center as well, with something for just about everyone.

For a smoke-free bar alternative in Portland, Well patrons will now have to turn to SPACE, while people looking for a chem-free, all-ages environment will have to make the trek to the Edge, or bivouac to the random VFW and American Legion shows that occasionally pop up in the area.