Venture Compound

Great music and weird art. Can’t beat it. They’ve got good beers usually and are quite welcoming and open. Definitely a unique part of Saint Petersburg and worth visiting and supporting!

Well… I came here to attend a special event in the middle of July… on a very hot day. I want to underline the words «very hot day», to emphasize my point of giving them 3 stars. I am aware it is a WAREHOUSE kind of place with a garage door as the main door but they lacked sooooo much in air conditioning. It is supposedly an art gallery slash music venue which was kind of grungy. The backyard which is actually the «front yard» is fenced in and covered with graffiti and murals by the artists that frequent this venue. There is no «bar» but apparently you can bring your own beverages and food if you wish. I’m not even sure how they manage to get money to keep this place because it was very rough in the sense that there was no cohesiveness. It’s kind of like going to see a local start-​up band in some abandoned garage with a small camp fire in the yard. I don’t know if I would actually come out here again just for a night out… but if it was used as a meet-​up spot for a large meeting of friends, then maybe. But they really need to do something with the A/​C or plan the meetings on cooler nights.

Visit time/​day: weekday evening
Atmosphere: artsy, DIY, underground art/​music venue
There’s at least one of these in every large city — a DIY underground venue hosting art and music shows. Even though I have been a DIY musician for many years and played in these types of venues all over the US, I’m always a little weary to visit one for the first time. They are usually run by art school kids under 20 years old and I’m at that age where I feel ‘old’ around that demographic. But I still love DIY non commercialized original music so I headed to the Venture Compound on a Tuesday night.
The woman collecting cover ($ 5) was super nice, older than 20, and really helpful. The building looks like maybe it was a garage in the past. The inside walls are covered in art. There were 5 bands playing and each band was setup in a different area — what a great idea — makes for quick transitions between bands — so smart! The bands were really diverse (from an acoustic vaudevillian gipsycana band from ATL to a noisy heavy am-​rep local 2 piece) and the audience watched all the different bands. There wasn’t the ‘I don’t know you so I’m not going to watch’ or ‘this isn’t the kind of music I’m into’ vibe. Having lived in Nashville for the past 5 years this accepting attitude was so refreshing. Also, there was a pretty diverse crowd — some really young (high school?), some older folks like me, hipsters, nerds, and regular looking people.
I will definitely be back (and hope it stays open)!