At least one of Denver's DIY venues can rest easy for now. Seventh Circle Music Collective in Sun Valley passed an inspection from the Denver Fire Department yesterday, Westword reports.
Aaron Saye, who operates the space, told Lyndsey Bartlett that "Denver Fire called (on January 9) and said that they had received an anonymous complaint from someone who was concerned, after the Oakland fire, that Seventh Circle might fall prey to a similar fate."
Seventh Circle was recently targeted by white nationalists on 4chan, who after the deadly fire at Oakland's Ghost Ship venue were encouraging users to report DIY spaces as a way to "crush the radical left."
The venue has been open since 2012, when it replaced Blast-O-Mat, and it often hosts five shows a week.
"Blast-O-Mat really laid the groundwork for it to be done right," Saye told Bartlett. "We didn't think it was any big deal at the time, but I believe it's the reason we were able to stay open today."
It's worth reading the whole Q&A, which covers what Saye says inspectors are looking for, why Seventh Circle passed and what other DIY spaces need to do to survive.
