By Nicole Villeneuve

Photo by Joel Charlebois/Torontoist.

If you’ve travelled to the Queen and Bathurst intersection any time in the past two weeks, you’ve probably noticed the now-half-naked-looking Big Bop; after word of the legendary venue’s imminent closure came in December, there was some immediate and appropriate lamenting of the end of an all-ages-venue era, and then almost as quickly, the stripping of the building’s ominous purple shell began. It was a tough sight for the city’s music junkies who watched other iconic venues go through growing changes this year.
As upcoming shows that could have fit nicely in the walls of the purple beast get shuffled to the odd-fitting Wrongbar, the Big Bop’s makeover will continue. And while it gets ready for its alleged furniture-hocking debut, former owner/manager Dominic Tassielli forges ahead to ready his new all-ages space for the show-going suburban kids in the west end of the city (currently tentatively called The Rock Pile, which sounds like a lovely punk-rock show activity). The Big Bop itself will be hosting bands and DJs until the end of the month. As the marquee in the above photograph advertises, Victoria, B.C., hellraisers the Dayglo Abortions held their last two-night Kathedral hurrah on January 8 and 9, and as local photographer Christian Bobak’s event photos demonstrate, the outside may change, but the spirit that lives inside will rage on.