For a city that wrings its hands over the loss of (or even threat to) any club, concert hall, plaza, or patio that has ever hosted a live music act, Austin has always been pretty "eh" about its eponymous music hall. The two-story downtown building, which sports a sort of mid-90s-pastiche, vaguely Gehry style, has competed with itself for Most Hated/Least Loved Austin Music Venue of All Time since its 1995 opening. Music fans complained about sound and sightlines from the beginning and, unbelievably, both problems were made worse by a 2006 renovation.
Despite the haterade (do people still say that?), music lovers might be glad to learn that the old echo chamber will stand and do business for one more SXSW. After Direct Events, the venue's original owner, lost the propety in 2014, Cielo property group bought it and almost immediately announced plans for its demolition. It was supposed to be gone in January, with a 28-story office tower being constructed to take its place.
Now The Austin Chronicle's Kevin Curtain reports that the space will be remain open until improvements to the surrounding sidewalks called for by Austin's Great Streets project are finished. That means, according to the AMH general manager, whom Curtain quotes, that it will be getting a proper farewell with a slew of official SXSW parties and events. Fans wishing to complain one more time about its suckage a final time should start lining up soon.