You live in the same small city long enough, and it’s pretty easy to become bored with the same ol’ hangouts and the same ol’ activities. Last Friday was really a fun time, but threatened to end just like any other night, at our favorite dive bar, George’s. But that was before we decided to see if anything was happening at the warehouse.

If you’re from the area, you might be confused, thinking that I’m referring to The Warehouse nightclub that used to be The Closet Door. But this warehouse is actually the Industrial Arts Complex, where artists and craftsmen hang out and create crazy cool things, just down the road from the club.

On a Friday night, you might be wandering the streets, dangerously close to the infamous “other side of the tracks,” and hear music filtering through the alley way, beckoning you to discover its source. And if that happens, you might have found the warehouse of which I speak.

Sometimes you might show up and the place will be full of art supplies littered with beer cans, a full band set up, and lots of crazy dancing. Another night, there might be just one dude on the drums and a bunch of middle aged people drinking way too much. That’s how it was on Friday night before we arrived. Then we brought not only the funk, but a fun Italian to play on the bongos.

The great thing about the warehouse is that not a lot of people know about it, so it’s really special that it’s sort of a secret spot. There’s a crazy wide variety of people who might be there- different races and ethnic groups, ages and socioeconomic statuses, and wildly different choices of beer drinking, that’s for sure. Needless to say, I was really inspired by the community I felt while we were there, and even my friends from larger cities can’t stop talking about it.

The day was long, but at 5pm, still very young. Baring my arms and my pasty white legs for the hot sun, I had to peel myself from the leather chair after sipping on three cosmos. Downtown Canton isn’t tiny, but it certainly isn’t very large either. Sitting outdoors at a martini bar and watching people flood the streets isn’t a normal activity for me and my friends, but a great beginning to an adventurous evening.

We joined the throng of people and stumbled towards a pizzeria, picking up more friends along the way. It wasn’t long before we discovered coffee would be a necessity if we were to make it to 3am. So, we sobered up and then remembered that even more friends would be at Mike Stone’s apartment a few blocks away.

A great group of talented friends were putting on a show at Mike’s place, also known as Love Nada. The balcony doors were open, the music of Fast Molasses adding to the sounds on the street below.

You never know who you are going to see perform at nights like these, but there is always souful singing, banjo and stand-up bass picking, fiddles, and even a washboard or two. Josh and Steve (Jeff and Steve too, I reckon) are forming a band, and since they trade musicians back and forth with Fast Molasses, I suppose it’s only fitting that they all played together on Friday night. I’ve heard Josh’s band twice in the past couple of weeks, and was very impressed. It’s so exciting to see what’s coming out of the Canton music scene these days. Especially when you not only dig the music, but the people behind it too.

Seemlessly hopping from one group of friends to the next, I hung out at Mike’s for a while before grabbing some friends and heading to a couple of bars downtown- basically just looking for the largest concentration of excellent people in one place. Along the way we talked about our dreams for Canton and where we hope our city to be in five years. As usual, the night stalled a bit at Georges as we sat talking and smoking until about 2am when we finally decided to go exploring some more. But that’s a whole ‘nother post that I will share later this week. In the meantime, go mellow out to some Fast Molasses.

A beautiful thing about living in a small city is when you are driving down the street, a friend happens to be driving in the next lane, and moments later, you spontaneously end up being a part of a nickname initiation ceremony at your favorite ice cream parlour. That’s what happened on Saturday when Austin and Allie were on their way to get grasshopper sundaes at Milk and Honey in honor of Allie’s new nickname.

Later on we went to a great indie band show downtown with even more friends, loud music, and moments when we thought the floor might collapse due to large groups of people dancing to music in an old building. I love Canton, Ohio.