There’s no other venue in Milwaukee (or anywhere else, for that matter) that’s quite like The Rave/Eagles Club. In “normal times,” the longstanding events space can host upwards of three or four different concerts at the same time. Built in 1926, the sprawling building is included in the National Register Of Historic Places and has hosted some of the most renowned musicians of all time as well as many of the biggest names in modern music.
Beyond its history and its size, The Rave/Eagles Club proudly claims to be “one of the Midwest’s most haunted buildings” and has also earned acclaim from countless artists through the years on account of unconventional amenities like eerie underground tunnels and its empty basement swimming pool. Recently, two well-known musicians spoke at length about being “absolutely obsessed” with The Rave.
Last week, pop star Kesha had Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace on her “Kesha And The Creepies” podcast. Over the course of the hour-long discussion, the pair of musicians talked about spirituality, online criticism, politics in punk rock, Grace coming out as transgender in 2012, and Kesha’s feature film debut as an extra in 1991’s F.A.R.T. The Movie. Before any of that, however, they kicked off the conversation by chatting about their love of The Rave for upwards of 10 minutes.
Grace spoke about “The Swimming Pool Song,” a track off her newly-released solo record that she confirmed was indeed about The Rave’s swimming pool. Kesha was well aware of the song’s focal point, saying “I have such a connection with that particular swimming pool.” Kesha also reminisced about taking a Greyhound bus from Nashville to Milwaukee as a teenager to see The Darkness at The Rave.
Along the way, Grace talked about her history of playing shows at The Rave over the last two decades. “It’s gotten nicer over the years, but it’s always been this big, empty-feeling—no matter how many people are in there—cold feeling,” Grace said. “It’s super vibe-y, super creepy.”
Kesha—who, like Grace, has played the venue multiple times through the years and who, also like Grace, had to postpone a concert that was scheduled to take place at The Rave last spring—claimed to be “absolutely obsessed with the venue.” And true to the podcast’s supernatural and spiritual theme, Kesha added “the cumulation of all of the energy that building has seen, it must be insane.”
You can listen to last week’s Kesha And The Creepies episode anywhere you get podcasts, and you can listen to Laura Jane Grace’s “The Swimming Pool Song” below.
[ht – Rachel]