Within nine months of Cocoon Room’s closing and fewer than two months after Borg Ward’s abrupt end, Milwaukee is down yet another all-ages venue. Lucky Cat is no more. The Riverwest art space’s closing was announced on Lucky Cat’s Facebook page late last month and confirmed by co-founder/co-booker Jessicka Raygun over the weekend.
“We had to stop having shows because we received too many noise complaints. Our landlord has been pretty cool about what we were doing, but the neighbors were not having it,” Raygun says. “We never had issues with cops. It was primarily just the square neighbors.”
Opened on the first floor of a Bremen Street house last July, Lucky Cat regularly played host to national and international touring talent such as Colleen Green, Yonatan Gat, Mary Ocher, and Video, while also giving locals like Jaill, Tenement, Zed Kenzo, Von Alexander, Static Eyes, and Midwives a rare opportunity to play to audiences of any age. The space was also an asset to Milwaukee art, displaying local work and holding gallery receptions. Despite lasting less than a year, Lucky Cat’s end is another sizable hit to a city that has long struggled to support and sustain all-ages venues.
Rest in peace, Lucky Cat. It was fun while it lasted.