When Utrophia moved to the Ice Cream Factory at the beginning of 2008, the left side of the barn had been used as a storage area for old plumbing pipes and many things that looked like junk and dirt. We sold as much as we could and
Ben Cummins and
Jason Carty masterminded a clearing of the space and its relentless army of shelving units, which were mostly used elsewhere. Jason and
Emily Wasp also reworked the doorway.
For some time after, as we worked on the main building, the left side of the barn became a temporary dumping ground for things we couldn't find a home for. In the summer of 2009, Ben Cummins and all-round-wood-working-handyman Justin Hodge cut into the small mezzanine floor to make the area more usable for puppet shows. They also moved the stairs. The following autumn,
Matthew Rigsby Smith decorated the space with a series of pots of black and red paint and very very small brushes, then set about decorating the space, largely as ornamental storage, refreshing the Left Side of the Barn into a space for acoustic and low-volume performances, puppet shows, film screenings, poetry and anything else cool people can think of.
When work had just begun on painting the LSOTB, Sound Through, a collective of acoustic and electronic musicians performed in the space as part of
Long Did I Build You. On portable recording gear,
Mouth 4 Rusty recorded some of their first EP in the space in October '09 as work continued, before
Kate Tempest borrowed the almost-finished space in November to record half of her
album in front of a live audience. The Left Side of the Barn then sat proudly waiting for warmer weather, and a run of cool cool sweet hot things to take place inside. The following spring it housed rehearsals by Kati Francis, Mouth 4 Rusty and
Evie Manning's 'Let's Build An Island' Project; a film by Goldsmith's MA students, and an on-going monthly music night, organised by
Melody Wood and Matthew Rigsby Smith, called
We Came Here To Save You. In June 2010 it became the host of Angela Last's
World Oceans Day event, followed by Drum Club, an open gathering of people of all abilities playing drums and percussion together.
From November '10 to until its closing in June '11, the space was host to Folie A Deux's Alt Folk Night, presenting great modern folk and acoustic acts, magical nights. Many mourned its closing, but so many good times were had.
Rest in peace little barn.