You're right. Art of any kind has been devalued in our culture, and this is the death knell.
Small venues like you describe are the only possibility left.

It is, and it blows my mind how many people are ok with it.

It's also worth noting that, for liberals, the death of a journalist has far more weight than any of the Yemeni victims of Saudi Arabia's genocide. I haven't heard it mentioned once.

Yeah, I just can't accept a world where humans do all the drudge work and machines write poetry and make music. Technology should be used to benefit everyone or it shouldn't exist at all.

One of my favorites.

My ex used to have that. She fainted once at night when we were camping. Scary as hell.

I could see that. Worcester is kind of a shitty place to live. It has some good things, but yeah.