Now that our last show of this crazy week at the PAC is over it’s time to begin thinking about the end. Bass is closing on the 21st and even though my office looks out over backstage I’ll miss its motions, its hustle and bustle. There’s going to be PAC events and shows still but nothing like what’s been in Bass even in the past week.

My coworker is a wonderful singer and she’s always wanted to sing in Bass. Some of us went downstairs to hear her and she just came out of nowhere with this gorgeous song, and I stood there watching her from stage left it all hit me that it’s ending and just beginning all at the same time. So many people are leaving but so many new people will become a part of our family down the line, and even though Bass will be dark for 18 months she’ll be better than ever when she reopens. I hope I’m still here to see that.

As Natalie’s voice cut through the stale air of an empty stage I thought about how that giant hall had seen so much; so many people have played here and so much beauty has come to Austin through the PAC, that its closing deserves to be this event that makes me sad and happy all at the same time. Bass is so much more than just a building now that I’ve seen all its sides; as a freshman in the second balcony with my student ticket and my opera buddy, as a seasoned student going to musicals with my friends, as an employee shepherding photographers at rock shows and as just me, off the clock, cutting through a silent, dark hall on my way to the bus, those lights above the seats shining through the black like tiny stars. I’ve mentioned them before but I still think it’s so beautiful.

We as a whole will be saying goodbye to Bass early Monday morning if you’d like to come- it’s called The Big Intermission and everyone’s invited! There will be a live broadcast from KGSR, free breakfast tacos and a free gift to the first 150 people there. I know what the gift is! I want one really bad. Email Mindy Graves to RSVP.

I hope to see you there to help me say goodbye to our Bass Concert Hall. You might have to give me a hug.