On the list of things we're looking forward to once this damn pandemic is over: Hearing some music at The Van Buren. When local promoter Charlie Levy opened this spectacular venue in 2017, it instantly became one of the coolest places in the entire state. The 1,800-person concert venue replaced an old auto dealership, but little of that drab history is detectable; the renovation included top-line equipment and furnishings, burnished with murals of desert mountains. It has a clean feel that isn't sterile. It's like if a Phoenix dive where you used to see musical acts grew up with you, providing the same sort of fun but without the smell of dried beer. The current emptiness of the space now stands in contrast to the light and sound of the shows we've seen here, or the laughter of the crowd for a storytelling event. When the good times return to The Van Buren, we'll be there.