i'm with spoon. I've seen so many amazing shows at Metro through the years (from Bob Dylan to Spaceman 3, Flaming lips, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, The Jesus Lizard, Radiohead, Naked Raygun, The Blue Meanies, Smoking Popes, and countless locals), Metro is my favorite place to see a show. period.

Here's how I heard the asbestos story, others can please correct missing or wrong information:

The city kept sending Bruce asbestos violation notices which he ignored for a long time, filed away, and told none of the employees. The head bartender who'd worked there for many, many years found all of the old notices and confronted Bruce about it. He still didn't get it fixed. She quit. A couple weeks later Bruce got someone in to take care of it and it ended up only costing a couple hunderd bucks!!!!

Bob Weston would have more accurate info, as his wife Carrie was said employee.

A couple hundred bucks is a lot for someone with a trust fund.

Oh wait, no it's not.

Anyone else have great Empty Bottle Bruce stories? I can't get enough.

.

I am lucky (unlucky?) enough to know that so far what has been written about the Empty Bottle in this thread is truthful. Luckily the truth is not slander, even today. I also know much more 'truth' about this subject that backs up the general attitude presented here.

As for the idea the folks at the Metro have ANYTHING to do with these real peoples grief with Bruce and the Empty Bottle is insulting to both venues. Plus in my 14 years in Chicago I have rarely ever heard of peoples problems with the way the Metro is run, just things like 'I thought the sound sucked' or 'they wouldn't book my crappy band'.

StevenMallory, I do not know you personally so I do not know your proximity to Bruce but if you have doughts on the validity of what is being presented here, I suggest you get involved with him and see for yourself. The truth will set you free.

And to reiterate what someone else said earlier, the problems with the Empty Bottle rarely if ever have anything to do with the friendly staff that work there, nor does it have much to do with the great calendar of events or amazing shows we have all seen there. Look closely at WHO people are talking about time after time, instance after instance.

StevenMallory wrote:_Not to ruin anyone's good time, but some of these stories about the Empty Bottle are looking like the kind of material that would form the basis of a slander or libel lawsuit. Even if the stories are true, I would be careful about this stuff, people. :shock:
_By the way, wasn't this a thread about how awful the Metro is? The conspiracy theorist in me says that agents of the Metro are trying to steer this off topic in order to slam a smaller competitor. :wink:

I took a Journalism Law and Ethics class as required once, and so I can summon-up some of the language and pretend I'm pretty sure about this:

Slander is spoken defamation about a person (not a company) with malice, libel is written defamation (of a person) with malice, (intent to deceive or cast in a bad light where the writer is indifferent to the the truth or falsity of the statement).

In either case, there is no tort unless another person was able to hear or read the defamation, and can be reasonably expected to know who is being talked about specifically. Solitary utterances and writings are protected as thought. I can think what I like about the Metro, the Empty Bottle or any other shithole, and I can go into an empty room and curse their proprietors at the top of my lungs, but I am at risk if I identify individuals and tell lies about them.

In any case, truth is an absolute defense. This might be why the dude can get away with calling Bush a 12-foot reptilian monster without repercussion.

Oh, and also most people don't sue over defamation, and when they do it costs a fortune and they don't often win.

Fear of libel action did give us the lovely institutions of the Roman à Clef and the Victorian practice of silhouetting:

"Mr J--- N------ notable book-right for the E-------- A---- company, known to S--- C---- in the bus shelter on B------ Avenue, maintains that he is marrying, this Spring. Ho!

steve wrote:"Mr J--- N------ notable book-right for the E-------- A---- company, known to S--- C---- in the bus shelter on B------ Avenue, maintains that he is marrying, this Spring. Ho!

well, then. thank god i don't have to use THAT bus stop. hell, i'll just steer away from it for life.

thank god that such persons in the know can thus warn innocent by-standers like myself!

regards,
jet