I can't really say that this fucked up my night but I appreciate the sentiment.
I for every two people I saw get through the door, I saw maybe one enter through the side. I can understand not wanting to get fired, but evidently some insiders did not share your position.
Sorry to have been so nasty about the "radio station idiots" -- I bet there are still some nice people among you. But if this was going to be a private party for friends/associates of the organizers and the opening band, they should have just made it invite-only -- nothing wrong with that.
Lightning Bolt In Chicago This Saturday
62Nerbly: Lightning Bolt is, truth be told, a hard band not to like, if they are received in the right setting.
I missed the Fort Thunder thing but it's pretty fucking cool that this town I now live in, however uninspiring it may be at times, would unleash a beast like Lightning Bolt. I like the Providence scene more than either Milwaukee or St. Paul/Minneapolis because neither of those cities would have the audacity to support a group like LB. They play it so safe for years and years and then wonder why their little hamlet isn't "the next seattle." The problem isn't too many flakes - it's too many squares.
(The fucking monthly funk and soul dance night I went to last night was a goddamn joke though, compared to what I've grown to expect from get downs in MKE and MPLS. There's not enough funk togo around in new england.)
I missed the Fort Thunder thing but it's pretty fucking cool that this town I now live in, however uninspiring it may be at times, would unleash a beast like Lightning Bolt. I like the Providence scene more than either Milwaukee or St. Paul/Minneapolis because neither of those cities would have the audacity to support a group like LB. They play it so safe for years and years and then wonder why their little hamlet isn't "the next seattle." The problem isn't too many flakes - it's too many squares.
(The fucking monthly funk and soul dance night I went to last night was a goddamn joke though, compared to what I've grown to expect from get downs in MKE and MPLS. There's not enough funk togo around in new england.)
Lightning Bolt In Chicago This Saturday
63There was a rumor going around at about 10:00pm that Lightning Bolt was going to play at The Flower Shoppe where Carlos Giffoni/Burning Star Core/Purient/Bloodyminded played. I left after Burning Star Core (who, knocked it outta the fucking park) so I can't confirm if this actually happened.
Stephen Sowley
sowley@electrical.com
sowley@electrical.com
Capt. James T. Lunatic wrote:I Didn't Fight A Secret War In Nicaragua So You Could Walk These Streets Of Freedom Badmouthing Lady America, In Your Damn Mirrored Sunglasses
Lightning Bolt In Chicago This Saturday
64Eierdiebe wrote:I like the Providence scene more than either Milwaukee or St. Paul/Minneapolis because neither of those cities would have the audacity to support a group like LB. They play it so safe for years and years and then wonder why their little hamlet isn't "the next seattle." The problem isn't too many flakes - it's too many squares.
it's not the length, it's the gersch
Lightning Bolt In Chicago This Saturday
65Yo. I'm a top "radio station idiot," i.e., program director at HPK...so I was involved in both the booking and the execution of the show.
As for booking, Lightning Bolt told us they were going to have 2-3 shows in Chicago and that they wanted us to have a small, intimate venue...so we complied. Then it turned out that they wanted to move through the Midwest faster, so they cancelled the other shows. We did no work at all to promote it out of fear of too many people showing up, but it did end up on the Pitchfork and Spin websites. We asked Pitchfork to remove it and they did not.
As for the side door, the people going in and out were radio volunteers or people who asked us to take them to the bathroom. They were escorted out again. I was by the side door the majority of the night.
As for the 125 limit, the Student Activities office - from whom we receive the vast majority of our funding - made us comply with the stated fire limit. The fire limit was for the coffeeshop as a coffeeshop, with tables and all in the way, so we were unfortunately stuck with a ton of extra space. The student activities people also required that we hire police officers and security to search bags, and they were the ones in charge of handing out exactly 125 wristbands and checking them. So if you want to get pissed at someone, get pissed at U of C bureaucracy, not the station...feel free to forward this to anyone who would like an explanation. I'm sorry to all the people who got turned away, but it was really out of our hands. Lightning Bolt apologized to us for cancelling their other shows.
As for booking, Lightning Bolt told us they were going to have 2-3 shows in Chicago and that they wanted us to have a small, intimate venue...so we complied. Then it turned out that they wanted to move through the Midwest faster, so they cancelled the other shows. We did no work at all to promote it out of fear of too many people showing up, but it did end up on the Pitchfork and Spin websites. We asked Pitchfork to remove it and they did not.
As for the side door, the people going in and out were radio volunteers or people who asked us to take them to the bathroom. They were escorted out again. I was by the side door the majority of the night.
As for the 125 limit, the Student Activities office - from whom we receive the vast majority of our funding - made us comply with the stated fire limit. The fire limit was for the coffeeshop as a coffeeshop, with tables and all in the way, so we were unfortunately stuck with a ton of extra space. The student activities people also required that we hire police officers and security to search bags, and they were the ones in charge of handing out exactly 125 wristbands and checking them. So if you want to get pissed at someone, get pissed at U of C bureaucracy, not the station...feel free to forward this to anyone who would like an explanation. I'm sorry to all the people who got turned away, but it was really out of our hands. Lightning Bolt apologized to us for cancelling their other shows.
Lightning Bolt In Chicago This Saturday
66sacapuntas wrote:Yo. I'm a top "radio station idiot," i.e., program director at HPK...so I was involved in both the booking and the execution of the show.
Not only are you a fool, but you're also a liar.
Lightning Bolt In Chicago This Saturday
67NerblyBear wrote:sacapuntas wrote:Yo. I'm a top "radio station idiot," i.e., program director at HPK...so I was involved in both the booking and the execution of the show.
Not only are you a fool, but you're also a liar.
How's that?
Lightning Bolt In Chicago This Saturday
68sacapuntas wrote:
How's that?
I'm just kidding, I wasn't even there.
Lightning Bolt In Chicago This Saturday
69NerblyBear wrote:sacapuntas wrote:
How's that?
I'm just kidding, I wasn't even there.
Oh...ha.
Anyway, I do want to reiterate that I feel super shitty about the 100+ people we had to turn away. I got there at 7 so I don't know what happened before that with the moving of the lines and shit. If we had had enough advance notice about being the only Chicago show, we could've booked a much bigger venue.
Lightning Bolt In Chicago This Saturday
70sacapuntas wrote:We asked Pitchfork to remove it and they did not.
Oh, really? That's pretty uncool. I wonder if anyone from Pitchfork got shut out...
Anyway, I feel better after reading your post. Sounds like a long series of miscommunications.