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am i alone in hating the metro?

31 by ubercat_Archive
Dylan wrote:He keeps changing his name to keep people from realizing how hard he sucks.

Here's a story about the Empty Butthole - it's a little self-serving because it concerns a band I was in. Sorry.

We (Cheer-Accident) were doing a record release party there for a CD on Pravda. Pravda had paid extra to have the picture of the CD in the ad. Three weeks before the show, not only is there no picture, but Bruce has added a headliner (Railroad Jerk) without telling anyone in the band or the label. Okay, fast forward to the show. We're still okay because the people who came to see us can still see us and get out at a reasonable time. Bruce approaches us asking if Railroad Jerk can play next because "they have a lot of fans that don't want to sit though another band". We say that is definitely not okay. He says, oh well, I already told them they could. The band not only makes the crowd wait (building anticipation) but plays an encore, too. Bruce says nothing. We get to take the stage at 1:00 AM, shorten our set and get paid a lot less. Oh, and Railroad Jerk compared cities in which one could get good cocaine. Anyway.

I'm not trying to sound like a complainer and if this was an isolated incident I can understand, but he is notorious for this kind of behaviour.

Anyone else like to share?


What year was this? Please, I'd love to know. Because I can guarentee that
when I was in rrj, none of this kind of shit happened. After I left, maybe...

am i alone in hating the metro?

32 by hellyes!!_Archive
never had a good experience playing the empty bottle, mainly for the same reasons already expressed here.

never played metro but have seen many shows there. generally, i don't enjoy shows there....again, for reasons already expressed here (ie, bad sound, rude staff, over-priced drinks, goofy policies...not to mention the difficulty finding parking.)

favorite places i've played, hands-down, are lounge ax and hideout. and, the reason i enjoyed playing these venues are simple: friendly, personable staff, reputable soundguys who gave all the bands fair and equal treatment, generous amount of drink tickets to bands, good booking (ie, matching the right bands for a bill, good at returning calls, cool about posting band flyers/posters, rarely cancelled/changed schedules last minute, etc), and, lastly, always a positive, inviting vibe.

hence, when you break it all down it has very little to do with the physical space of a club and almost everything to do with the way a club treats its bands. treat the bands well and good bands will want to play your club, and, so, people frequent your club. such an easy concept that so many clubs just don't seem to get.

am i alone in hating the metro?

33 by Hiwatt_Archive
Metro: Generally I enjoyed playing there. One time we did have a bouncer watching the backstage area. He was a little overzealous. He wouldn't move an inch in his barchair to let us pass thru to the front door area. I kept bumping into him to see if he would figure this out. After a while either Paul or maybe me knocked him pretty good and hard. He got on his radio and called for "backup" as he thought he was kicking us out. When his "backup" arrived they realized we were the "band". He got sent home without us prompting for it. Hard to imagine anyone that fucking stupid. On the plus side, the monitor guy kicked ass for us.

EB: This was happening around the same time the asbestos thing was a real issue:

The Empty Bottle owed a company I worked for around a grand. Then the collection went to my desk (I am not a collector either). I called and tried to resolve this. Hey Bruce- wanna talk smarmy? I fucking invented smarmy you fucking asshole. Then he tries to blame the problem on another promoter-someone I know and have dealt with for a bit longer. I never even bothered asking the other promoter about it. I knew he had nothing to do with it. The best part: Bruce wishing me "good luck" as I was hanging up with him.

Wow, sorry for the rant.

am i alone in hating the metro?

34 by j_harvey_Archive
I have mixed feelings about the Metro.

Many years ago I was in a crappy band (different from my current crappy band) that sent the Metro a 7" single. They took the time to listen to it, and write us back a letter telling us what they thought and to call them about booking a show. We were a terrible band, with very little luck booking shows and I appreciated the gesture. We ended up playing there two or three times. At the time I think they did this for all bands sending in tapes, CDs, etc...

However, the Metro is not a fun place to hang out or see a show. The beer is expensive, the security and bar people that work there generally suck and the place just isn't comfortable.

My current favorite place in Chicago is the Hideout.

am i alone in hating the metro?

38 by gio_Archive
i thought the expansion of the bottle's bookings to other venues -- open end, logan sqaure auditorium, and now the lakeshore theater-- was an ambitious endeavor that might allow for more good bands to come through town without having to play at the metro (what happened to the abbey? I haven't been there in a while).

Anyway, open end seems more or less like playing a big party, and the logan square auditorium, despite its system, is like a huge echo chamber, so the sound is terrible (well, for louder bands at least--andrew bird sounded really good in there, as did [edit: not Kevin O'Donnell, Martin Dosh] who opened for him, but their sound is so controlled--the ambiance aided it instead of turning it into a cacophonous mess).

so, oh well. I haven't been to the lakeshore theater yet... maybe good tidings?

Hideout hooray! Schubas is pretty comfortable, too, with good sound.
Last edited by gio_Archive on Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
George

am i alone in hating the metro?

39 by joesepi_Archive
SchnappM wrote:
Ike wrote: a couple of jackoffs (notably the fella who goes by the name Har Mar superstar or whatever--the old Kalvin Crime guy)


It blows my mind that this guy got a major label deal. I'm really glad he got dropped, though.


Slightly off topic and in reference to these posts on the first page:
I saw that HarMar fella on one of those stupid "I love the 70's" shows on VH1.

...

The times I had played the Metro were great. Didn't carry gear. Tons of free beer. Sound was great. And it didn't hurt that the shows were sold out.

I liked playing the Empty Bottle back when Che did sound. Haven't been there in a while though.
my mustache will be named 'Rick'.

am i alone in hating the metro?

40 by burun_Archive
ubercat wrote:What year was this? Please, I'd love to know. Because I can guarentee that
when I was in rrj, none of this kind of shit happened. After I left, maybe...

I want to know too! I always thought 3/4 of the band were supercool (didn't really know the other 1/4)

A lot of the problems you guys are talking about (asbestos/general unsafe conditions) happens a lot here in NYC, and virtually nothing ever gets done about it. In fact, the only recent action I can think of is that someone was pretty grievously injured by a poorly-constructed stage - which collapsed - while performing. She was in the hospital for a long while, and the club promoters got fined, as well as the venue closed for a time. Not sure if this was a self-imposed closing or the cops made them shut down.

Also, there is a ridiculous cabaret license issue here that is a big problem when the cops choose to enforce it.
I make music/I also make pretty pictures
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