An Editorial From the CN&R About the Nightlife Scene...

Special thanks to Ryan D for posting this on MySpace....

Last week the CN&R printed this Editorial about the Bar/Nightclub scene in Chico CA:

Bar/club scene in Chico severely lags Nightlife hosts need to up their hospitality

By Bobby Marchado

Having grown up in Chico, I’ve seen a much better quality club/bar scene not too long ago. Today, no one wants to take any chances and play newer music or even the better old-school music. Whether that’s DJ-related or from bands, there is no real place for new music to thrive, possibly because owners/managers have no clue what they are doing and make little attempt to please the customers.

Let’s start with Panama’s. Some of the staff are snobby, and the patio area is so tiny that it’s not even worth hanging out at.

Lost On Main is probably the worst, with its less-than-spectacular atmosphere and even worse drink prices—not to mention when the audience has to suffer through a DJ set of the crappiest music ever known to mankind. Recently, they’ve made a better attempt; Slow Car Crash was an improvement. I’ll eat my words if I see some new DJs playing electro, and better band booking.

LaSalle’s has no excuse. They pretend to have some cool ’80s night but then they play the old geezers like Bruce Springsteen, Cher, Bon Jovi and other god-awful acts that even youth in the ’80s couldn’t stand.

It’s a rarity if you hear anything from Falco, Billy Idol, INXS, Duran Duran, Devo, Men Without Hats, Thomas Dolby, Information Society, Alphaville, New Order, Human League, Flock of Seagulls, B-Movie, ABC, Berlin, Gary Numan, Tears For Fears, etc.—and when you do hear something from them, it is usually their worst songs.

Plus, the door staff is a big turnoff from going in. They’re rude, and what the hell is it with frisking people when they walk in the door? Not only is that possibly an illegal search, but it’s completely uncalled for. If they’re worried about certain people coming in, then they should just end the music that brings that type of crowd into the back, the rap clique (which appears to be a small group/niche anyway).

The Banshee: Can you say boring? Nothing going on there. Nice, clean-looking place, but boring.

The Bear: How sad to see such a place run by clueless managers who hire the worst DJs who play even worse “music.” I remember when the Bear was a fun spot to go to with decent music. Now it’s an Oroville crowd.

Duffy’s and the Towne Lounge are what they are. I’m not going to rip on them—at least they try. But the rest should make huge improvements. Fact is, there aren’t any nice, quality places in town that are willing to bring Chicoans a good product: newer music, competent staff and professionalism. People need to demand more.

This week the CN&R printed these letters from some of the readers: Note the last one...

Letters for March 12, 2009

Oral histories valuable all around

Re: “Generation to generation” (Cover story, CN&R, March 5):

When I first heard of this [Chico State Journalism Department] project last year, I was ecstatic! Each generation has something wonderful and exciting to share, and those who are willing to share and listen will benefit tremendously in many ways.

It is my great honor to have known, shared and listened to my great-grandparents, grandparents, great-aunts, and several distant greats. I am fascinated when I sit with a neighbor who is nearing 80 and listen about his life during those years that still exist, if only in memories.

The most wonderful of all was learning more about my own parents (now in their 70s). I have spent the last four or five years working with my father on our family tree so that I may be able to pass on the history and great knowledge that was gained by our ancestors to my daughters and, in time, my grandchildren.

On the other hand, I love to listen and talk to my girls (19, 16, 15) and share their day-to-day experiences and impressions about growing up in today’s world. I hope they listen, respect and learn from their interactions with their amazing grandparents and, in time, from me.

I think this is a very underused resource and hope that more people will be encouraged to interact with other generations in a more positive way.

Laura Skinner

Chico

Nightlife critique praised, panned

Re: “Bar/club scene in Chico severely lags” (Guest Comment, by Bobby Marchado, CN&R, March 5):

Dead on with this issue. I have watched the good ones go bad and bad ones go worse. For that reason, I had not been out this semester until last Saturday.

Normal [Street] Bar tenders were polite and actually asked how our night was. Along with the repaint and [how] the smell is gone, they have made an effort.

Michael Snow

Chico

Mr. Marchado accuses many bars and clubs of being dated and rude, even insinuating that a frisk before entering a bar is possibly illegal. He continues on to accuse the hip-hop crowd specifically as being the reason for the searches. I’d like to retort.

Going to the bars is something that is done out of choice. In Chico, especially, there is no imperative to go to a bar to socialize, with parties from Thursday morning to Sunday afternoon. A bar has a special privilege that should always come with the serving of an intoxicant, and that’s being able to limit who you allow entrance.

If this frisk bothers you, you have the choice to go find a house party instead—no harm, no foul.

The idea that only a person who is interested in hip-hop would possibly cause any problems at a bar is not only ridiculous, it’s insulting.

Hip-hop is a rich and diverse culture. I would ask anyone who feels a stigma toward hip-hop or any other counterculture—including the rave crowd, who would love to hear more electronica—to reserve judgment until they look at all facets of the lifestyle/culture.

There are many conscious and poignant emcees and followers who don’t condone the use of violence, who respect women and, most of all, who are very good people. Please, use caution when condemning a group; not everyone is as bad as corporate news makes them out to be.

Damon Lotti

Chico

This is a pretty harsh outlook on the nightlife in Chico. Not saying that there aren’t problems, but there are a lot of places that do try hard to make locals and non-locals alike happy.

Chico is a very lucky community to have the entertainment that we do have and the multiculturally diverse population that makes up Chico. I can tell you from experience that trying to make all these people happy is impossible, but we do still try.

I am a manager and bartender from The Graduate; I also help book the shows. Although we are new at this, I can honestly tell you that this is not an easy job to do. The reason I am writing this is to let people know that if they want to listen to good music, it is out there.

Next time you’re in the mood, you should come down to the Grad and give us a shot. Finally, after 20 years, music is back! We have a huge venue; great food and drink specials; a qualified, friendly staff; and 50 beers on tap.

The hard part about doing live shows is you need people to show up. Without the support of our community, it is impossible to have live music. We are trying to support local musicians and would love to have people come in and talk to us about playing here.

With that said, don’t give up, Chico—get out there and support local music.

Jake Lapp

Chico

First things first, I don’t know why a graphic artist is doing an article about music in a bar/club scene.

Second, I don’t know what DJs Mr. Marchado is talking about but, if you are going to generalize everyone, have the balls to call out specific people.

Last but not least, I don’t know who Mr. Marchado thinks he is putting an article out like this about businesses that have supported not only the Chico community but the CN&R. To the CN&R staff, you might want to think about who you let open their mouth.

See you on the dance floor!

Ryan Devereaux

Chico

Taken from: http://www. newsreview. com/chico/opinions/more