What the Bottom Needs Now Is Not Another Rock Club

The only live music venue Richmond needs downtown falls into one of three categories:

• A swankily appointed live jazz club

• A snappy live blue club with all the trappings

• A completely over-the-top, punk rock, stage-diving, bottle-throwing club

I say this with all the earnestness of a 41-year-old white male who remembers the last time teen spirit really raged in Richmond (Hello, Winkies!) and wishes the city would burst forth with a little more youthful angst.

I'm pretty sure the buttoned-down crowd on 7th Street agrees with me. At least about the jazz. I'm not sure punk rock or true blues go well with French cuffs.

The Times-Dispatch's Will Jones (who once had a bit of angst about him, I seem to recall) reports that the owners of the Lady Bird Hat building (the building formerly known as Toad's Plce) are "close to something really exciting for that space."

You can't imagine how nervous that makes me.

The last time someone launched something really exciting around Richmond it came in the form of Oliver North hawking bumper stickers in the middle of the Watermelon Festival.

I particularly like that both comments on the TD site talk about "thugs". Isn't that a euphemism for something here in Richmond?

Comments

[Cranky Shopper]

Thugs?? Next it will be Dacoits or The Spanish Inquistion (which no one expects).

[Ross]

How bad do we all miss Twisters?

[Jeff E.]

Agree 100% with the jazz or blues club suggestion. For a City the size of Richmond, I think downtown is saturated with rock venues between the Canal Club, Alley Katz, and the National. I'm not a huge punk fan but if the demand is there, go for it as long as the patrons aren't a-holes ;) I certainly know what you are suggesting with the "thugs" comment, but stereotypes exist for a reason. For me the term "thug" encompasses the people who choose to act in a generally disrespectful and classless manner and the style of dress that usually defines them. If I see a guy strolling down the sidewalk downtown with baggy pants down to his knees, a white t-shirt 7 sizes too large, gold chains, and a ball cap cocked side ways, the odds are pretty good he won't say hello, won't make any room for me to pass, will use as many curse words as not in a sentence, and will be the guy making crude comments at women and picking fights later that night after a few too many drinks. There are always exceptions but as a general rule I think that's a pretty accurate statement. Every City has them but nobody wants them because they discourage other folks from patronizing an area. I can't say that there aren't racist overtones in the way that other folks use that term but you can't deny that "thugs" do exist and are generally a bane on society.

[Jason]

Stereotypes exist for a reason: because people perpetuate them. Ever thought about the possibility, Jeff, that someone who has this appearance acts they way they do toward you because of the way you and many others approach them? Drunk white frat boys cause as much trouble as anybody, but they don't get stigmatized as "thugs" for it. Here's another stereotype for you: white guys who think all young black men are trouble (and thereby reinforce the defensive stance that some young black men take toward them).

[Jeff E.]

Your first statement was correct Jason... but the people doing the perpetuating are the ones who choose to dress and behave like the stereotype. Why do you presume I'm describing ALL young black men when I never even mentioned skin color in my post and I clearly described a very specific style of dress and behavior that I define as thuggish? Seems you're doing a little stereotyping of your own. If I see a white person dressed and acting that way which is relatively often, I will assume the very same thing about them. It's insulting to pretend you know anything about me just because I'm not afraid to call a spade a spade. What I said was accurate. I personally have no problems walking around Shockoe Bottom at 2:30 am on a Saturday and you'll find me doing so quite frequently so no, I'm not afraid of young black men, even the ones that do dress and act like "thugs" but not all people feel this way to the detriment of downtown business. As far as the drunk frat boys who start trouble are concerned, they do get stereotyped... as "douches". Please get off the PC bandwagon and form an opinion. P.S. Apologies to John for my turning this into a discussion I'm sure it wasn't intended to be. Hijacking over.

[James Shelton]

I have an opinion Jeff... you're an asshole.

[John Sarvay]

Well, I've never deleted comments before but closing them is easy enough. Thanks for playing, thugs.