My response: I generally agree with this to the extent that the bar scene was entirely changed with the advent of MADD, etc. Good or bad, where I used to go out by myself and have a pop or two and watch some bands, I very seldom do in the last few years. A $5-10 cover, the inability to have more than 1-2 cocktails and still have to run gauntlet and possible checkpoints, makes staying at home jamming or wartching a concert on the box a better option for my time, dollar and risk.
College towns are, I hope different, or if one lives in the entertainment district where you can walk or get cheap transport, but I live in the suburbs where traffic policing is a revenue thing, and DUI is a $3-5K issue, not to mention the social and job effects.
And again, the DUI laws are probably a good thing, but the heyday of the local bar scene here (Southside of Chi) changed with the DUI crackdown (IL is .08 – at 225 lbs. that’s 2-3 drinks in 2-3 hours). I have never, BTW, hadda DUI, but friends have …
But I also have to acknowledge that so much current popular music is not amenable even to cover bands, and so they end up playing 60’s-90’s stuff (the 90’s cover bands are kinda new around here). And I’ll confess, personally I’m not even interested in cover bands, but there is basically no original music scene here at all – gotta go into Chi for that.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »