The 'drinking venues' and the Bakersfield 'music scene'... - by N.L. Belardes
So what’s the word on the street today? Yesterday evening I saw AJ of Gigantic walking down 19th Street with some dude in a hurry. Were they headed to make plans of some kind? Were they plotting where to hang their discount belt rack at Montgomery World Plaza? What about this ethereal Jerry’s Pizza crony? I haven’t seen his broken-window van circling the streets, though word on the street is he’s like a vulture, ready to suck the bloody carcass of all age venues, even down to their last business dollar. Will Gigantic shows go on at Montgomery World Plaza as predicted? Will Jerry’s Pizza hover in its nexus as the Rock and Roll Farm and eventually leave good folks alone? Today’s questions are unanswered…
I was in a conversation the other day and had a wake up call. Little did I know such bad politics among downtown businesses had occurred on a consistent basis in the past. These venues try to control the drinking masses like they’re luring them through cattle-proded hillsides. “Come to my venue! No, come to mine! Come and drink here!” And to hear that such businesses in the past, competing for that drinking cattle have called the cops on each other: “They’re over capacity! They’re serving drinks to minors! They’re this! They’re that! Kill the music scene. Kill! Kill! Kill!”
I just don’t think it’s about a ‘scene’ from the business end of things. And that’s because a business just wants to make money—so goes the theory anyway. Read the Wealth of Nations, the Invisible Hand of Capitalism, discover the muckraking history of Bakersfield’s own past: the old speakeasies hidden downtown and in the wild wild west KKK hills where Sherriffs and Politicians made a bitter dollar, and if you stood in their way, they would literally tar and feather you. Yes, it did happen. Just maybe for some venues it’s all about the booze. Jimmy of Kosmos said so himself just yesterday. He’s still open to the idea of an all age type of show, but it’s the booze sales where he makes his hard-earned cash. “What am I gonna serve, Pepsi all night?” he said. Can’t blame the guy for wanting to make money. Hell, his food is good, I hope he starts packing the house at lunchtime. But you know, the Goose Controversy left a bad taste in folk’s mouths. So it’s going to take a little while for good patrons to tell themselves that Kosmos is all right. And it is. It has the potential to rival Jerry’s when it comes to a music venue. But then, so does MWP, and so does Gigantic, and on its way to some extent is the Gate, and Narducci’s. And there are and will be more.
So goes the word on the street. But then, I hear so few of them…
I was in a conversation the other day and had a wake up call. Little did I know such bad politics among downtown businesses had occurred on a consistent basis in the past. These venues try to control the drinking masses like they’re luring them through cattle-proded hillsides. “Come to my venue! No, come to mine! Come and drink here!” And to hear that such businesses in the past, competing for that drinking cattle have called the cops on each other: “They’re over capacity! They’re serving drinks to minors! They’re this! They’re that! Kill the music scene. Kill! Kill! Kill!”
I just don’t think it’s about a ‘scene’ from the business end of things. And that’s because a business just wants to make money—so goes the theory anyway. Read the Wealth of Nations, the Invisible Hand of Capitalism, discover the muckraking history of Bakersfield’s own past: the old speakeasies hidden downtown and in the wild wild west KKK hills where Sherriffs and Politicians made a bitter dollar, and if you stood in their way, they would literally tar and feather you. Yes, it did happen. Just maybe for some venues it’s all about the booze. Jimmy of Kosmos said so himself just yesterday. He’s still open to the idea of an all age type of show, but it’s the booze sales where he makes his hard-earned cash. “What am I gonna serve, Pepsi all night?” he said. Can’t blame the guy for wanting to make money. Hell, his food is good, I hope he starts packing the house at lunchtime. But you know, the Goose Controversy left a bad taste in folk’s mouths. So it’s going to take a little while for good patrons to tell themselves that Kosmos is all right. And it is. It has the potential to rival Jerry’s when it comes to a music venue. But then, so does MWP, and so does Gigantic, and on its way to some extent is the Gate, and Narducci’s. And there are and will be more.
So goes the word on the street. But then, I hear so few of them…
This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on
Wednesday, March 23, 2005.
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