Dear Velvet Lounge (aka YOU SUCK):

You think four fucking bands is too many to have on a weeknight when you're headliner isn't even coming on by the time the Metro closes? And I don't care if that abortion of a band, the Slipknot wannabes, were supposedly part of Deleted Scenes' act. That was a waste of my time and fucking money. Take that cover, those warm, overpriced Yuenglings and shove them up your fucking ass. I'll never patronize your fucking hell hole again.

I don't care how bad of a fucking dive you run, or want to have, at least have your fucking headliners come on before the Metro closes. Have some fucking professionalism.

I'll never bitch about 9:30 or the Black Cat ever again.

Dear Velvet Lounge,

Thanks for a sweet time last night. Both bands I caught during the SY aftershow were great and I enjoyed listening to a ton of classic psych downstairs as I waited during set changes. Although I attend you way less frequently than I used to, I almost always leave satisfied.


Sincerely,
azaghal1981


P.S. You don't suck
P.P.S. 930 have late shows that start right as the metro is closing all the time.

Thousand wrote:
You think four fucking bands is too many to have on a weeknight when you're headliner isn't even coming on by the time the Metro closes? And I don't care if that abortion of a band, the Slipknot wannabes, were supposedly part of Deleted Scenes' act. That was a waste of my time and fucking money. Take that cover, those warm, overpriced Yuenglings and shove them up your fucking ass. I'll never patronize your fucking hell hole again.

I don't care how bad of a fucking dive you run, or want to have, at least have your fucking headliners come on before the Metro closes. Have some fucking professionalism.

I'll never bitch about 9:30 or the Black Cat ever again.

You'd have a better argument if you understood basic grammar, such as the difference between "your" and "you're."

the velvet does not have a policy of finishing before metro closes.  for this show i'm pretty sure they didn't make a special promise to that effect either.

the velvet is in the music business, not the transpo business.  if they want to go later than the metro, that's their prerogative.  it's certainly your right to choose to not frequent the velvet if its schedule doesn't meet yours, but whining like a bitch about something that they never promised only makes you sound like a spoiled suburban brat.

was this your first time at the velvet lounge?  they're notorious for running late.  if there are three or more bands, you're 99% guaranteed that the headliner with be on after midnight.  related to this is "the velvet curse", wherein the openers play to a larger crowd than the headliner because the headliner hits the stage so late that people have already started leaving.

complaining about late start times at the velvet is like complaining about getting diarrhea after eating at taco bell. if you don't know better, it's your own fault.

if you drink yuengling . . . you have no right to bitch at anything!!

plus, stop taking metro, they text while driving:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/07/AR2009070703313.html?wprss=rss_metro

walkonby wrote:plus, stop taking metro, they text while driving:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/07/AR2009070703313.html?wprss=rss_metro

This is really disturbing.

Presumably Metrorail (and Metrobus, for that matter) operators are texting on other occasions and just not getting caught.

:(

EDIT:  If anyone is curious about the footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXUSx_nji7U

Yes, nobody works at 8 am in DC. Headliners should be going on at 12:30a, or whenever the fucking hell they feel like going on. Venues should start having six bands on weeknights. And "Show starts at 9" really means "around 9:45 or whenever we get around to it."

I guess I was most offended by the warm beer. I'll just bring my own next time, and not show up until 11.

I hope every car parked outside of the VL get ransacked and pissed in by vagrants.

You really don't have a valid complaint, except maybe the beer.

If there were that many bands playing, shouldn't it have been obvious that it might go past the last metro time?

You should have planned better.  If the show will clearly go too late for you…then don't go.  It's simple enough.

thousand made up loves smells like brian.  interesting.

should have drove

Ive only been once, but i thought the place was great, even though it was running late as hell that night.  I would definitely go back in a heartbeat.  I thought it had a certain charm. Plus any venue you can watch good bands and that is as small as a living room, is fine by me. 

sweetcell wrote:
  it's certainly your right to choose to not frequent the velvet if its schedule doesn't meet yours

That's exactly what I've done.  Their scheduling of bands and notoriously late start times has me down to maybe 1-2 shows a year there.  If it's not an absolute must-see show - forget it.

related to this is "the velvet curse", wherein the openers play to a larger crowd than the headliner because the headliner hits the stage so late that people have already started leaving.

That's not a curse.  That's poor planning.

Honestly, I think this is more of an indictment of Metro than of Velvet Lounge.  I mean, seriously, the latest train is at 11:52pm?  And this is the second-most used subway system in the country?  It just seems silly.

Besides, rock and roll is a late night thing.  DC is pretty rare among the cities I've been to shows in, with the fact that most shows end by 11:30-12.  I've heard stories from friends that the average show at the Cat's Cradle in North Carolina ends at 2am.  When I used to live in New York it was pretty common to walk out of a show at 1am.

So if Velvet is the only place in town that routinely goes this late, I think those of us that rely on Metro are pretty lucky.

Bombay wrote:

related to this is "the velvet curse", wherein the openers play to a larger crowd than the headliner because the headliner hits the stage so late that people have already started leaving.

That's not a curse.  That's poor planning.

that's the logical explanation, but as far as the headliner is concerned it's a curse.  they showed up on time, there was a decent crowd for the openers, they get pumped up in the back room ready for their set, walk out on stage and… half the room has disappeared.

babystew wrote:
Honestly, I think this is more of an indictment of Metro than of Velvet Lounge.  I mean, seriously, the latest train is at 11:52pm?  And this is the second-most used subway system in the country?  It just seems silly.

This is a good point. 

Metro, not facing any budget constraints as it is, should run later so 40 people at the Velvet Lounge can get home whenever the last band is finished.  How insensitive of them…..

vansmack wrote:

babystew wrote:
Honestly, I think this is more of an indictment of Metro than of Velvet Lounge.  I mean, seriously, the latest train is at 11:52pm?  And this is the second-most used subway system in the country?  It just seems silly.

This is a good point. 

Metro, not facing any budget constraints as it is, should run later so 40 people at the Velvet Lounge can get home whenever the last band is finished.  How insensitive of them…..

vansmack = amusing voice of reason

Honestly, I think this is more of an indictment of Metro than of Velvet Lounge.  I mean, seriously, the latest train is at 11:52pm?  And this is the second-most used subway system in the country?  It just seems silly.

Besides, rock and roll is a late night thing.  DC is pretty rare among the cities I've been to shows in, with the fact that most shows end by 11:30-12.  I've heard stories from friends that the average show at the Cat's Cradle in North Carolina ends at 2am.  When I used to live in New York it was pretty common to walk out of a show at 1am.

So if Velvet is the only place in town that routinely goes this late, I think those of us that rely on Metro are pretty lucky.

well said.

as the velvet lounge's representative on this forum, let me just say: boo fucking hoo.

i've said it numerous times before, and i will say it again: we are a rock club, and we don't cater to dc culture. we exist outside of it. rock 'n' roll and experimental music – pretty much most of what we do – doesn't reflect white-collar lifestyle (i.e., getting up at 7am and being in bed by 11pm).  shows in nyc, baltimore, philly, chicago, even most small southern towns, run late. ever been to the talking head in baltimore? they are as "bad" as the velvet lounge, if not worse. so are the m room and kung fu necktie and the khyber in philly, which are all equivalent in size to the velvet.

i've already explained why shows often run late. we don't have much space to work with, which makes loading in and out very difficult. we also book relatively unknown acts, meaning we need local support to bring people out. operating a small club like the velvet is very different than operating a well-oiled machine like the 9:30 or black cat.

there is also this catch-22: we wait for people to show up before starting since nobody wants to play for an empty room. if people actually showed up early, we'd start earlier. 

lastly, i've booked a ton of noise and experimental and free jazz shows at the velvet that have ended by midnight, since most of those types of acts share gear or play 20 minute sets or are often solos and duos. of course, only 5 people from this forum go to any of these shows.

bottom line: if you go to a sold-out show at the velvet, don't expect it to run smoothly or on time. be fucking grateful that you even get a chance to see these bands, considering the lack of decent venues and provocative music in dc these days.

*clap*