Originally posted by MindCage:
Originally posted by cale:
I don't understand what 21+ has to do with it... 9:30 Club and Rock & Roll Hotel for example don't have as many rules and they're all ages.
Actually 930 Club does not allow sharpies for the same reason as the Cat. They'll allow gloves but stop you every two seconds to check your hand stamp if you have a drink in hand. They won't let you bring in outside food. They may not ban flip flops, but as Josh said, common sense and would tell people, just like at the Cat that those shoes aren't really appropriate. 930 Club won't let you stand on the stairwell either nor in doorways blocking traffic. They don't allow pro photography at a lot of their events either.
So...I don't see much difference between those two. As for the RnR Hotel, it's already been mentioned about the things they do as a club which seems to appeal to you more since you do a lot of events there and have less problems. So, if coke on pool tables is your thing and having an unsafe club environment then why not just keep doing your underage events there? Otherwise, instead of bitching, just deal with the rules that are in place. No one is forcing you to do anything at the Cat. Then again, maybe theREALHunter is right, perhaps it's because you and/or your site whenever they do something at the Cat are a bunch of pain in the arses... 
MindCage
Mindless Faith
Deep6 Productions [/b]
Ahem.
9:30 Club does not confiscate Sharpies, well, at least not mine, they simply tell me if they catch me using it for graffiti they'll kill me. Fair enough. Black Cat actually took mine. And they are a much less classy joint, which is part of the charm, yet have rules that (to me) seem at odds with their indie music/punk rock club image.
With bringing in outside food, I was performing at the club that night, not a patron, not sure what 9:30 Club's rules are in that respect, but other venues are cool with it on special occasions. For instance, I have bought everyone pizza at the Hotel when DJing there, and many times at Cosmo Lounge when I used to DJ there, but again haven't tried at 9:30 Club. Since Black Cat wouldn't let me buy pizza for the Bliss dance party, I had someone make cupcakes, because I've seen cupcakes there for people's bday parties before, but they wouldn't let the chick that made them through the door, as someone stated above, not sure what happened though as I wasn't actually there.
9:30 Club doesn't put show posters in the stairwell or have a confusing two ticket system, so moot point dude.
And you're simply wrong about pro-photography. The artist on a particular night sets the rules on photography at 9:30 Club. That's how we've shot a million 9:30 Club shows. The Black Cat sets their own camera policy, even if the artist wants otherwise. For instance, no professional photography at DJ nights even if the DJ wants it, and no flash photography at shows even if the artist wants it. Rock and Roll Hotel doesn't have any rules unless an artist specifically requests something.
Again, the point of bringing these issues to light is that you have a great club, but it has potential to be better. And the proof that it can be better is to look at what the competing clubs do. DC9, 9:30 Club, Rock and Roll Hotel, Red and Black, Velvet Lounge, etc. all have less rules than the Cat. Not sure why you're so sensitive about me "bitching", isn't that what this forum is for?
Finally in response to TheREALHunter - we've given many clubs/venues in DC tons and tons of free publicity/advertising for over a year now, we have great relationships with all the venues we work with, and we work with them all the same way, and they have all been appreciative. The only place we've ever had any issues at all is The Cat.
Secondly, the specific night at the Cat you are referring to (with the food and what not) that I was DJing at, we set a record for paid attendance on the backstage for Bliss. To me, that doesn't sound like a pain in the ass.
Again, I like going to the Cat, I like the bartenders at the Cat, I've been going there ever since I moved here in 2001, but I think many of their rules are arbitrary, they do not allow me to put on the best show I can, they don't allow cool things to happen (Dead Meadow backstage session for instance), and they are adding more rules on a seemingly monthly basis while other clubs with similar clientele and similar sizes are not.
