*waiting for negative comments...

How dare you charge no cover for your musical activities! Are we just going to sit around and let people crank up throbbing beats solely to get their groove on? Its madness!

Anyone else? There's got 2 be someone w/ an anonymous screenname talking smack you'd think...

What, no cover charge? What kind of example are you setting now? What will Beaner's, The Tap Room, and Pizza Luce' do now that they are the last three bars in town to charge a cover?

Do you not pay your DJs? How are they going to make a living? How will they pay for their equipment? Without the money that the bar charges for a cover the bands and djs around town will be forced to spend their own money to pay for their gas to get to the show and that brand new Fender. How will the sound man make his killing now?

Cover charges are welfare for musicians and DJs. Minnesota can't just let them starve? They might actually have to get real jobs or go to college. Then what, a house and responsibility too?

Will bands be forced to play music that people like? MY GOD! CAN YOU IMAGINE DJS AND BANDS PLAYING MUSIC THAT DRAWS PEOPLE IN AS OPPOSED TO WHAT THEY THINK IS GOOD? AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I am disappointed that the Orpheium wants to drop their cover charge and have people come in. Next thing they will do is let their stage be used for Homegrown and really make me mad. Boy would that suck to have to go to the bathroom on Homegrown and be subjected to seeing naked women. THE AUDACITY!!

Now, unlike the Tap Room which has moved and went under a few less times than the Nor Shore, the Orphieum will stay around.

Screw cover charges! Look at how much a band gets paid when they play the Thisty Pagan, and they have no cover charge. All a real band needs is beer money.

Bands and DJs over 25 don't deserve to be paid anyway.. At that point it is always good to look to plan B or C anyway.

Way to remove Artistic Welfare from Duluth - From an artistic conservatives point of View... An Obama-Reaganite!

smackanonymously, you are fucking hilarious! i'd come see you do standup, but i'm sure i couldn't afford your cover charge.

also hilarious, is when people come to the hotel where i work in chicago with walmart shopping bags as luggage. and then they complain about the $45/night valet and $41/night self-park. poor people are SO funny. at least they don't have any feelings.

interestingly, people with hummers never seem to mind!

i'm sure this makes me seem like a snob. don't get me wrong, my family still complains about paying $2.50 to park at the imax. but then again, they think i'm crazy to tip more than 15% at a restaurant. and i think my grandfather still tips 10%. so i guess glass houses and all.

Thank you for nixing the cover.

I had heard at the Red Star last night that there have been some major changes since opening night-

Would someone from Wrekt or related crew tell more of this?

I went opening night and decided I'd give it some time for "beta testing" to take it's toll.
Just curious what Orpheum Nightclub Version 1.1 brings?

Really, it wouldn't be professional of me to discuss certain information on a public forum. But put it this way Mr. Tim... Things automatically work themselves out based on what is real and what is total bull.

Well Don't Expect any Homegrown events at the Opheum this year. Adam from the Transitor has told Tina that the Homegrown Festival won't have anything to do with this years Homegrown. Way to go Adam! There will be venue space for the Luce Bands, but for the other bands I hope you like West Duluth.

Well Don't Expect any Homegrown events at the Opheum this year. Adam from the Transistor has told Tina that the Homegrown Festival won't have anything to do with this years Homegrown. Way to go Adam! There will be venue space for the Luce Bands, but for the other bands I hope you like West Duluth.

er.. Homegrown has done just fine without the Norshore playing a prominent role in years past, not sure why the Opheum would be needed. And, hosting an event in the bottom of a strip club, even if they close the strip club for the event, is probably more PR headache then it is worth. Whatever else, if the Opheum is great, or crap, it is not going to be an attractive venue for many people based on the other occupants.

Maybe Orpheum should just host the Ingrown Festival. Personally, I really don't see Orpheum's lack of Homegrown such a big deal.

It's the best venue in town, hands down.

It's a big deal this year, because they don't have the red lion. I don't know about the tap room, but rumor is that the PA system was removed from the club.

I don't think the weekend trolly will go to west duluth. That's where they will put the bands not appoved by luce.

Regardless, it would be absolute sillyness for the organizers of Homegrown to not to utilize the best venue in town... What, cuz of some titties?! Get over it. ;)

<rant>I'm not afraid to say that it's not titties that put me off, I like titties. And it's not the wrekt crew, I love triphop and clever DJ'ery. Down deep, we all know what that space could be...the true epicenter of the most dynamic all-inclusive arts/entertainment scene in the midwest...and it's not going to happen under current ownership..I've been puttin on shows there since 1984 people...really I saw the suburbs there, I watched eraserhead there, I've had way more sex, drugs and rock and roll there than the all current wave of meth whores that skank in the mezzanine and I like ringsred alot. I respect his anti-authority stance UNTIL IT BECAME MORE ABOUT HIM THAN THE SCENE...which is the current state of things...Frankly, for those of us who remember the Orpheum in the 80's as the cool place intown to see bands (like Husker Du) the usurping of it's logo and "vibe" is a travesty...ok...suffice to say, I believe in the phantom and he likes REAL SEX, not pole dancing and he thinks all the sh!t that goes down at the tittie bar is illegal and a rape of his sacred space </rant>

The Orpheum is open as a 'community center' of sorts, for local arts/entertainment, etc. Use it. Take advantage of it. You wanna see a certain band in there? Then book them.. You wanna see this or that in there? Then do in it what you personally think it should be used for. Don't complain about it. Because really, petty whining/complaining gets one nowhere..... Duluth needs a spot like the Orpheum, and it's there... waiting.

I HAVE to respond to that...saying that the main room space is a "community center" is like saying wabasha book is a branch library ...really, maybe tugboat childrens theater wants to stage nutcracker there next christmas..."just use the upstairs bathroom little linda". look, I'm not dissin YOUR efforts to bring life to that space, I'm saying, like any good emergency doc knows, you have to remove all sources of infection before wounds can start to heal....THE PHANTOM LIVES!

I said 'community center' of sorts.

Everyone has their opinion.

Rave on. ;)

yeah..peace..I dont mean to dis you or the great efforts and time you put into the scene here, for which I'm very greatful

Oddly, I've never had a conversation with Tina about Homegrown. That might be because the Venue Agreements are not finalized yet, so I have not formally spoken to any venues.

And the decision regarding the Orpheum has yet to be brought up to the Homegrown committee; the festival committee as a whole being the deciders.

And I've got the Red Lion / Tap Room venue losses covered with room to spare.

bravo, baci.

Checked out the Orpheum on Saturday night and it was about what I expected. Without at least 100 people in the room it just feels sad. It was that way before and it is still true. On the plus side it was clean and warm but my dancing days are over.

I hope the rent is cheap...

How about a block party this year? How hard could that be?

Thanks for the kind words baci. :)

Yes Starfire, Saturday was kinda sad, but the night before there was a wonderful vibe in that place.

So for a girl who saw her first punk show (Husker Du)at the Orpheum back in the 80's and who now lives in S. Carolina, I am having a hard time visioning this new Orpheum. Every time I come back home things have changed. Duluth is in a constant morph. So is the new Orpheum in the first floor of the old Norshor? Trying to envision a sweet venue in the bottom of a strip club. ?????