Why Not? So says the neon sign in front of Dick’s Den. I will try to answer that question.
Dick’s architecture and atmosphere is almost perfect – a big dive bar with cool stuff everywhere to look at and a large enough and diverse enough crowd to make people watching fun. A lot of good choices for bottled beer. A pool table. When I was much younger, I would go to Dick’s to buy 12 pack cans of Black Label if I missed the 1 am cutoff. They sold 12 packs of Black Label for $6 bucks. Anywhere else it would have been 12 dollars.
Anyway,
Bleugrass night is full of great music; even if you don’t like bluegrass, or think you don’t like bluegrass, you should check it out. It’s free, and like the neon sign says…
One issue with Bluegrass night is it’s meteoric rise in popularity. It’s long been a popular destination on Tuesdays, but lately it seems to be a monster. People have to stand and wait outside in a line because the doorguy can’t let anyone in until people inside leave. That’s how crowded it’s become. I almost expect a velvet rope to appear in the coming weeks.
Another issue is that a lot of the people aren’t there for the music. They’re there to be seen and to socialize. Whether that’s good or bad is debateable. For me, I think it’s both. Good, because more people are exposed to the music. Maybe they’ll catch something they like, download some bluegrass, and see a local show just to see the band. Bad, because it means people who do want to go for the music aren’t able to either get inside or can’t hear the pickin’ and strummin’ because of all the scene kids chattering away about financial aid, graduate school, and who has the coolest non-prescription glasses.
There is another issue though, the staff kept a friend of mine, who was so drunk she could barely stand, from leaving with her friends. In fact, they locked her inside and closed the blinds, so that her friends outside who were banging on the window, trying to get their friend out, couldn’t see in.
That right there means Dick’s Den will never get my business again.