Musicians and patrons alike - beware.
Our bassist, Nick, is originally from Mahtomedi (in the northeast corner of the Metro) and last night was to be our first performance in his hometown. There were a lot of people that made plans to be in Mahtomedi last night, to enjoy a drink and to enjoy some great party music from Junebug and The Isles.
All members of both bands arrived at the Dug Out and set up their gear. Two drum kits, guitars, amps, turntables were all put together and ready to go. Junebug had fully soundchecked with a very decent on-stage mix in our monitors. It proved to be a very rockin' reprise of our shows in Okoboji. We were all pumped and excited, of course. Tonight was going to be nice.
We ran over quickly to Brother's Burgers & Beers to grab a drink at Nick's family's restaurant and headed back over to the Dug Out. Upon my exit from the restroom at exactly 9:20 p.m., Tom Bartholomew, the owner of the Dug Out came up to me (tony) looking all stressed and panicked. "Who's in charge, here?!?" he asked. "Uh, YOU are, what do you mean?" I confusedly spit out. "Who's in charge of the bands? I'm losing money just by having these lights on!" Since Nick was the one that set up the show and I had no idea was was happening, I passed the buck to him.
Tom did not think there were enough people there, so he wanted to shut the show down - early in the night, and before the show even started. It was calmly explained to him that we knew for a fact that people were on the way, and the Vikings game was still happening and Favre Fever was in full force. We asked him to be patient because people were coming.
That wasn't good enough for Tom Bartholomew. He ordered the sound guy (who, I might add came all the way up from Lakeville, and might not have been paid) to start tearing down mics.
We took a cue from that and started tearing our gear down as well. Two full bands who promoted the show and took time and effort to be there and get people there were tearing down their gear by 9:30 p.m. on a Friday night, before a majority of the crowd even got there.
Well, we all got on our cell phones and began calling our people telling them to turn around and go home. Because another thing you have to know is that Mahtomedi is not really any of our neighborhoods. People made plans for their Friday to come up to this guy's establishment. So we had to tell these good people that the show was off and asked them to spread the word. We all sent messages to Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, the whole nine yards.
As we were loading out, however, people were arriving for the show. These were people who do not know any of us, but people who planned to come to the Dug Out simply because they knew there was live music and they wanted to have a good time at Tom Bartholomew's establishment. They approached him and asked what was going on and he rudely put his finger in a lady's face and responded that he did not have to answer to them. They left, yelling "F--- the Dug Out!"
What is this guy thinking? He books a show, does no promotion himself and then expects the place to fully packed at 9:20 in Mahtomedi. He then kicks the bands off the stage before the performance begins, and is rude to customers who want to hear music.
This guy is a real piece of work. None of us will go to the Dug Out again. We spent the rest of the evening spreading the word down the block at The Flame, which was very inviting.
Musicians -- If you ever get a gig at the Dug Out in Mahtomedi, BEWARE. You might not have a gig after all. Have a backup. In fact, play it safe - don't even book there.
Patrons -- If you ever go to the Dug Out, you might get a finger in your face and treated horribly by the owner himself. Play it safe - don't even go in. Grab a burger and beer at Brother's or go down the block to The Flame.
Join Nick's Facebook group: "The Dug Out in Mahtomedi is NOT a Music Venue"
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=143184185618
Spread the word. Write a Google review. Or something. Don't let Tom Bartholomew get away with this kind of treatment toward bands and patrons alike.
8 years ago
