Chicagoist: Bottom Lounge Finally Opens. Honestly. We ain't lying.

E

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:37:59 -0600

Fair enough.

brianpeterson

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:15:09 -0600

we don't book Otto's any longer, but yeah, we would always strongly encourage bands to play Otto's, we would also try to work more with locals who wanted to work with us...there were local Dekalb area bands that would want to play the city so we would try to work with them in Dekalb and help them develop themselves in Chicago and vice versa, you say "bands" when obviously it was probably a "band" that was bummed they played Dekalb for 10 people and barely got gas money? who knows, I am sure we could pick every show apart and there would be an issue, Dekalb is tough for sure and we got out before another rough summer.

E

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:29:08 -0600

I don't really have a horse in the race, but I have heard that bands are "strongly encouraged" to travel out to Otto's in DeKalb to play for next to nothing if they want to set up a -possibly- more lucrative show in the city. Is there any truth to that?

Tankboy

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:26:41 -0600

So the random person you ran into in the parking lot at 5:45 in the afternoon told you the club wasn't open and you decided to just believe them? Relax, the place is open, so stop bein' so ornery you showed up too early. And by the by, I ran into some folks that have been there last night and everyone raves about the second-floor outdoor patio, so I'm looking forward to checking that out.

Thunderbelly

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:41:47 -0600

Well it wasnt open at 545 on 6/4. And the one person who worked there in the parking lot said it won't be open until Friday. Thats really annoying, get your sh*t together.

P Griffin Baron

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:21:50 -0600

I went there last night as well to drop off some flyers. The stage is huge, the venue is monsterous, great dressing rooms, comfortable atmosphere, sweet roof deck. I'm playing there next thursday (the 12th) with The Atlantic Divide. Come on out. It'll be one of the first shows of the venue.

scheuch

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:09:59 -0600

it was open last night. Had a drink there myself. Its going to be a great venue, and you can smoke and drink on the roof top deck. excellent

Rob Christopher

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:04:59 -0600

@ carapatrcia: Gee whiz, just click on the Bottom Lounge link in the post and get the address.

Thunderbelly

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:32:35 -0600

To get back to the point of the article, I went by yesterday at 545, it wasnt open, and a guy who works there said maybe Friday. So it is in fact not open for business yet.

carapatricia

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:13:55 -0600

So like most Chicagoist posts, this one is missing severe details without having to click on a link. WHATS THE ADDRESS? also, i had someone arrested at the old bottom lounge.

JoeM500

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:48:43 -0600

This place has the potential to be great. Late night food. Funky drinks. Is there bike racks outside yet? I just hope is doesn't become douchebag central...

Navin

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:44:59 -0600

I was in a small local band that got booked through Brian a number of times, always a fair and straight forward experience.

brianpeterson

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:04:51 -0600

I am sure there are smaller LOCAL (not touring) bands that feel this way because they don't understand why we sometimes give touring bands 100% of the money after we pay the club their cut on smaller shows, I can understand this being a bummer, but just to defend myself, we always pay local bands before we take a penny for ourselves and payout info is always available at the end of a show or via a follow up email to me, I think there are alot of smaller locals who have never left Chicago and don't understand the concept of touring etc...or they feel that I should pay them out of pocket for their skills even when they don't draw, if you want to call that "screwing" then thats fine, I am used to being a scapegoat for lame bands with egos who don't draw....this will never change probably, its much easier to blame me than to figure out how things work. we are very transparent.

thirdshiftdave

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:58:42 -0600

Then why don't a lot of people enlighten us?

ktr

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:38:13 -0600

So I'm not sure what you're talking about. A lot of people know EXACTLY what he's talking about.

ropesack

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:57:55 -0600

lookin fwd to peepin this. hell yea walking distance.

brianpeterson

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:54:22 -0600

Do tell, what small band are you in? sure, I can be a dick but I don't screw over bands, ask around, I'm dead serious.

Tankboy

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:48:57 -0600

I've never had a bad experience with Brian, and I've worked with him from the band (booking my own), the booking (him booking shows into a club I ran at the time), and the promoter (booking my own bills into clubs he ran) angles. So I'm not sure what you're talking about.

badger

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:45:05 -0600

Too bad Brian is a dick who likes to screw over small bands. Ask around, I'm dead serious.

Shannon

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:34:31 -0600

as long as the new one isn't as abominably cold as the last one.